STATESBORO, Ga. – The Presbyterian College men's soccer team
battled to a scoreless tie through the first 45 minutes of its matchup against
Georgia Southern on Wednesday, but the Eagles tallied three goals in the second
half to pull away for a 3-0 win.
PC moves to 0-5-0 with the result while Georgia Southern
improves to 4-1-1.
Byron Quinatoa (Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Ecuador) and
Mike Day (Columbia, S.C.) each tallied a shot on goal for the Blue Hose. Quinatoa
and Day also recorded two total shots each, as did Bobby Keskey (Louisville,
Ky.).
Freshman goalkeeper Ethan Watson (Taylorsville, Ga.) made the
first start of his collegiate career on Wednesday, stopping six shots in the process.
PC put the pressure on the Eagles early, matching Georgia
Southern shot-for-shot and drawing a corner kick midway through the opening
period. Quinatoa challenged GSU goalkeeper Drew Ruggles with a shot in the 13th
minute but the chance stayed out of the net.
Watson recorded one of his four first-half saves on a rebound
opportunity in the 26th minute. Faced with a rebound shot from Georgia
Southern's Witt Carlisle after the Eagle headed a shot into the crossbar,
Watson made the save to keep the match at 0-0.
The PC attack continued to look for a go-ahead goal late in
the half as Day headed a shot on net in the 40th minute. Georgia Southern's
Ryan Platt made the save, however, and Watson answered with a stop on the other
end shortly after to send the teams into halftime with a 0-0 tie.
Georgia Southern struck shortly after returning to the
field, scoring two goals in the 50th and 53rd minutes to
build a quick 2-0 lead. Luigi Clendining converted an Alex Evert assist from 10
yards away before scoring again on a breakaway from Ethan LaPan's pass to give the
Eagles the advantage.
PC looked for tying goals on shots from Quinatoa and Josh Carter
(Anchorage, Alaska) as the offense pressed upfield.
The Eagles scored the match's final goal on a free kick in
the 71st minute from Drew Ruggles to move the score to 3-0.
The Blue Hose next travel to Raleigh, N.C. for a matchup
with NC State on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
