Box Score BLACKSBURG, Va. – The UNCG men's soccer team went the distance and then some in its 2015 season opener as the Spartans hit the road and came away with a 1-0 double overtime victory over Atlantic Coast Conference foe Virginia Tech Friday night at Thompson Field. Freshman forward Leeroy Maguraushe (Milton Keynes, England/Stantonbury) scored his first career goal in the 106th minute of play to give the Spartans the victory, sending them home in celebration.
“This was a great way to start our season,” head coach Justin Maullin said. “Tonight was a total team effort as every guy was part of this victory. We played together and battled for over 100 minutes, getting stronger as the game went on. This is a good feeling to have in our opener, but we have to turn right around and prepare for a tough opponent in UNCW Monday night in our home opener.”
The game Monday night against UNCW is set for 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The night is Close the Caf as the UNCG Cafeteria will close and relocate to the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Close the Caf event will serve food from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The Spartans started slowly against the Hokies in their first action of the season. Virginia Tech took advantage of an early UNCG miscue at the top of the 18-yard box in the sixth minute of action. The Spartans turned the ball over and Ricardo John had a clear chance one-on-one with senior goalkeeper Logan Rohde (Cary, N.C./Greensboro College), but his shot rung off the crossbar keeping the game scoreless.
The Spartans first quality chance of the game came in the 25th minute of play. Freshman forward Matt Mattis (Little Stoke, England) got the ball in the midfield and made a run through the Hokie defense. He worked his way by four defenders before squaring up a shot from 20-yards out that Virginia Tech goalkeeper Ben Lundgaard made a diving save on to keep the Spartans off the board.
Virginia Tech came back in the 33rd minute of play and had a strong chance of its own. John made a long diagonal run and got behind the Spartans' defense. His shot from 8-yards out sailed just over the cross bar and out of play. The Hokies kept attacking and John once again got behind the defense in the 34th minute. This time Rohde thwarted his shot with a diving stab, keeping the Hokies off the board.
The Spartans had a strong chance in the 73rd minute of action as they started to break down the Virginia Tech defense. Junior defender Nicholas Downs (Great Falls, Montana/Charles M. Russell) made a run down the left-hand side and found senior forward Jacques Francois (Port Au Prince, Haiti/Louisburg College) with run inside the box. Francois ripped a shot from 15-yards on target but Lundgaard was able to push it over the cross bar.
Virginia Tech answered back with a chance of its own in the 75th minute of action. The Hokies put some pressure with possession inside the 18-yard box but UNCG cleared the ball to the top of the box. Daniel Laurentano was first to the clearance and ripped a shot that was headed towards goal but Rohde was able to poke it past the goal post to keep it a 0-0 game.
The first overtime went without either team threatening too much and the Spartans had the only chance in the second overtime. UNCG controlled play in the second overtime period as it got stronger as the night got later. The Spartans built possession through the midfield and Francois got the ball about 25-yards from goal. He made a couple of moves and cut to his left before finding Maguraushe making a diagonal run. Maguraushe took the open space and ripped a left-footed shot into the top corner of the net and sending the Spartans streaming onto the field in celebration. The goal was the first of his career in his first career collegiate game.
Rohde picked up the victory for the Spartans as he played all 105:14 in goal, making seven saves in the shutout, including a handful of pivotal saves in the first half that put the Spartans in position for the win.
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