Charleston, W.Va.- The University of Charleston Golden Eagles welcomed Concord to the Welch Athletic Complex this past Sunday for their Mountain East Conference opener.
The Basics:
Location: Welch Athletic Complex
Score: UC 3, CU 1
Records: Charleston 3-1-0 (1-0-0 MEC) Concord 1-1-1 (0-1-0 MEC)
How it Happened:
The first half chance of the game fell to the home side, with Allan Logrillo finding himself on the left-hand side of the area, but his effort was high and wide. It was the Mountain Lions who went ahead though in the 16th minute, as a loose ball from a long throw fell to Stephane Shongo, and he fired a rocket of a strike past the fully stretched Luka Felix. The next ten minutes were tedious for the Golden Eagles, and a mistake at the back nearly allowed Concord to make it two, but as they began to get a foot hold on the game, Charleston struck. Alberto Rodriguez released Tomas Petrungaro on the left-hand side behind the Concord defense and carried on his run to receive back on the edge of the area before placing an effort into the bottom left corner with his weak foot to equalize in the 35th minute. Before the break, a chance fell to Jose Suarez Monaco on the volley, but he couldn't keep it below the upright, and so it was level at the interval.
Into the second half and the Golden Eagles came out the better of the two sides, slowly establishing a level of control they had sought from the outset. In the 66th minute, the game turned further into the Golden Eagles' favor as Khotatso Baptiste was given his marching orders for a second yellow and left the Mountain Lions to fend with 10 men for the final twenty-four minutes. Charleston didn't take long to capitalize on the advantage, as a Caio Moraes corner was headed onto the bar by Pedro Arbizu, before Eduardo Rodrigues headed in the rebound for the first goal of his UC career. By the 80th minute, the game should have been done and dusted following a series of guilt edge opportunities for Charleston, but Allan Logrillo, Martin Echarren, not Samuel Marquez could slot home in the minutes following the go-ahead goal. It was left to a sublime piece of skill by Samuel Montes to finally put Concord to the sword, as a corner was headed back towards the penalty spot by Logrillo, and an audacious bicycle kick by Montes found its way into the bottom left corner to make it 3-1. The Golden Eagles saw the rest of the game out and moved to 3-1 (1-0 MEC) for the season.
Up Next:
Up next for Charleston is a trip to Salem this coming Wednesday, September 9th. Kick off is scheduled for 2:30pm.
