CONWAY, S.C. – In a game that saw the teams trade goals throughout, the Old Dominion men’s soccer team got the final one and the game-winning one on Wednesday night.
Evan Watt scored off a corner kick feed from Andrew Bennett in the 72nd minute as ODU snapped a five-match winless streak with a 3-2 victory over Coastal Carolina in a key Sun Belt Conference matchup.
"We knew after the last few weeks something was going to fall for us and tonight the players got their reward for working so hard and staying positive. Coastal is hard to break down and we did that effectively tonight. I'm so pleased for our group. Now we put it behind us and focus on South Carolina on Sunday,” said ODU Head Coach Tennant McVea.
The Monarchs got on the board first at 20:19 of the first half as Andrew Bennett fed Michael Eberle going down the right side of the penalty box. He then found William Arnesen right in front of the goal who slapped it through a pair of Chanticleers for the early 1-0 lead.
Coastal answered at 29:36 off a Loed Klassen tally. The Monarchs took a 2-1 lead exactly eight minutes later as Marcelo Randolf was on the receiving end of an Evan Watt touch and he ripped one from 30 yards out to give ODU (5-6-2, 1-4-1) a 2-1 lead they eventually took into halftime.
In the second half, the Chanticleers found the back of the net at 55:58 by Deryn Armstrong to level the match again at 2-2.
The Monarchs kept the pressure on Coastal Carolina and found the go-ahead tally with Watt recording his first of the season.
On the night, ODU outshot Coastal Carolina (3-8-2, 1-3-2) 23-7 and held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.
ODU returns to the home pitch on Sunday night hosting South Carolina at 6 p.m.