Early Goal Not Enough, Guilford Men’s Soccer Suffers Defeat
Vital-Peraza proves effective in first start tending net this season
from Angel Maldonado, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
GREENSBORO, N.C – Ildis Vital-Peraza (Vienna, Va.) made his presence known early on with great presence in the box, making a handful of saves and preventing multiple crosses throughout the game, but it was not enough as the Guilford College’s men’s soccer team were defeated in a well-balanced match-up against the College of Wooster at the Armfield Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Quakers were unsuccessful in today’s match up, moving to 2-3-0 on the season. The Fighting Scots improved to 4-2-0.
Vital-Peraza got the nod in goal for Guilford in his first start of the season, securing three saves among the seven shots he faced falling to 0-1-0 in net. Andrew Beazly improved to 4-2-0 for Wooster, making one save among the five Quaker shot attempts.
Riley Copeland (West End, N.C.) was the sole goal scorer of the match, with Lucas Wheeler (Locust, N.C.) issuing an assist on the goal. Aris Christodoulou and Connor Shea scored for the guests with Robert Hillhouse adding an assist.
The Quakers started off on a slow tempo, exchanging possession back and forth with Wooster, as both teams were seeking an opportunity on the offensive side. Chase Lewis (Fayetteville, N.C.) showcased why he is the anchor of the back line, exhibiting a strong defensive presence as he had a pair of clearances early on, preventing Wooster opportunities.
Vital-Peraza commanded the backline very well, directing all defenders, and securing a pair of crosses, keeping the score, nil-nil early on.
Angel Aragon (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and Dani Santos (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) each had an opportunity on net but were denied by Wooster’s back four.
After a dry-spell in the half, Adrian Pineda (Winston-Salem, N.C.) sparked a great play with a pair of passes between himself and Copeland, leading to Pineda distributing a pass to Wheeler who took it for himself, surpassing two defenders as he made his way to the top of the box. As Wheeler approached, Copeland made an illustrious run behind a stack of defenders, filling in the open space, Wheeler dumped it off, resulting in Copeland taking one touch to the left, beating the final defender, and executing a finish into the net, giving the Quakers a 1-0 lead.
As the half came to a finish, Wooster applied a tremendous amount of pressure on Guilford’s back four, with a throw-in placed just outside the 18’. Hillhouse settles the throw-in, in search of a teammate, turns, and delivers a pass near the PK stripe, hitting Shea, who taped it in to equalize the match.
Just like the first half, both squads had trouble finding their pacing throughout the second stanza, swapping fouls and thrown-ins without any significant offensive opportunities on either side.
At the 59th minute, Blake Whittle (Winston-Salem, N.C.) had a great defensive stop, recovering possession and allocating a through ball to Pineda down the wing, setting up an offensive play for the Quakers. Pineda cut in from the left side, sprinting on the edge of the 18’. Spotting an open target, he charged up and released a powerful shot, barely grazing the upper-90, resulting in a Scots goal kick.
Wooster’s attacking front was too much for the Quakers, resulting in a 69th minute goal, sealing the victory for the Fighting Scots
Despite Guilfords efforts, time expired for the home team as the College of Wooster secured a 2-1 win in today’s contest.
Guilford looks to get back on track, as they host Regent University on September 18th. Start time is scheduled for 4 p.m.
#GoQuakes
Guilford Women’s Tennis Open Season At the Battle of Blue Ridge Tournament
Mendez, Ward Secure Wins In Collegiate Debut
from Angel Maldonado, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
Sweet Briar, Va. – The Guilford College women’s tennis team traveled to the Dennis Van Der Meer Tennis Center on Saturday to compete in the Battle of Blue Ridge Tournament hosted by Sweet Briar College, opening up their fall slate of competition.
Guilford was one of four division three teams competing in today’s competition. Amongst those teams were Sweet Briar College, Piedmont University, and Washington College.
Erika Mendez and LaNiya Ward (Pittsburgh, PA) were the stars of the singles competition, securing wins for the Quakers. Mendez made her debut in today’s competition securing her first collegiate victory, defeating Washington’s Sofia Sperandei Mercedes. Securing a first set win of 6-1 and closing out the game with a 6-2 win in the second set. Ward started off strong in her collegiate debut, claiming a first set win by a tally of 6-1. Set two was a minor setback for the freshman as she gave up the second set by a narrow score of 4-6 before wrapping up the matchup by a score of 10-7 and securing her first collegiate win.
Guilford competed in a total of 13 singles contests on the day. Ashley Belnap (Winston-Salem, N.C.) , Chandler Sizemore (Sandy Ridge, N.C), Amy Soto Salgado, Bethany Lupo (Tabor City, N.C), and Jolie Nhouyvanisvong (Greensboro, N.C) made appearances in their respective matches with Sizemore and Salgado making their first collegiate appearances.
Guilford competed in six doubles matches, securing three total wins at the event. Salgado and Ward claimed a victory with a margin of 6-4 against Sweet Briar’s Atty Bestwick and Ari Cope. Belnap and Mendez obtained a win of 6-4 versus WC’s Eva Kading and Sofia Sperandei. Nhouyvanisvong and Sizemore squeezed a victory at the end of their match-up with a scoreline of 7-5 against Piedmont’s Kameron London and Sarah Row, earning Sizemore’s first collegiate win.
Guilford’s season is just getting started as they travel to Winston-Salem, N.C to compete in the Salem Invitational on Sept. 22. Match time is set for 2 P.M.
#GoQuakes