Charleston, W.Va. - The University of Charleston Golden Eagles welcomed the Salem Tigers to the Welch Athletic Complex this past Wednesday for a rare weekday 4pm kickoff for the program in a non-conference matchup.
The Basics:
Location: Welcha Athletic Complex
Score: UC 2, SU 1
Records: UC 8-0-3 (5-0-2 MEC) Salem 1-5-5
How it Happened:
The Golden Eagles had a few shots early on in the game, but only one called the Tigers keeper into action. In the 19th minute, the deadlock was broken. UC won a corner and Sam Newell's delivery found the head of Tomas Petrungaro, who flicked the ball ahead of the front post into the back of the net. Two minutes later, Petrungaro got his second as Joao Silva slipped in Martin Echarren. Echarren's dinked effort was initially saved by the keeper, but as the ball rebounded back to him he squared it to Petrungaro who bundled home from less than a yard. In the 27th minute, the lead was cut in half as a nice move down the left hand side got Caleb Christner in and he finished well through the legs of Konstantinos Parisis. Following the goal, Salem took control and looked dangerous leading into the break with many wondering how they were a goal down at the interval.
Into the second half and the Golden Eagles came out with far more energy. Intricate play down the right hand side involving Joao Silva, Allan Logrillo, and Ethan Stewart created a chance for Martin Echarren, but he couldn't hit the target, Paul Hoste headed wide from a Mattia Marini corner, McKenzie Mason mistimed his header from another, and Tomas Petrungaro couldn't convert an effort inside the area for his hat trick. Salem's best chance of the half came with nine minutes to go. A cross field ball from left to right led to a ball played across the UC goal but neither of the two Salem attackers could get on the end of it, letting the Golden Eagles off the hook and allowing them to come away with the 2-1 victory.
Up Next:
Up next for the University of Charleston is a trip to Wheeling for a Mountain East Conference contest on Sunday October 12. Kick off is scheduled for 1pm.
