GWU Men's Soccer Drops a 1-0 OT Heartbreaker to Davidson on Saturday Night
September 18, 2010 | Men's Soccer
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team battled the Davison College Wildcats to a scoreless 90 minutes of play, only to have the Wildcats, who are ranked sixth in the south region by the NSCAA, slip a shot into the side of the net in the 92nd minute to escape with the 1-0 overtime win over the Runnin' Bulldogs on Saturday night at Greene-Harbison Field.
The two teams played a fast and exciting pace from the opening kick, as both teams struggled to get off shots for most of the match.
In the first 45 minutes of play, Davidson out shot the Runnin' Bulldogs 5-3, however, each team only put one shot on goal which was denied by the other teams' goalkeeper.
After the 0-0 halftime intermission, both teams brought even more energy on to the field in the start of the second half.
GWU had a shot blocked in the 53rd minute, while Davidson had a shot stopped by GWU's goalkeeper Adam Garcia in both the 64th and the 68th minute.
In the 74th minute of play, Garcia made a great diving save on a shot by Davidson's Brian McGue, spoiling the Wildcats best scoring opportunity of the match to that point.
Davidson's Chip Sanders made a huge stop of his own in the 79th minute, as Gardner-Webb freshman Nicolas Wrobel fired a shot on goal only to have Sanders corral the shot into his chest to keep the score knotted up at 0-0.
GWU's best scoring chance came in the 84th minute, as a Davidson defender was called for a hand ball foul in the box, giving the Runnin' Bulldogs a penalty kick opportunity.
The penalty kick sailed high over the top of the goal keeping the score knotted up at 0-0 with less than seven minutes to go in regulation.
With the score sitting at 0-0 heading into the first overtime period, both teams looked to try to strike fast with the Wildcats getting the first chance.
Davidson got the ball into scoring position and after Dennis Shannon's shot was blocked by a GWU defender, the Wildcats tracked down the rebounded ball and took it to the left side of the penalty box where Alex Caskey fired off a shot that was partially deflected and took an awkward spin that sent the ball rolling across the goal and into the right side of the net just inside the right front post for the game-winning goal.
Caskey's goal was his third of the season and gave the Wildcats their third win of the year.
Gardner-Webb's offensive attack was led by Romeo Kabanda, Chris Davis, John Sargent and Wrobel, who all put one shot on goal for the match.
Garcia suffered the loss and falls to 2-4 on the year despite picking up three saves on the night, while Davidson's Sanders picked up four saves to improve to 2-1-2 on the year with the shutout win.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (2-4) will kick off a four match road trip on Tuesday night, as Coach Setzer's squad will travel to Boone, N.C. to face off with the Appalachian State Mountaineers at 7 p.m. on September 21.
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| Box Score: Davidson 1, Gardner-Webb 0 (OT) |
