Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Davidson men's soccer team was unable to overcome a late second-half goal by Winthrop, falling 1-0 in the finale of the Nike Invitational Tournament on Sunday afternoon at Charlotte's Transamerica Field.
Following the match, Wildcat sophomores
Alex Caskey and
Yannick Pilgrim were named to the All-Tournament team due to their outstanding performances in the weekend's two matches. Pilgrim scored the tying goal in Davidson's 2-2 draw with UAB?on Friday evening and took seven shots in the two matches. Caskey opened the scoring against UAB with his second goal of the season, and led the team with nine shots on the weekend, eight of which were on goal, also tops on the squad.
The two teams closed the first half scoreless, and almost even across the stat sheet. Davidson held a 7-6 advantage in total shots, and a 7-3 lead in corner kicks. Wildcat goalkeeper
Robby Goldsberry recorded a pair of saves in goal in the opening frame, before sophomore
Matt McElroy took over in net for the final 45 minutes. McElroy had three saves on the day.
Winthrop broke the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute when Miquel Casajuana collected a deflected shot and put the ball into the back of the net on the left side of McElroy, putting the Eagles up 1-0.
The 'Cats, showing the maturity they have displayed each time they've fallen behind in the past few matches, kept battling back after the goal, with their best chance coming when Caskey had a one-on-one opportunity to score, having his shot saved by the Winthrop goalkeeper.
“We played well and we played hard today,” said Davidson head coach
Matt Spear. “It was a very close game that could have gone either way. We were not on the winning side this time, but I am still pleased with the effort."
Caskey had a game-high six shots overall, with five shots on goal. Junior
Clinton Smith recorded a pair of shots, with
Machel Turner,
Charlie Reiter, and Pilgrim all contributing one attempt in the match.
Davidson will round out their current four-match road swing when they head down to Columbia, S.C. to take on South Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kick off for the match between the Wildcats and Gamecocks is scheduled for 1 p.m.