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Men's Soccer Upsets #2 Radford 2-1 in First Round of the Big South Championship

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- The VMI men's soccer team avenged an earlier loss this season to Radford by defeating the Highlanders (8-9-0) in the first round of the Big South Conference Championship. Josh Hanna scored in the first half to tie the game up, and Charles Nweke netted the game-winner in the 62nd minute to give the Keydets the 2-1 win at Albion Millis Stadium on the campus of High Point University.

"We played real well today," said head coach Stephen Ross. "After the first meeting with Radford, we knew we needed to come out with a lot of intensity and good composure, and we did both today."

Radford's Patrick Colas got the Highlanders on the board early in the 18th minute, as he finished off an Armando Romero feed for his sixth goal of the season.

Josh Hanna then got the Keydets going as he showed his ball skills by beating several Highlander defenders, cut back in front of the goal and fired a shot past Omar Zinoveev to tie the match up. The goal for Hanna was his sixth of the season, and yet again picked the Keydets up when they needed it the most.

Coming out of the half, the Keydets kept their momentum going putting pressure on the Highlanders defense. Charles Nweke then stepped up and delivered the goal they were looking for. After Dylan Reed lobbed a pass to the front line, Nweke took a couple of touches and slipped a ball past Zinoveev to give the Keydets the lead. The defense held off the Highlander's for the remainder of the match, and VMI found itself with a first round win.

"Everybody stepped up, and everybody played with composure. It was a total effort by our team, and I am real proud of each one of our guys."

John Sollock totaled four big saves in goal for the Keydets, while his counterpart, Zinoveev notched two. Although the Keydets were outshot by the Highlanders 11-7, they were able to capitalize on enough to secure the win.

The Keydets (8-9-1) picked the opportune time to play their best game of the season. The win was the first Big South Conference tournament victory since coming over from the Southern Conference back in 2003.

When asked about the monumental win, Ross added, "It's the first of many more to come."

With the win, the Keydets move on to play the no. 3 seeded Costal Carolina Chanticleers Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the semifinals. VMI has been knocked out of the Big South Championship the past two seasons by the Chanticleers, and are looking for redemption to earn a spot in the championship game on Sunday.

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