Iron Helps William Carey Post 2-0 Shutout of Golden Eagles
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (August 21, 2015) -- The John Brown men's soccer team allowed a penalty kick goal and was stunned by a last-minute tally, falling to William Carey (Miss.), 2-0, Friday (Aug. 21) at the WCU Soccer Complex.
The Golden Eagles (0-1-0) carried the play in the second half, out-shooting the hosts 8-3 en route to a 13-8 final advantage, but the Crusaders (1-0-0) tallied its only two shots on goal in the second half to provide the difference in the season opener for both squads.
William Carey fired three shots towards sophomore keeper Adam Holt (0-1-0) in the first half, and Holt was equal to the task deny each chance. JBU actually managed five shots in the first frame, but none reached WCU keeper Josh Carpenter.
Fouls and yellow cards were abundant in what was a chess match type affair as the match official handed out a total of 26 whistles and eight cautions.
The hosts could only manage one shot in the early parts of the second half, but John Brown responded with five of its own in the first 15 minutes of the frame, including three in just as many minutes, but Carpenter collected all four chances on goal.
Just a minute after the barrage on the Crusader net, the Golden Eagles were called for a foul in the box and Pedro Villar Roldan buried a penalty kick past Holt to give WCU a surprising 1-0 lead. John Brown again responded with a shot from freshman Santiago Venegas and a golden opportunity from freshman Ryan Williams in the 70th minute. Williams fired a shot off the post, keeping the score 1-0 in favor of the Crusaders.
Williams wasn't done finding iron, however, as the freshman again rang one off the frame, this time the crossbar, in the 89th minute. Unfortunately for the visitors, William Carey marched right back down the field and added an insurance tally when Malte Sjorslev finished off a play from Roldan and Sait Gueye.
"We had a pretty decent performance for the first game of the season," admitted head coach Scott Marksberry. "I'm not sure the score line is a great representation of the game, but William Carey played hard and took advantage of their chances. It think we left the game feeling like we have the pieces to have a solid season."
Holt took the loss in net with three saves, all in the first half. Carpenter picked up the win for the Crusader, nabbing four saves, all coming in the second stanza.
Williams led both teams with four shots while Venegas contributed three in the loss. Gueye and Roldan each added three shots in the win for WCU.
The Golden Eagles will return to action tomorrow against its first ranked opponent of the season in No. 6 Mobile (Ala.). The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
