Strong Second Half: GWU Gets Goals from Al-Gashamy and Clarke in 2-1 Road Win at VMI
October 19, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Lexington, Va. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team picked up two second half goals from midfielder Ali Al-Gashamy and forward Denzel Clarke to record a 2-1 come from behind win over the Virginia Military Institute in Big South Conference action on Saturday afternoon at Patchin Field in Lexington, Va.
The win pushes GWU to 6-6-1 overall and back to .500 at 3-3-0 in Big South Conference play, while VMI falls to 1-11-1 overall and 1-6-0 in conference play with the loss.
VMI took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute as Travis Borkey scored on a set piece off a free kick to put the home team in front. However, GWU's Al-Gashamy tied the match up in the 52nd minute on a cross from Dustin Peyton, before Clarke scored what would prove to be the game winner in the 74th minute on a long breakaway through the Keydets' defense.
Clarke's goal was his 12th of the season which not only leads both the team and the Big South, but also makes him GWU's Division I single season goals leader surpassing the previous record of 11 set by three different players since 2000-01.
In what was a very chippy and physical match that saw 31 fouls and nine yellow cards, two of which turned into a red card, the Runnin' Bulldogs' controlled the pace of play for most of the contest with its constant attack on the VMI defense.
The GWU attack began right off of the first touch, as co-captain Marius Hammersmark had a shot blocked in the fourth minute, while midfielder Patrick Gürser had his first shot attempt off a corner kick in the sixth minute stopped in the net by VMI goalkeeper Daniel Kitchen.
After Hammersmark put another shot just high of the crossbar in the 10th minute, VMI took its first look at the goal 10 minutes later in the 20th minute, as Borkey played a corner kick into the box where fellow teammate Blake McCauley put his head on it and sent it towards the goal. The header was saved by a GWU defender who knocked it offline and out of the way to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
However, the VMI Keydets would make good on its very next shot, as Aaron White played the ball to Borkey off a free kick set piece. Borkey made a move toward the goal and put his shot low and just inside the right post to put VMI up 1-0 in the 27th minute.
Gardner-Webb looked for the equalizer before the halftime break, as Gürser had a shot blocked once again in the 36th minute, while fellow midfielder Arjun Jung saw his header saved by Kitchen in the 39th minute to keep the score at 1-0 in favor of the Keydets at the half.
Both the intensity and urgency picked up for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the second half, as both Iman Mafi and Hammersmark had back-to-back shots blocked by the VMI defense over a two minute stretch to start the second half before Al-Gashamy found the back of the net in the 52nd minute.
Al-Gashamy received a cross from Peyton at the top middle of the box and then blasted a shot towards the goal, which sailed past Kitchen and into the back of the goal to tie the match up at 1-1. The goal was Al-Gashamy's second of the season, while the assists was Peyton's' third of the year.
Looking for the goal ahead goal, GWU's Ben Hyman and Kevin Comvalius each registered a shot that flew offline over the next several minutes of play, while VMI's Borkey looked for his second goal of the match in the 68th minute on a breakaway chance, only to see his shot sail wide left of the goal on the play.
The miss by VMI proved to be huge, as Gardner-Webb countered with a goal minutes later in the 74th minute, as Clarke received a pass and went 1-v-1 with a VMI defender, where he beat him to the left side and ripped a shot from just outside the box and across the goal line to put the Runnin' Bulldogs on top at 2-1.
The GWU defense, coupled with the Runnin' Bulldog attack, would not surrender another shot over the final 15 minutes of play, but rather saw Al-Gashamy miss wide left in the 81st minute and Clarke hit the right post with a header off a cross into the box in the 83rd minute in their attempt for an insurance goal late in the match.
GWU outshot the Keydets 14-3 for the match and posted seven corner kicks to VMI's three over the 90 minutes of play.
Freshman goalkeeper Matthew Swan improves to 6-6-1 on the season with the win.
Hammersmark led the GWU attack with a match-high three shots, while Mafi, Al-Gashamy, Gürser and Clarke all registered two shots apiece in the win.
For VMI, Borkey tallied two shots, while McCauley accounted for the other shot for the Keydets, as the GWU defensive backline of Hammersmark, Yeager, Hyman, Alejandro Rivllas, Barth Mouafo and Jake Kennedy did a great job of disrupting the Keydets' offensive attack.
Gardner-Webb (6-6-1, 3-3 Big South) will return home to host the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Wednesday night, October 23rd, at 7 p.m. on Senior Night at Green Harbison Field. VMI (1-11-1, 1-6 Big South) will step out of conference play to face off with Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, October 22nd, in Blacksburg, Va.
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| Box Score: Gardner-Webb 2, VMI 1 |
