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Tuesday, Oct. 1
Highlights
Temple 1, Old Dominion 0
Overtime seemed imminent on Tuesday afternoon at the Temple Sports Complex until a 90th minute Cherry and White goal lifted the Temple men's soccer team (3-5, 0-1 AAC) over Old Dominion (1-6-1, 0-2-1 C-USA), 1-0. Leandros Lillis was the hero for the Owls when he buried the game-winner with 55 seconds left on the clock off a cross from Lukas Fernandes, handing Temple its third-straight victory at the Temple Sports Complex.
The second half saw early action with back-to-back chances for Temple in the 52nd and 55th minutes. First, Esteban Suarez lofted in an in-swinging corner kick that junior captain Pierre Cayet got on the receiving end of but headed just wide. Three minutes later, Fernandes set himself up for a header on frame but just barely missed net.
It looked as though the Owls had won it in the 85th minute when Lillis sent the ball in to Sean Karani, who slipped it past the ODU keeper but was ultimately called offsides.
The Cherry and White offensive pressure was rewarded soon after as Lillis notched the game-winner with just 55 seconds left on the game clock. Fernandes received the ball on the left side of box and lofted a far post cross, finding Lillis waiting to tap it in and seal the deal for the Owls.
Lillis' goal was the first of his career, adding to the two assists he notched during the 2018 season. Fernandes' assist was his first of the season and the fifth of his career, pushing him higher on the Temple leaderboard with five points on the season (2g, 1a).
UCF 3, Florida Atlantic 2
After equalizing the match twice in regulation, the No. 11 UCF men's soccer team won their sixth match in a row as they defeated the FAU Owls 3-2 in overtime.
Fans that were even just a few minutes late to the match missed a lot. FAU found the board within the first 28 seconds as Edgardo Obregan dribbled one past a diving Yannik Oettl to take the early 1-0 lead. The Knights found their answer less than a minute later as Louis Perez knocked one home off an assist from Mauricio Villalobos Vega.
UCF's goal marked the seventh consecutive match in which the Knights had scored within the first 15 minutes and the fourth straight match they had scored within the first seven minutes.
The Knights strived for the equalizer and finally found it on a penalty kick chance in the 85th minute. Jonathan Dean wound up getting fouled hard in the box, leading to the opportunity. Perez stepped in to take the penalty kick and rifled it past the keeper who had guessed right prior to the shot.
Off a throw in during the 94th minute, Yanis Leerman fed a ball in from near mid field that found the foot of Perez, who was able to sneakily redirect it out wide with a simple touch. Receiving the feed was Dean who crossed a beautiful ball into the box past one FAU defender. Cal Jennings had to fight through an additional defender but was able to slide toward the ball and knock it home for the golden goal to seal the Knights' sixth straight win and eighth in a row unbeaten. Jennings' goal was his ninth of the season as he now trails the nation's leader by just one goal.
Cincinnati 5, Fort Wayne 0
University of Cincinnati men's soccer had an impressive showing Tuesday night at Gettler Stadium with a 5-0 shutout of the visiting Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons.
With their largest scoring output in nearly five years, the Bearcats improved to 3-6 overall on the season, while the Mastodons dropped to 3-7.
UC's offense was paced by junior forward Darryn Commissiong who dished out an assist and recorded a pair of goals – both within 10 minutes of each other late in the second half – to bring his season total to 12 points.
The deciding goal of the match actually came very early when a PFW miscue in the fifth minute led to an own goal to put the Red & Black on the board. The Bearcats would stay in the driver's seat for the duration of the first half with an add-on score in the 28th minute by junior Creggton Charlton – his fourth of 2019 – and a tally in the 31st minute from sophomore Marcello Jones. Charlton's goal was made possible by assists from Commissiong and sophomore Paul Bangura while Jones used a helper from Charlton to secure his first goal of the season.
Firmly in control of the match with a 3-0 cushion to begin the second half, UC's scoring remained dormant, but its defense continued to limit the visitors. The Bearcats again broke through in the 76th minute when Commissiong took a feed from freshman Kyle Healy (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) and deposited it into the back of the net. Commissiong kept the pressure on and minutes later stole the ball and got into the open field in a 1v1 situation in which he prevailed during the 86th minute.
USF 1, FGCU 0
Javain Brown, the reigning American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, came up big on the offensive side of the ball and recorded his second goal in as many outings, and his second consecutive game winner, as the USF men's soccer team handed Florida Gulf Coast a 1-0 loss at Corbett Stadium Tuesday night. The win improves the Bulls to 6-2 on the year while the Eagles drop to 3-5-2 overall. The win is USF's third-straight, and its sixth victory in its last seven matches.
After Brown's offensive heroics, he then helped to lead the defense in shutting down the Eagles and never allowing them to threaten USF's keeper, Harrison Devenish-Meares, who finished the night with one save. In addition, USF's clean sheet was its second in the last three matches and its third of the season. It was also Devenish-Meares' sixth shutout of his career.
Adrian Billhardt and Emilio Ycaza each led the team with two shots on the night.
Despite USF's various chances, each side finished the match with 12 shots while the Bulls held a slight 3-1 advantage in shots on goal.
UConn 2, Dartmouth 2
UConn men's soccer ended its three-game losing streak Tuesday night, battling the Dartmouth Big Green to a 2-2 draw at Burnham Field. The Huskies move to 3-5-1, while Dartmouth stands at 3-3-1.
Jordan Hall and junior Ahdan Tait tallied UConn's goal, with Dayonn Harris, Felix Metzler and freshman Thomas Decottignies providing the assists. The Huskies outshot the home team 21-9, including a seven to two advantage in shots on-goal.
After two near-fire strikes in the opening eight minutes, the Huskies put one into the back of the net in the 33rd minute off the head of Hall. The Huskies passed the ball around their attacking zone before Felix Metzler sent a cross into the box for Hall who headed the ball past the outstretched arms of the Dartmouth keeper, into the lower left corner to give UConn a 1-0 lead at 32:24.
UConn doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 56th minute. Thomas Decottignies raced up the right side, dished the ball off to Tait who then rifled one through two defenders to score his first goal of the season.
Dartmouth countered quickly, getting goals from Jordan Bailon (63rd) and Tiger Graham (64th) to tie the game at 2-2.
Extra time was needed as neither team found the back of the net during the final 25 minutes of regulation. The Huskies nearly had a game winner in the final 10 seconds, but Jayden Reid's attempt was snagged by the Big Green netminder.
SMU 3, Central Arkansas 0
The No. 4/2 Mustangs improved to 9-0-0 for the first time since 2010 on Tuesday night when they defeated Central Arkansas (4-4-1, 0-0-0), 3-0 at Westcott Field.
The Mustangs (9-0-0, 1-0-0) cracked the game open in the 27th minute when the familiar combination of Ahlander and McLaughlin struck again for SMU. The two played keep away from the UCA defense in the attacking third before Ahlander played a perfect ball to McLaughlin who buried his team-best eighth goal of the season. The assist was Ahlander's seventh of the season, good for second-most in Division I soccer.
Up 1-0, the Mustangs went on a hunt for an insurance goal in the first half. That goal finally came in the 43rd minute when Talen Maples played the ball Lane Warrington, who drove the ball up the touch line before crossing it in to Wyatt Priest who put the Mustangs up 2-0 just before halftime. It was Priest's first goal since his bicycle kick that was showcased on ESPN vs. Valpo on September 13.
Coming out of the break, SMU was tested early as the Bears had a pair of good chances early in the second half, but both chances were saved by Grant Makela. The Mustangs would open the floodgates in 60th minute when Gabriel Costa played a through ball to Nick Taylor who fed a pass to Knut Ahlander who tallied his fourth goal of the season.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
