Akujuobi and Sargent Score Two Late Goals to Lead GWU to a 2-1 Win Over Milwaukee
September 17, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Birmingham, Ala. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team scored two goals in the final five minutes of the contest to pick up a come from behind win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2-1, in the two teams' first match of the UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic on Friday night in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Runnin' Bulldog offense looked to strike first, as junior midfield John Sargent blasted the first shot of the game in the ninth minute, only to have it stopped in goal by Milwaukee goalkeeper John Shakon.
Less than a minute later sophomore Marius Hammersmark fired a shot that sailed high of the net, as the Runnin' Bulldog offense kept the Panther defense on its heels in the early stages of the contest.
The GWU offensive onslaught continued as a shot by Sargent in the 19th minute set off a chain of shots from the Runnin' Bulldogs, who recorded four more shots over the next 10 minutes of play, taking a 7-0 shots lead over the Panthers.
However, during the Runnin' Bulldogs' offensive borage, the Panthers stood strong on the defensive end, blocking two shot attempts and saving one to keep the score tied up at 0-0 with 15 minutes to play in the first half.
After a ninth GWU shot was off target in the 34th minute by sophomore forward Chris Davis, the Panthers' registered their first shot of the match in the 40th minute, as Pedro Mejia had his shot blocked by a GWU defender to keep the score knotted up at 0-0 heading into the halftime break.
The Runnin' Bulldogs continued to put the pressure on the Milwaukee defense, as in the 47th minute freshman Ernesto Gaita put a shot on frame, testing the Panthers' keeper once more for the stop.
After trading shots over the next 25 minutes, all of which were off-line, the Panthers' best scoring opportunity came off the foot of Cody Banks in the 74th minute. However, GWU goalkeeper Scott Krotee made a big save to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard and the scored tied up at 0-0.
The Panthers' Shakon posted back-to-back saves on two GWU shots, which helped Milwaukee take the lead, as Nick Langford scored the first goal of the match in the 82nd minute to put the Panthers on top 1-0 with less than 10 minutes to play in the contest.
Gardner-Webb responded less than five minutes later, as sophomore Chijioke Akujuobi converted on his first goal of the season in the 87th, scoring off a rebounded shot attempt by Davis, to tie the score up at 1-1.
Less than two minutes later with time running out in regulation, Sargent finally found the back of the net, scoring his first goal of the year on a free kick from 30 yards out to give the Runnin' Bulldogs the 2-1 lead.
The Sargent goal proved to be the game winner, as the final 20 seconds of the match ticked away giving the Runnin' Bulldogs the 2-1 non-conference win.
Krotee picked up his first win of the year, making one save in 90 minutes of play, as GWU outshot Milwaukee 18-6 for the match.
GWU's Sargent, who posted his first goal of the season, totaled six shots for the match, putting three on goal. Davis tallied five shots, while Hammersmark and Akujuobi each had two shots apiece.
For Milwaukee, Langford, who scored the first goal of the match, posted a team-high three shots for the match, while three other players tallied one shot apiece in the loss.
The win snapped GWU's winless streak at four matches, while the two goals on Friday night equaled the number of goals that the Runnin' Bulldogs scored in their previous four matches.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (2-2-2) will return to action on Sunday afternoon, as GWU will face off with the VCU Rams at 12 p.m. central time (1 p.m. ET) at the UAB "Soccer for a Cure" Classic in Birmingham, Alabama.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 2, Milwaukee 1 |
