Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Freshman Scott Alford
(Hillsborough, N.C.) scored the first two goals of his collegiate
career on Saturday evening, as the Lees-McRae College men's soccer
team executed a second half rally to perfection in a 2-1
come-from-behind victory over Barton College in Conference
Carolinas play.
Lees-McRae (5-3-1, 3-1 CC) outshot Barton (7-2, 4-2 CC), ranked
fifth in the Southeast Region, by a 20-7 margin, including a 17-2
advantage in the second half. Alford paced the Bobcats with his
first two goals of the season, as James Galvani (High Wycombe,
England) added two assists and James Smith (Eastbourne, England)
chipped in a helper of his own. Senior Tyler Gibson (Gastonia,
N.C.) made the start and played the full 90 minutes between the
pipes for the Bobcats, making three saves.
Danilo Matos tallied the lone goal for Barton, as Erik Pajunk
paced the Bulldogs with four attempts at goal, including two on
frame. Brian Riesenberg played the first 77 minutes in net for the
Bulldogs, making six saves before he was forced to leave because of
injury. Dalton Bauer played the final 14 minutes in his stead,
stopping two attempts at goal.
Matos broke the deadlock midway through the 30th minute, beating
the defender and looping a fantastic finish over the keeper and
into the far side netting to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead heading
into the interval.
The Bobcats came out firing in the second half, looking the far
more dangerous side throughout the first 20 minutes of the period.
Galvani was denied the equalizer on four consecutive chances in a
four-minute span, with the last two being denied by the keeper.
Smith nearly netted a highlight reel goal in the 66th minute,
easily breaking through the defense and executing a deft spin move
before his finishing effort was touched just wide by the
keeper.
After a David Palmer (South Shields, England) effort was pulled
off the line and the Barton keeper denied John Williams'
(Rutherfordton, N.C.) header, Galvani made a brilliant run down the
flank and into the area. The sophomore forward then sent a
well-timed cross to Smith in the center of the box, who flicked it
on to Alford, putting the freshman in perfect position to slot the
finish under the keeper and pull the Bobcats back on terms at 1-1
in the 75th minute.
The match went into a significant delay two minutes later, when
Riesenberg was involved in a fierce collision on the back post,
which propelled him into the woodwork and forced him from the
contest. Bauer entered in his absence, and just over a minute
later, Alford made a brilliant run onto a through ball from Galvani
and delivered a perfectly-paced finish into the bottom corner to
complete the comeback.
The Bobcats held on over the final 12 minutes, nearly extending
the margin to two goals on glorious chances from Galvani and
Preston Shahdad (Charlotte, N.C.) before the final whistle blew,
giving Lees-McRae a pivotal win in both conference and regional
play.
Lees-McRae returns to the pitch on Tuesday when the Bobcats
travel to Jefferson City, Tenn. to take on Carson-Newman College in
NCAA Division II Southeast Region action at 7 p.m.
- LMC -
