Carter Secures Brace, Men’s Soccer Steam Rolls Regent
Guilford’s brick wall leads to a clean sheet with zero shots on target
from Angel Maldonado, Guilford College Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant
GREENSBORO, N.C – Jake Carter (Madison, N.C.) struck twice within a 30-second span, releasing an avalanche of scoring from the Guilford College men’s soccer team as they pulled away late at Appenzeller Field, defeating Regent University, 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
The Quakers were successful in today’s match up, returning to a breaking-even record at 3-3-0 on the season. The Royals dropped to 4-2-0.
Ildis Vital-Peraza (Vienna, Va.) got the nod in goal for Guilford, with an impressive showcase commanding the defense towards a clean sheet with no shots on target, improving to 1-1-0 in net. Conner Henriques made the start in net for Regent, falling to 1-3-0 for Regent, making three saves among the 19 shot attempts by the hosts. John Morrison closed the game out, securing one save among four shot attempts by GC.
Carter’s multi-goal showing is the first by a Quaker thus far this season, while Angel Aragon (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Jesse Guzman (Winston-Salem, N.C.), and Alex Harrison (Greensboro, N.C.) all supplemented him as additional goalscorers in the match, with Guzman, Chris Hercules (Greensboro, N.C.), Gabe Douglass (Raleigh, N.C.), and Ken Vasquez (Pittsboro, N.C.) distributing assists on the attacking end.
The Quakers started off all-gas, no-breaks with domination of possession and a quick build-up in the final third. A build-up which saw many great passes amongst the midfield, led to Hercules dribbling down the wing, dishing a through ball, with the inside of his boot, to teammate Aragon, who made a great run into the 18’. The junior cut back and lost his balance while trying to create space between himself and the defender. Showcasing great agility, Aragon recovered and slotted a trivela shot into the bottom left of the goal, securing his second goal of the season and the first for Guilford on the day.
In the 26th minute, the midfield showcased their chemistry with a pair of tiki-taka passes. Hercules and Vasquez continued to play keep away from the opponent until Hercules found teammate Adrian Pineda (Graham, N.C.) making a run near the far post. Hercules drove in and pinged a pinpoint pass to Pineda, who took a shot but missed the frame.
After a hot start, things began to cool down for the Quakers as both sides shared possession and a pair of attempted build-up plays that evidently led to no points being added to the board and the first half concluding.
Minutes into the second half, the Quakers received a corner off of a Regent defensive play. Riley Copeland (West End, N.C.) received the pass off the corner. Copeland proceeded to cut in and make a run on the edge of the 18’, before spotting Saeed Saavedra (Mount Airy, N.C.) on the far post. Copeland hit a lobbed pass towards Saavedra, but barely grazed his head, leading to a Regent goal kick.
After a quiet exchange of possession, Guilford’s back four, who notched a clean sheet, exchanged a pair of passes amongst each other before dishing a quick pass to Vasquez who turned and found Wheeler splitting the Royals’ center backs, creating a beautiful run. Vasquez executed the pass, leading to a one-on-one opportunity for Carter who calmly finished, claiming GC’s second goal of the day.
Precisely half a minute later, the Quakers caught the opposition off guard as Guzman forced a turnover near the midfield line, he found Carter, who made a similar run as the previous play. The sophomore then took care of the rest, securing the pass on the left wing and slotting past the keeper on another iso play, securing his brace, and boosting the lead to 3-0.
The goal fiesta did not stop there, as the home team struck again in the 85th minute. A free kick, granted right outside the edge of the box, was executed perfectly as Vasquez found Douglass making a run inside the box, near the front post. Douglass, off the first touch, attempted at the goal, but hit the crossbar. Off the crossbar, came flying in Harrison using his head, secured GC’s fourth goal of the game with the first of his collegiate career.
In the 88th minute, the Quakers put the finishing touches on their masterpiece, as Guzman took it upon himself to dribble from the midfield to just right outside the 18’ and attempted a screamer of a goal. Morrison got a finger tip on the ball, but it was not enough to stop Guzman’s rocket as the ball passed the goaline, sealing the shutout finish for the Quakers.
Guilford heads to Hampden-Sydney College to wrap up the non-conference portion of their season, on September 21. Kickoff is slated for 7 P.M.
#GoQuakes
Guilford College Women’s Soccer Outlasts Methodist in Soggy, Physical Affair
Parker, Campbell strike for goals in bounce-back victory
from Bryce Johnson, Guilford College Director of Athletic Communications
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – At the rain-drenched Duggins Soccer Complex that saw plenty of paper distributed to the tune of seven cards, including a red, the Guilford College women’s soccer team got back on track, besting Methodist University, 2-0, on Wednesday evening.
After suffering their first defeat over the weekend, GC secures the bounce-back victory to improve to 5-1-0 on the season. The Monarchs, on the other hand, hitting the pitch for the first time in ten days, found themselves unable to contain their physicality, taking five of the evening’s six cautions, plus an ejection and the defeat, to fall to 1-3-0.
After a one-game hiatus, it was back to racking-up shutouts for Ady Franken (Peoria, Ill.), contributing to her fifth clean sheet in six games by making a quartet of saves on the six total shots she faced to improve to 5-1-0. MU keeper, Carolina Simpkins, performed admirably given the slick conditions and 15 total shots sent her way, making eight stops, but fell to 1-2-0.
Emily Parker (Lillington, N.C.) netted the first game-winning tally, and second overall score, in her short time as a Quaker. Naomi Campbell (Youngsville, N.C.) pitched in the insurance goal later in the contest, finding the back of the net for the fourth time in the last five matches. Mya Rivera (Parish, Fla.) was credited with an assist. Six separate Monarchs attempted shots on the night with Charly Oldham, Kelsey Burge, Lolo Campbell, and Camryn Piper all getting looks on frame.
The first half of play lacked flow with the tempo being dictated more by the raindrops and whistles, than the players themselves. Methodist got the first couple of scoring opportunities, attempting half of the four shots they got on net on the evening, over the course of the opening 12 minutes of play. Guilford then began to seize control and the big turning point came at the 12:41 mark. With the Quakers making a run, Aliye Carter, as the final defender back for the hosts but grasped the jersey of the Campbell, drawing a red card putting GC on the woman-advantage for the rest of the night. A night that, as it turned out, was about to get a bit longer as before play had even been resumed, lightning struck in the region forcing the match into a delay for nearly an hour.
Out of the break, the cardinal and grey continued to maintain their momentum with multiple successful build-ups in a methodical manner, but it ended up being a quick-strike that resulted in the advantage. After a ball was sent in Franken’s general direction and was handled with ease, the Quaker keeper send a long drop kick that sailed beyond the mid-field strike where it found the head of Ainsley Yates (West End, N.C.) who masterfully redirected the ball towards the right wing, leading Parker on a run down that side. Beating the defender, Parker got a clean look from the top-right corner of 18’, sending her left foot through the ball and the ball into the upper-left corner of the twine to give GC the advantage in the 36th minute.
The Quakers held the advantage on the scoreboard at the half, but it was not without resistance as the shot tallies were even at five apiece including three on frame for the Monarchs against four by the guests.
GC extended their lead in the 50th minute of action. On a throw in on the right sideline, Rivera opted to toss it long, and on a single bounce she was able to connect with Campbell. With the graduate student’s back facing the net, she was able to turn and rip an absolute beauty of a shot, tucking her look just inside of the top-left ’90 to double the edge with her fifth score of the season.
Having staking themselves to a multi-goal edge early in the stanza, Guilford commanded the pace for the remainder of the time, generally opting to ease-back and allow their defense to do a lion’s share of the rest of the work, limiting MU to just one shot attempt. However, they also advantageously attacked, taking ten second-half shots on their way to finalizing the 2-0 victory.
Returning to their home pitch for Homecoming Saturday, the Quakers host Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) foe Randolph-Macon College in an out-of-league game this weekend, on September 21st. The battle opposite the Yellow Jackets will transpire under the lights with first kick at 6:00 PM.
#GoQuakes