College of Charleston 2 University of North Carolina at Wilmington 1
WILMINGTON – The season for the University of North Carolina Men’s Soccer team came to an end Saturday night after the Seahawks fell 2-1 to the Cougars from the College of Charleston.
Sixth-seeded Charleston scored two goals in a 57-second span to build a late lead. The Cougars then held off a strong comeback effort by third-seeded UNCW to earn a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Championship at UNCW Soccer Stadium.
Junior midfielder Avery Ryan gave Charleston a 1-0 lead with 15:07 remaining in regulation when he knocked in a rebound of a shot by senior forward Adan Noel for his second goal of the year.
Less than a minute later, sophomore midfielder Cornell Holland took a pass from Ryan and registered his second goal of the season. and notched the Cougars second goal of the game.
Sophomore midfielder David Lozano trimmed the deficit for the Seahawks with 13:21 left when he hit a long shot off a restart for his third goal of the season. But, junior Cougar goalkeeper Brian Kilgallon made three saves, including a pair of stops in the final 12 minutes, to secure the victory for the Cougars.
Red shirt sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Cretens notched one save in the loss for UNCW.
The Cougars are making their second straight appearance in the tournament field. They improve to 6-8-3 on the season and advance to the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 11, to face Delaware. Meanwhile, the Seahawks’ season closes with an 8-6-3 record (5-3-1 at home).
The Cougars have won two of the last three meetings against the Seahawks, but UNCW still holds a 7-6-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Game stats:
Goals
Charleston: Avery Ryan (74:53), Cornell Holland (75:30);
UNCW – David Lozano (76:39).
Assists:
Charleston: Adan Noel, Avery Ryan
Saves
Charleston: Brian Kilgallon 3 (90:00, 1 goals allowed);
UNCW: Ryan Cretens 1 (90:00, 2 goals allowed).
Shots
Charleston: 7
UNCW : 8
Corner Kicks
Charleston: 2
UNCW – 9
Attendance: 437.
Seahawk 2016 stats:
UNCW made its fifth consecutive appearance in the CAA Championship and played its first home tournament game since 2009;
UNCW is now 5-18-2 all-time in the CAA Championship, including a 3-3-1 mark at home;
The Seahawks outshot their opponents 14 times in 17 games this season.