College Men’s Soccer Final – #19 N.C. Wesleyan 8, Guilford 2

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. (10/14/08) – Danny Persson scored four goals in North Carolina Wesleyan College’s 8-2 nonconference soccer win over Guilford College Tuesday afternoon. Christopher Helms added his first college goal and three assists as the Battling Bishops improved to 11-2. Guilford falls to 3-9-1.

Junior Robert Ivanovich scored the game’s initial goal when he blasted home a deep ball from Suilabayu Fon in the 14th minute. The Quakers’ Jordan Alexander countered with an unassisted goal less than five minutes later to knot the score at 1-1.

The Bishops, ranked 19th in this week’s adidas®/National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III Poll, responded with five unanswered goals over the final 27 minutes of the first half. Persson gave North Carolina Wesleyan a 2-1 off a Helms assist at the 19:02 mark. Helms’ goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came in the 29th minute off an Arkadiusz Trochowski free kick. Another Persson tally and a score by Owen White sandwiched an own goal for a 6-1 Bishops’ halftime lead.

In the second half, Persson scored his third and fourth goals of the game in the 55th and 69th minutes, upping the Bishops’ lead to 8-1. The junior forward has 18 goals on the season, three shy of the program’s season record.

Guilford completed the scoring when freshman Kereith Pinnock booted home a Hugh Griffis corner kick with less that four minutes remaining.

North Carolina Wesleyan outshot Guilford, 38-6. The Quakers’ trio of Peter Truitt, Patrick Childs, and Jonathan Shine combined to make 11 saves in goal. Battling Bishop keepers Porir Gudnason and Benjamin Kruk split time in goal and both allowed one score.

Guilford visits Eastern Mennonite University Saturday (10/18) at 2:00 p.m. in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference match. The Battling Bishops host nonconference-foe Chowan University Saturday at 1:00 p.m.