ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s soccer came up short against UNCW on Saturday, March 13, falling 2-0.
BOX SCORE
“The first half I think we built the ball well and had a couple of half chances,” head coach Marc Reeves explained. “We were set up solid and did not really give much away. The free-kick goal is disappointing as it was a good save by Cam, we just simply did not get back in to clear the ball. Then their second goal probably highlighted the difference between the two teams tonight. When they won the ball in a good area, they had hard running to get into the attack, a good final pass into a teammates stride and a quality finish. We created a lot of good opportunities and got into good areas but failed to finish from those situations. UNCW is a good team that works incredibly hard, and they earned the result. We will regroup with plenty of points to play for.”
THE RUNDOWN
– With the score knotted at 0-0 late in the first half, Christian Lauenborg fired Elon’s first shot of the day to the bottom left corner of the net. Despite a good shot from Lauenborg, UNCW’s keeper was able to save the attempt to keep the score tied heading into the half.
– The Seahawks scored the first goal of the game in the 53rd minute to break the tie and take a 1-0 lead with just under 40 minutes to play in the match.
– The Phoenix earned back-to-back chances in the 57th minute after Mattias Cooper and Mason Duval both put shots on goal that were saved by UNCW’s keeper. Following the sequence, Elon still trailed 1-0 with just over 33 minutes remaining.
– UNCW scored its second goal in the 63rd minute to take a 2-0 lead.
– Marco Vesterholm logged the final shot on goal for the Phoenix in the 86th minute. Vesterholm’s shot to the bottom right corner of the goal was saved by UNCW’s keeper to help the Seahawks maintain a 2-0 lead in the closing moments of the match.
NOTES
– Mattias Cooper led the way for the Phoenix, registering two shots and one shot on goal in the match.
– Christian Lauenborg played all 90 minutes for Elon, finishing with one shot and one shot on goal.
– Mason Duval and Marco Vesterholm each recorded one shot and one shot on goal in the loss.
– Cameron Pelle logged one save in the match and has now made eight saves through two games played this season.
– Elon held a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT
Elon returns to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 21, when it travels to Harrisonburg, Va. for a matchup with James Madison.