NORFOLK, VA—ODU Senior Sidney Rivera’s (Hampton, NJ.) goal with eight minutes left in the match lifted ODU Monarchs (11-6-1) to a 2-1 victory over fourth-ranked Charlotte (14-3-1) Friday night in a Conference USA semifinal game at the ODU Soccer Complex. The Monarchs, who have now beaten the 49ers twice this season will play South Carolina, who beat No. 21 UAB, 1-0 in the other semifinal game in the finals on Sunday at 2 p.m. which will be televised live nationally on Fox Sports Network.
“It was a tough game and they are a very tough opponent to play against,” said ODU head coach Alan Dawson. “They are very physical pressure all over the pitch. We did what we had to do. That early goal was nice and it got us off to a good start. I thought we were solid in the first half and when they scored their goal to tie the game, I think we came to life a little bit. We started a 10 to 15 minutes spell where we started to generate chances. Luckily, one of them fell to Sydney and he buried it. With seven minutes to go, it turned to a case of hanging on, and we did that thanks to our goalkeeping and defending. I am very proud of the boys. It was a great result against a very good team. I am looking forward to Sunday, going up against another good opponent. But, I am glad to be at home, playing in the championship.”
The Monarchs opened the match with a quick score as junior David Maciscza (Dunajska, Slovakia) putting in a goal on an assist from graduate student Christian Schroeer (Petershagan, Germany) in the first minute of the match.
Charlotte tied the match in the second half at the 67:54 mark on a goal by Kyle Parker on an assist from Harrison Steadman. Rivera, who scored two goals Wednesday night in the Monarchs victory over No. 22 New Mexico got the game winner on a cross from sophomore Jesse Miralrio who raced down the right side to set up the score. Rivera has now scored four goals, including three game-winners in the last three matches.
Charlotte outshot the Monarchs 20-8 and ODU’s All-Conference keeper Alex Tiesenhausen (Graz, Austria) came up with six saves on the night. He has a C-USA best 83 saves this season.
Thus far this season, eight of ODU’s opponents are or have been ranked in the coaches NSCAA top 25.
Charlotte 0-1-1
ODU 1-1=2
1:04 ODU David Macsicza from Christian schroeer
67:54 CHA Kyle Parker from Harrison Steadman
82:05 ODU Sidney Rivera from Jesse Miralrio
Shots: ODU (8), CHA (20)
SOG: ODU (3), CHA (7)
Corners: ODU (4), CHA (6)
Saves: -Tiesenhausen (6), CHA-Austin Pack(1)
Semifinal 1 - (7) South Carolina def. (3) UAB, 1-0
C-USA Freshman of the Year Mikkel Knudsen lifted No. 7 seed South Carolina (10-9-0) to a 1-0 victory over No. 3 seed UAB (11-7-1) to earn a spot in the 2014 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship match on Sunday.
Knudsen scored the game's lone goal in the 68th minute. The forward started the sequence when his shot was saved and deflected over the endline, giving a corner to South Carolina. Sophomore midfielder Kurtis Turner played the ball into the box that was flicked on by senior midfielder Ryan Freiburger to Knudsen who headed it home. The goal was Knudsen's team-leading eighth tally of the year.
UAB's best scoring chance came in the 40th minute when the Blazers were awarded a penalty kick following a Gamecock foul in the box. Senior defender Darion Copeland stepped to the spot and sent a shot to the right side of the goal, but Gamecock goalkeeper Marco Velez made a diving save to keep the match scoreless. Velez recorded a total of four saves on the night en route to his third shutout of the season.
Upcoming Games (all times Eastern)
Sunday, Nov. 16
(7) South Carolina vs. (4) Old Dominion - 2 p.m.
FOX Sports Network