SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The Montreat College men's soccer team wrapped up its suspended Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) match against the Spartanburg Methodist College Pioneers on Monday afternoon. What started on Sept. 19 officially concluded on Oct. 12 with a 4-2 final in favor of SMC. Following the result, the Cavaliers' record moved to 2-5-3 (0-5-1 AAC), while the Pioneers' record improved to 4-6-3 (3-3-3 AAC).
Last month,
Ricardas Milasius put the visitors in front merely 5:36 into the showdown. Flying up the pitch on the counter, Milasius sprinted down a pass and unveiled an impressive stutter-step move to throw off the pace of a defender. The London, England native then guided a shot past the hosts' goalkeeper for an unassisted tally.
Spartanburg Methodist began to find its groove as the initial half progressed, but goalie
Joey Randazzo stood tall. The freshman faced 11 shots across the initial 45 minutes, four of which landed on target. Randazzo proved up to the task, stopping all four attempts and aiding the Cavs in carrying their 1-0 advantage into the intermission.
While less than 10 minutes had ticked off the clock during the second half, SMC had no shortage of goals in store. The hosts leveled the match at 1-1 just 29 seconds into the period, and they claimed the lead less than four-and-a-half minutes later. At the 52:05 mark, Spartanburg Methodist delivered another strike to build a 3-1 advantage on the scoreboard.
Lightning brought forth a weather delay only 73 seconds after the Pioneers established a 3-1 lead. Following a lengthy break, it was determined the contest could not resume; therefore, the final 36-plus minutes were moved to Monday, Oct. 12.
After the resumption,
Ethan Grasso,
Emmanuel Ntimeh and Milasius peppered the home side's goal with chances. A blocked shot off the foot of Ntimeh led to an
Alejandro Hernandez corner kick in the 64
th minute. The Cavaliers made the most of their set piece, with Hernandez firing a ball toward the far post, and Ntimeh rifling it home to pull the visitors back within one at 3-2.
Randazzo kept Montreat within that margin less than two minutes after the goal thanks to his diving penalty kick save; however, Spartanburg Methodist slowly regained momentum, and it eventually discovered an insurance strike with just 9:50 remaining in regulation. Hernandez and Grasso forced saves down the stretch, and
Jared McCall placed a shot wide, but the Cavs couldn't make up the distance in limited time. Ultimately, the four second-half goals powered SMC to a 4-2 triumph in league play.
For the match, the Cavaliers landed eight of their 13 tries on target, while the Pioneers directed 10 of their 23 attempts on frame. Both sides were credited with six saves. Spartanburg Methodist racked up nine corner kicks to the visitors' four.
Milasius scored an unassisted goal and put both of his shots on frame. Ntimeh added a goal and led the Cavs with three shot attempts. Hernandez recorded an assist and finished with two tries on target. Randazzo made six saves across 90 minutes in goal.
Up next, the Montreat College men's soccer team visits Milligan University on Wednesday, Oct. 14, for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff in Milligan, Tenn.
