Despite battling a 45-minute weather delay, as well as playing a man down through the last 28 minutes of the contest, visiting Coker used Ben Beetch’s Golden Goal 36 seconds into overtime to key a 2-1 win over UNCP in the season opener for both teams Friday evening at Varsity Grounds.
“I think that we created a lot of opportunities tonight, but we have to cash in on some,” said UNCP head coach Mike Schaeffer. “I give full credit to them for hanging in the game despite being a man short, but we can’t let teams hang around like that. We have got to do a better job of exploiting weaknesses if we have any hope of being successful.”
Despite playing to a halftime deadlock, both teams had at least one quality chance to score in the opening stanza. Beetch dribbled into space early in the 10th minute and found himself in a one-on-one situation with UNCP netminder Tom Courtney, but his shot sailed just high of the crossbar. Likewise, Miguel Ferrer had the Braves’ first quality chance in the 35th tick, but his 40-yard blast sailed just wide of the target.
Mike Crook got Coker off the mark when he one-timed an attempted clearance in the 51st minute, but Rondell Honora netted the Equalizer just more than four minutes later on an assisting pass from Carlos Cipriano. Just seconds before the tying goal, Jason Fowler would receive his first caution of the game and, seven minutes after the game-shifting score, would find himself sent off on a late tackle.
With neither team able to find the go-ahead score through the final 27:44 after the Cobras found itself at a man disadvantage, Marc Mergena took control of a loose ball and fired a cross into the box that was redirected by Beetch past a stunned Courtney.
UNCP will return to action on Sunday when the squad packs up its show and heads to Banner Elk to lock horns with Lees-McRae (1-0-0) at Tate Field. Kickoff has been set for 4 p.m. The Bobcats used a Lee Squires hat trick to dispel Francis Marion, 4-2, on Friday evening at home.