Wofford 4, Furman 3

GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Wofford College men's soccer team secured the Southern Conference Regular Season Championship with a 4-3 win over Furman on Tuesday night at Stone Soccer Stadium. Nick Schuermann had a hat trick for the Terriers in the win.

Wofford is 9-2-3 overall and 5-1-1 in the Southern Conference to finish in first place for the first time in school history. Furman falls to 8-7-2 overall and 3-3-0 in SoCon play.

The Terriers came out quick, scoring two goals in the first five minutes of play. On the first shot of the game, Wilson Hood scored an unassisted goal from 20-yards out that went to the top right corner of the net at 1:39. Wofford kept up the offensive pressure and had a corner kick at 4:57. Yakov Rubinchik took the corner and Nick Schuermann headed the ball into the far corner of the net for a 2-0 lead. At the 18:47 mark, the Terriers converted another corner kick when Branson Hyatt crossed the ball in and Nick Schuermann's header once again found the net by the far post for a 3-0 lead. Wofford had a six to two advantage on shots in the first half.

In the second half, the momentum turned to the Paladins. Furman scored at 52:19 on an unassisted goal by Jordan Howard on a free kick. Three minutes later, Howard had a shot for the Paladins that was saved by Thomas Hunter. Furman added a second goal at 62:32 to make it a 3-2 game when Alex Crooks scored with an assist from Eric Cobleigh.

Wofford answered on a corner kick once again, as Yakov Rubinchik found Nick Schuermann for his third goal of the game at 63:21 to take a 4-2 lead. Furman added a third goal with just 5:56 left in the game when Nasarachi Onyeuku was free in the box and received a pass from Alex Crooks and tapped the ball into the left corner of the net. Warren Creavalle also had an assist on the goal. Despite a flurry of action by the Paladins the final two minutes, the Terriers held on for the victory.

For the Terriers, goalie Thomas Hunter made two saves and had three goals against. Alec Kann had one save and four goals against for Furman. The Terriers had six corner kicks to Furman's two and Furman had a 12 to eleven lead on shots.

Wofford has set a school record for wins in a season with nine. It marks the first Southern Conference title for the men's soccer program that has finished last in the standing in each of the past six seasons.

The hat trick by Nick Schuermann was just the ninth all-time in school history and the second since moving to NCAA Division I in 1995.

The Terriers will play at Georgia State on Saturday, November 7 to complete the regular season.

Appalachian State 2, UNC Asheville 0

BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's soccer used two first half goals to defeat UNC Asheville 2-0 Tuesday night at the Appalachian Soccer Stadium.

With the win, ASU has won three-straight and improves to 7-8-1 overall while UNC Asheville drops to 6-10-2.

The Mountaineers grabbed the early lead in the 16th minute, when Sean Dreybus sent a corner kick that went to the back side where J.J. Elder stopped it and lifted it over the Bulldogs' goal keeper.  The goal was Elder's fifth of the season while the assist is Dreybus' first of the year.

The Mountaineers kept pressure throughout the game, as they held an 11-0 advantage in corner kicks.

The Apps tacked on an insurance goal in the 32nd minute when David Dodge stole a ball just before midfield, dribbled past two defenders and beat UNCA keeper Lassi Hurskainen from 17 yards out to the right side.  The goal was the first of Dodge's career.

The Bulldogs had an opportunity in the 26th minute, when Bryan George received a cross pass and was alone with ASU keeper Collin Taylor but Taylor came up with the save.

UNC Asheville had a solid opportunity in the second half when David Wood came in alone against Taylor but his shot from 14 yards was kicked aside by Taylor.

For the game, Taylor made three saves while Hurskainen made two.  The shutout was Taylor's second of the season while three of the four shutouts this season by ASU have come at home.

The Mountaineers' honored seniors Arie Muniz and Kenny Orelaja at halftime, as the pair played their final home game.

Appalachian looks to keep up the momentum as they head into the season finale on Saturday, as they travel to Georgia Southern for a 1 p.m. start.

Davidson 5, Campbell 2

BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Playing in his final collegiate game, senior Charlie Reiter scored a career-best three goals and one assist to lead Davidson men's soccer to a 5-2 win over the Atlantic Sun conference regular season champions, Campbell, on Tuesday night in Eakes Athletic Complex. Davidson finished an exciting 2009 season with an 11-7-0 record.

The five-goal effort was Davidson's first since 2004 when the 'Cats defeated Vanderbilt, 5-2. Junior Josh Zipin tallied a goal and an assist. Senior Christian Hambleton tallied a career-best three assists, while classmate Clinton Smith registered one assist.

Reiter's seven-point effort gives him a team-leading 32 points (12 goals, 8 assists) for the complete, 18-game season. The total is the best single-season mark for a Davidson player since Chris Norbet scored 42 points (19g, 4a) in 2001. As a team the Wildcats finished with 37 goals scored, their highest total since 2004 when they scored 37 in 22 games.

An own goal by Campbell (8-9-1) gave Davidson an early 1-0 lead at 5:39, which was then extended to 2-0 when Davidson's counter attack struck in the 23rd minute. Reiter found Zipin with a pass for the goal.

Mitchell Cardenas halved the lead less than six minutes later after putting home the rebound from a shot taken by Pat Danford, but Reiter and the Wildcats took over in the second half. Hambleton sent a cross to the far post to Zipin, who dropped it to Reiter for a goal just 46 seconds into the new frame.

The 'Cats counter attack struck again in the 61st minute as Davidson moved the ball up the left flank. Three seniors combined for the goal as both Hambleton and Smith earned assists on Reiter's second goal of the match. Reiter's third came just under four minutes later with Hambleton again earning an assist. Reiter chipped the ball in from the top of the goal box to give the 'Cats a 5-1 advantage.

Campbell's Justin Smith headed in a corner kick from Jason Keever in the 72nd minute for the match's final goal.

Senior goalkeeper Robby Goldsberry earned the start for Davidson and made four saves, while his counterpart Ted Awana did the same for Campbell. Shots were even at 14, while Davidson held a slight 5-3 edge in corner kick attempts.

Senior defenders Liam Bracken and Tim Roark both started and played the entire game.

Despite coming up just short in Southern Conference play, the 2009 season was a memorable one for the Davidson men's soccer program.

After suffering three consecutive losing seasons, the 'Cats totaled 11 wins in 2009 and broke into the national Top 25 poll for the first time since 2005. Soccer America ranked the 'Cats No. 21 following their thrilling 4-1 win over No. 6 Duke in Alumni Stadium. The win over Duke was their second of the season over a nationally-ranked opponent (a feat not accomplished since 2004), as the 'Cats also knocked off No. 25 South Carolina by the same score.

The 'Cats more than doubled their 2008 scoring output of 18 goals, led by Reiter and juniors Yannick Pilgrim and Alex Caskey. Pilgrim finished with 20 points (7g, 6a), while Caskey finished with 16 (7g, 2a). Both players drew national honors from Soccer America and conference recognition during the season.

Georgia Southern 1, North Florida 0

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Freshman midfielder Rich Heyrer scored his first goal of the season, knocking the ball into the left corner of the net in the 61^st minute and lifting Georgia Southern to a 1-0 win over North Florida. Junior forward John Cox assisted on the goal. The Eagles shut out the Ospreys the remainder of the match to record their first victory (1-14-1).

Georgia Southern survived a barrage of North Florida shots on goal as the Ospreys held the advantage in the match, 8-5, and in corner kicks 7-1. North Florida attacked Georgia Southern territory repeatedly in the first half with 12 shots, four on target with junior goalkeeper Zach Buckley making the saves. The Eagles' most promising scoring opportunity was a penalty kick at the 19:40 mark, but Osprey goalkeeper Julian Beau moved in to save Danny Hall's attempt. The Ospreys continued with a flurry of five shots and two corners in a two-minute period without success.

 Georgia Southern's Cox nailed a shot at the 33:54 mark that was defended and North Florida shot just once more in the half. Hall kicked the Eagles' only corner at 41:35 to close out the action in the first half. Trading shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Eagles substituted Heyer in the lineup at 58:41 and placed two attempts on the Osprey goal. Joe Madigan took aim for the first and then Heyer took the pass from Cox on the right side and crossed for the score.

The Eagles would hold off six Osprey attempts the rest of the match with Buckley picking up four of his six total saves in the final 29:20 and his first collegiate win.

The Eagles play their final match of the season, and their final home match, Saturday, Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. at the Soccer/Track Complex at Erk Russell Athletic Park. Georgia Southern Men's Soccer will honor its seniors Danny Hall and Joey Ralph prior to the start of the match.

No. 2 North Carolina 2, Elon 1

ELON, N.C. -- Sophomore Billy Schuler scored a goal in each half to lead the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels to a 2-1 win over the Elon Phoenix in non-conference men's soccer action from Rhodes Stadium on Tuesday night. Elon dropped to 8-7-2 on the season, while UNC improved to 12-2-2 overall and finished its non-conference slate with an unbeaten record for the first time since 2005.
 
Both squads came out of the gates firing, with each team getting solid looks at the net. In the third minute of action, Elon senior Erfan Imeni rocketed a left-footed shot from about 18 yards out but it sailed just high of the net. Shortly after, rookie Chris Thomas nearly put Elon on the board, but his header ricocheted off the cross bar. The ball deflected back into the field of play, directly to the foot of senior Justin Wyatt. Wyatt's attempt off the deflection went right at UNC keeper Scott Goodwin who was there to make the stop.
 
Midway through the opening half, UNC's Michael Farfan had a chance to put the Heels on top, but his shot from the right side glanced of the near post and out of bounds. With less than four minutes remaining in the period, Schuler got his first score of the game, dribbling through the defense in the box and blasting his sixth goal of the season to the middle of the net from about 12 yards out.
 
Schuler cushioned the Carolina advantage in the 60th minute. Possessing the ball deep on the left side of the field, Schuler slid a low shot along the edge of the goal line to the far post to give UNC the 2-0 lead at 59:20.
 
Elon managed to cut the lead in half in the 75th minute. Imeni centered the ball to James Carroll in the middle of Elon's offensive third. Carroll served the ball to the right side where Thomas lofted his team-leading eighth goal of the season over Goodwin into the far corner at 74:42.
 
The score ignited the Phoenix as the home team aimed for the equalizer during the remaining minutes of the contest. The UNC back line cleared away any Elon threat to secure the 2-1 victory.
 
North Carolina outshot Elon 22-9 and held an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks. Phoenix goalie Clint Irwin posted nine saves in the contest while Goodwin corralled three Elon attempts.
 
Elon will face Southern Conference rival UNC Greensboro on Saturday, November 7 at Rudd Field. The Phoenix will honor seven seniors prior to the game's kick at 7 p.m.