Men?s Soccer Travels to Winthrop Tuesday Night

Men's Soccer VMIKeydets.com

VMI Drops Big South Opener to Winthrop, 2-0

Box Score LEXINGTON, Va. – Thanks to a pair of second-half goals by the Big South's leading goal scorer, Winthrop's Matthew Skonicki, the VMI men's soccer team dropped its conference opener to the Winthrop Eagles, 2-0 Sunday afternoon at Patchin Field.

After a defensive slugfest throughout the contest, the Eagles (8-2-1, 3-0-1 Big South) struck for the game's first goal in the 71st minute. Stephen Nsereko served the ball just inside the box, and Skonicki nailed a high, arching shot over VMI (1-8-1, 0-1 BSC) keeper Brian Sowell for the goal. Skonicki's 10th goal of the year put the visitors up 1-0, and he added another goal 10 minutes later.

At 80:40, Michael Luk passed the ball to Skonicki, who was deep in the box. Sowell came out to challenge the effort, and was able to tip the ball. However, the VMI keeper could not control it. The Winthrop forward went around a prone Sowell and kicked the loose ball into the net, making it 2-0 Winthrop to account for the final margin.

The visiting Eagles had the first three shot attempts of the day, including a Skonicki try at 5:23 that forced Sowell to make the first of his 11 saves. VMI came back with a pair of Will Quarles tries that were just outside the post, and from there, the action was back-and-forth for the remainder of the half.

Sowell stopped a Matt Lacey shot at 18:06, and a Luk effort at 22:57. At 25:35, the Eagles had their best chance early on. A header shot by Adam Skonicki appeared to be headed for the top portion of the net before Sowell poked it over the crossbar, keeping the game scoreless.

Meanwhile, the Keydets forced Winthrop keeper Enrique Miranda to stop a pair of shots, including a Chris Curtis try at 27:45 and a Kurt Zimmerman header in the 30th minute. After an exchange of offensive attacks, Winthrop had a quality shot by Magnus Leung in the 39th minute, but the well-struck effort from about 20 yards out hit the crossbar and bounded away. Sowell made a pair of saves after that attempt, but the Keydets could not score on three shots of their own and the game was deadlocked 0-0 at the half.

The first half had been a back-and-forth battle, with the teams combining for 23 shots in the opening 45 minutes. Sowell made seven saves for the Keydets and Miranda stopped three attempts for the Eagles. Winthrop was whistled for six offside violations in the first half of action, while the Keydets did not commit that violation.

The second half opened with a pair of Winthrop shots, one of which was stopped by Sowell for his eighth save. VMI countered once again, as the scoreless slugfest continued. Amir Shihata had a shot blocked, and Kip Zechman forced Miranda to stop a shot at 55:23 to keep it tied.

After a Matthew Skonicki header went high, VMI had three of the next four shots, but could not test Miranda again. Said Abdi of Winthrop forced Sowell to stop another shot, and four minutes later, Nsereko set up Matthew Skonicki for the game's first goal.

After the score, the visiting team kept the pressure on. The Eagles tested Sowell twice more, but the junior netminder was up to the task and the score remained 1-0. However, Matthew Skonicki scored again in the 81st minute, off the tipped ball in the box, to account for the final margin.

Winthrop held a slight edge in shots, 21-20, on the day, and posted a 13-5 edge in shots-on-goal. VMI held the advantage in corner kicks, 8-7. Sowell made 11 saves for the Keydets, while freshman netminder Miranda stopped five shots for Winthrop.

VMI men's soccer will return to action Wednesday, as the Keydets host the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs at Patchin Field. Game time is set for 4 p.m., and the game is currently scheduled to be broadcast on the Big South Network.
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Players Mentioned

Chris Curtis

#16 Chris Curtis

M
5' 7"
Junior
Amir Shihata

#10 Amir Shihata

M
5' 9"
Sophomore
Brian Sowell

#0 Brian Sowell

GK
6' 3"
Junior
Kip Zechman

#20 Kip Zechman

M
6' 1"
Freshman
Kurt Zimmerman

#15 Kurt Zimmerman

D
6' 0"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Chris Curtis

#16 Chris Curtis

5' 7"
Junior
M
Amir Shihata

#10 Amir Shihata

5' 9"
Sophomore
M
Brian Sowell

#0 Brian Sowell

6' 3"
Junior
GK
Kip Zechman

#20 Kip Zechman

6' 1"
Freshman
M
Kurt Zimmerman

#15 Kurt Zimmerman

6' 0"
Junior
D