The Davidson men’s soccer team remained undefeated on the road and earned their third shutout victory of the season with a 3-0 win over Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field. Winners of their last six matches, the Wildcats are now 8-1 overall and 2-0 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern fell to 0-8-1 overall, 0-1-0 in the SoCon.
“This was a very solid, important win for us,” said head coach Matt Spear. “It’s always very gratifying to win conference games on the road. Before the game, we emphasized the importance of having a quality start. Our guys came out with a lot of energy and intensity and were able to dictate the play early on.”
The Wildcats’ strong start paid off as Reiter scored to give Davidson an early 1-0 lead at 23:37. Millard passed the ball back to Reiter in the center of the goal box for a one-timer goal.
Georgia Southern nearly evened the match at one in the 41st minute, but sophomore goalkeeper Chip Sanders (Thomasville, Ga.) made two big saves. Sanders was able to make a stop on Georgia Southern’s Jon Cox and then fend off a follow-up shot by David Leonard.
The ‘Cats responded shortly thereafter as Hambleton, who missed the last two seasons due to injury, took a feed from classmate Machel Turner (Kingston, Jamaica) and scored shortly before the close of the half.
“Christian’s goal right before the half was a big confidence boost for us,” said Spear. “We were able to walk off the field with our heads held high and then stay in control throughout the rest of the game.”
Pilgrim added an insurance goal 10 minutes into the second half. Millard sent a cross into the center of the box for Pilgrim on the play.
Davidson outshot Georgia Southern 20-9. The late-first half opportunity was Georgia Southern’s only test of Sanders, while Mike Gubosh made seven saves for the Eagles. Davidson received four corner kicks while Georgia Southern had two.
The Wildcats will face a strong non-conference challenge next as Duke, ranked 14th in the nation prior to a 2-0 win over the defending men’s soccer national champions, No. 2 Maryland, on Friday night, will visit Alumni Stadium on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match. Prior to Wednesday night’s come-from-behind victory over the College of Charleston and Saturday’s match, Davidson was receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Top 25 poll.
Street Soccer 945, a soccer program for the homeless originally founded by Davidson men’s soccer alumnus Lawrence Cann, will play an exhibition match at halftime. A portion of the proceeds from the game will go to benefit the Charlotte Street Soccer USA team.