MOBILE, Ala. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's soccer team clinched the final remaining spot in the 2019 Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championship Tournament with a 2-0 victory over the Delta State University (DSU) Statesmen at Library Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Statesmen (5-9-2; 0-8-2 GSC) kept the Badgers out of the net for 34 minutes of game time, but in the 35
th minute of play sophomore forward
Luca Carrese of Cascais, Portugal, accepted a pass from junior defender
Vassil Kokali of Rome, Italy, that he then slotted into the lower left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead.
Kokali made certain of the outcome in the 86
th minute after he turned it into a 2-0 difference with a header goal off a corner kick by junior midfielder
Timo Schabetsberger of Gurten, Austria.
SHC sophomore keeper
Alessandro Erdelyi (6-6) from Turin, Italy, needed to make just one save against five shots and three corner kicks by the Statesmen while his colleague Mattis Kloepper (4-7-1) of DSU made 10 saves versus 24 shots and eight corner attempts by the Badgers.
"I'm very happy for the guys today," said SHC head coach
Steve Wieczorek following the contest. "We battled some adversity this season and had a few ups and downs, but now it's a new season and anyone's game!"
Wieczorek was also happy for his three senior players. "For the seniors, the impact that they have had on this program cannot be overstated," he said. "They have made an indelible mark on this Badger program."
The 6
th-seeded Badgers (7-7, 5-5 GSC) open GSC Championship play on Tuesday at 5 p.m. versus the 3
rd-seeded University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts (11-1-3, 6-1-3 GSC) in Pensacola. This match will the third meeting this season for the two sides with UWF taking both previous decision 2-1 in Mobile and 3-1 at the UWF Soccer Complex.
