Box Score GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG senior midfielder Ricky Chavez (Barranquilla, Columbia/UNC Pembroke) scored from 25-yards out in the 108th minute of action to lift the Spartans to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Southern Conference rival Furman Saturday night in front of 1,306 fans at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The goal keeps the Spartans atop the SoCon standings with a 2-0-0 record in league play while Furman falls to 1-1-1 in SoCon action this year.
The game was built as an epic clash between the defending SoCon regular season champion Spartans and the defending SoCon Tournament champion Paladins, and it lived up to its billing. The teams battled for 107:21 of evenly-matched soccer with the Spartans coming out victorious with their second double-overtime golden goal victory of the season (Campbell).
UNCG (6-2-2, 2-0-0) played the final 28:31 of the game with a man advantage of Furman's Dalton Souder was carded twice in the game, the second becoming a red card and an automatic ejection. The Spartans used the man advantage in the second overtime to wear down the Furman defense and break through against Furman goalkeeper Jonathan Smith.
The Spartans generated pressure in the 107th minute as senior forward Damieon Thomas (St. Catherine, Jamaica/Georgia Military Institute) had a chance from 10-yards out that was deflected by a Furman defender and out for a corner kick. The Spartans maintained possession after the corner kick and regrouped before a cross was sent over and freshman Casey Penland (High Point, N.C./High Point Christian) had a shot blocked from 15-yards outs.
Penland out-worked the Furman defenders and won the ball back before dropping it off to senior Rouven Wahlfeldt (Velbert, Germany/Gymnasium Waldstrasse). Wahlfeldt held up the ball and pushed it across the top of the 18-yard box to Chavez. He took his first touch setting up his right-footed shot from 25-yards out that blasted through Smith for the game-winning goal with just 2:39 remaining in double overtime.
The shot was the Spartans' 16th of the game as they out-shot Furman by a 16-10 margin and held a 6-1 edge on corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Logan Rohde (Cary, N.C./Greensboro College) posted his fifth shutout of the season and lowered his goals against average to 0.71. Smith picked up the loss but recorded seven saves with most of them coming in impressive fashion.
The Spartans had the most dangerous chances of the night before the game-winning goal. Sophomore defender Josh Masten (Mount Pleasant, S.C./Wando) out-jumped Smith in the 35th minute and got his head on the ball sending it towards the goal but Smith was able to scramble back and stop the ball at the goal line to keep it a scoreless first half.
Furman's had its best chance in the first half when Bobby Edet ripped a shot from 15-yards out after a scramble off a free kick but Rohde was there to make the save. The Paladins came close to taking the lead in the second half in the 48th minute as Evan De Ycaza ripped a shot from 20-yards out that bent past Rohde but just went over the cross bar.
Sophomore Leeroy Maguraushe (Milton Keynes, England/Stantonbury) had a great chance to score in the 53rd minute off a corner kick. Maguraushe curved a shot from 20-yards out around the Furman wall and it was ticketed for the bottom corner but Smith made a sprawling save.
Penland had a prime chance in the 69th minute of action as Thomas set him up on a long cross. Penland cracked a shot from 15-yards out through traffic but again Smith made a diving stop to keep the game scoreless. After the Paladins went down a man due to the red card, Ethan Hawke had a chance for Furman in the 91st minute but a UNCG defender was able to come up with a big block from 5-yards out to set the stage for the late-game heroics.
UNCG returns to action Tuesday night as it travels to Macon, Ga., for a meeting with Mercer in SoCon play. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3 and the ESPN App at 7 p.m.
-- UNCG --
