Four separate College of Charleston men's soccer players netted goals, as the Cougars staved off a furious comeback by Coastal Carolina to capture a 4-3 victory in front of 1,122 at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium on Tuesday night.
"In the first half, we were very focused and we did a terrific job on both sides of the field," said head coach Ralph Lundy. "You have to give Coastal a lot of credit for not giving up after being down 3-0. I thought we lost our focus, but regardless if it's 4-0 or 4-3, it's a win and it's a great way to start the season."
Charleston got on the scoreboard five minutes into the contest, as Sean Flatley (Virginia Beach, Va) scored the first goal of the Cougar season off a Jake Helmig (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) corner. Steven Nagy (Cali, Columbia) then made the score 2-0 with a goal in the 37th minute off a Zach Prince (Columbia, S.C.) assist, scoring from three yards in front of the net.
The score remained 2-0 through intermission. In the 50th minute, Kareem Yearwood (SouSou Lands, Tobago) added his first goal of the season from 10 yards out after receiving a Helmig pass. Helmig received the ball off a steal.
Coastal Carolina scored their first goal of the season in the 61st minute, as Riley Phelps received a penalty shot, only to have Charleston goalie Clark Hankins (Montgomery, Ala.) make a save. Phelps, however, took the deflection and scored. Phelps was given another penalty kick three minutes later and was successful, making the score 3-2.
In the 75th minute, however, John Bello (Sarasota, Fla.) put the game out of Coastal Carolina's reach with a goal off a deflection by Prince. Phelps would add his third goal of the night in the 78th minute, but Charleston would hang on over the final 12 minute to take the win.
Overall, the Cougars outshot the Chanticleers 18-8. Hankins made two saves in goal to preserve the win.