Men's Soccer Picks Up First Win with 2-1 Victory over Southern Virginia

Men's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

Men's Soccer Picks Up First Win with 2-1 Victory over Southern Virginia

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The men's soccer team picked up its first win of the season today with a 2-1 victory over Southern Virginia University (1-1) on a soggy day at Patchin Field. The Keydets (1-2) defeated the Knights for the fourth time in as many tries, and improved their record at home to 13-7-1 over the past three seasons.

"What I am most proud of from the guys is that they kept the ball moving, and there was very little selfishness," said head coach Ben Freakley, who earned his first career victory at VMI. "We were most successful when we shared the ball, and made intelligent runs off of it. We won't get anywhere on our own."

The Keydets were outshot in their previous two contests 36-14, and the coaches made sure to get the offense more involved, especially early in the match. It paid off as the Keydets struck first with a pair of early goals, and quickly gained their confidence back.

Parker Thurman opened the scoring for VMI when he finished a perfectly placed cross from junior Jeremy Clement into the back of the net in the 15th minute. Just over 90 seconds later, the Keydets added another, as senior Charles Nweke headed in another well-placed ball from freshman Will Quarles to up the lead to 2-0.

Southern Virginia pulled to within a goal in the 30th minute as defender Braden Reynolds fired a rocket from about 40 yards out that slipped past the outstretched arms of VMI goalie Thomas Upton.

The second half featured an offensive outburst from the Keydets in which they took 17 shots, while holding their opponents to just two. The Keydets created a host of good scoring opportunities in the half, but just couldn't seem to find the back of the net.

"Converting our finishing chances is something that we will work on the rest of the week," added Freakley. "It was very encouraging to get that many chances, but it all went back to our speed of play, rather than individual efforts. We had a great speed of play that led to some good scoring chances."

The Keydets held the Knights scoreless for the final 45 minutes of play, and held on for their first win of the 2006 season, while also handing Southern Virginia is first loss. VMI junior John Sollock worked all 45 scoreless minutes in goal for the Keydets in the half.

The Keydets will now prepare for a showdown in Williamsburg, Va. against William & Mary on Friday, September 8. Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m. at Albert-Daly Field.
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