Wildcats Take Home 1-0 Win over UNC Greensboro in SoCon Opener

Wednesday, October 1

Davidson, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

Davidson College Athletics

2-7-1, 1-0SoCon

UNC Greensboro

3-6-1, 0-1SoCon

Team	1	2	Final F
UNC Greensboro	0	0	0
Davidson	0	1	1

Wildcats Take Home 1-0 Win over UNC Greensboro in SoCon Opener

10/1/2008 9:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Matt Harris - Assistant SID

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Behind the first career goal by freshman Greg Macnamara, the Davidson men's soccer team opened their Southern Conference schedule with a win, taking down UNC Greensboro 1-0 Wednesday evening at Alumni Stadium. The victory snapped a six-game winning streak for UNCG over the Wildcats dating back to Davidson's upset of top-ranked Spartans in the 2004 SoCon Tournament.

Macnamara scored the game-winner just under five minutes into the second half, when he executed a picture-perfect give-and-go with teammate Machel Turner, who fed Macnamara in the penalty box, where the freshman fired a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the goal, and became the seventh different Davidson player to record a scoring strike this year. It was the first point scored by Macnamara as a Wildcat, and the assist by Turner was his first of the season and gave him five points overall, good for second-highest on the team.

“Getting this win was huge for us,” said Davidson head coach Matt Spear. “We defeated an important rival and we begin the second half of the season and conference play with a resounding result. Tonight, we were able to come out and play hard for the full 90 minutes, and find a way to finish a match with a win."

The 'Cats turned in one of their most impressive performances of the year throughout the match, controlling the pace on both ends of the field. Davidson (2-7-1, 1-0-0 Southern Conference) had a number of quality chances to score, with one of the closest calls coming in the 67th minute of play, when sophomore Yannick Pilgrim wove his way through the UNCG?defense and fired a shot from the right side of the goal which was blocked out in front of the box and collected by freshman Kyle Engle, who saw his attempt go just wide of the net.

“We came out tonight and played as hard as we could,” said senior Whitey Bolan. “All week long, we talked about giving it all we had, and I think that's what we did. It's great to pick up a win, especially at home.”

Defensively, Davidson was able to swarm the Spartan attackers, not allowing them to create any quality scoring opportunities. Seemingly every time UNCG (3-6-1, 0-1-0 SoCon) would attempt to attack, there were multiple Wildcat defenders in the way, forcing the action away from the goal. UNC Greensboro was only able to get one shot on goal, and that did not come until the 80:49 mark of the match. .

“We've played so many good teams this year I think our guys were prepared to take on Southern Conference forwards," Spear said. “Tonight, to get a shut-out, it shows how these guys have stuck with it, pulled together, and how they believe they can keep quality teams scoreless.”

As a team, Davidson out-shot UNCG by a 15-5 margin, including a 12-4 advantage in the second half. Each team recorded four corner kicks, and the 'Cats committing 14 fouls to the Spartans' 11.

In addition to his assist, Turner led all players with four shot attempts, followed by sophomore Alex Caskey's three, two of which were on goal. Pilgrim took a pair of shots in the match, both of which were on goal. Overall, six different Wildcats had a scoring chance, with five finding the goal. Goalkeeper Matt McElroy, making his second start between the pipes on the year, recorded his second shut-out, making one save on the night.

The 'Cats will look to stay unbeaten in conference play when they head down to Charleston, S.C. on Saturday to take on the College of Charleston, looking for their first win on the road in this series since 2002. Kick off from Patriot's Point Field is scheduled for 7 p.m.