he Elon University men's soccer team will play its final home game of the season at 7 p.m. Saturday against rival UNC Greensboro.
The team is coming off a loss in which it was unable to protect a 2-1 lead late in the second half and fell to Georgia Southern University 4-2 Oct. 21 at Rudd Field. The Phoenix was hoping to carry over momentum from its 2-0 win against Wake Forest University on Oct. 18 but was unable to stop the Eagles' relentless offense.
"I thought we played quite well in a few phases of the game," head coach Darren Powell said. "We put ourselves in winning position. We just conceded three quick goals at the end."
Elon struck first in the 11th minute, as sophomore midfielder Matt Wescoe drilled the ball into the net off a header sent into the box by senior midfielder Nick Millington.
Georgia Southern replied in the 34th minute with a goal when freshman midfielder David Vargas Masis tapped home a loose ball in the box off a cross.
Elon answered right back in the 54th minute when senior defender Austen King headed home a cross from junior midfielder Gabe Latigue from right outside the box.
But Georgia Southern scored the equalizer in the 85th minute when sophomore midfielder Joe Hughes sent a cross into the box that senior forward Luigi Clendening netted for his 12th goal of the season. Clendening and Ethan LePan would each tack on another goal for the Eagles, bringing the final score to 4-2.
"Overall, I thought that we put together a solid performance for the first 85 minutes of the game," Millington said. "However, soccer is a 90-minute game and if you take off plays at this level, you get punished for it, and that's exactly what happened to us Friday night."
The win brought Georgia Southern to 8-6-1 overall, 4-2 in the Southern Conference while the Phoenix dropped to 5-9-1 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
"Georgia Southern is a very good team," Powell said. "They're a quick, athletic team with a never give up attitude."
The Eagles are in first place in the SoCon standings and virtually guaranteed themselves a home match in the SoCon tournament, as the top four seeds get to host opening round games.
Elon plays rival UNC Greensboro Oct. 29 at Rudd Field. The Spartans are currently 6-7-1 overall, 3-1-1 in the SoCon. Their conference record puts them in third place in the SoCon. Elon then travels to Durham for a Nov. 1 match with Duke University to end the regular season. The Phoenix is 2-0 against ACC opponents this year and hoping to continue that trend against the Blue Devils.
For Powell, one of the keys to the Phoenix having success down the stretch is how well the team can play from ahead.
"We have to manage the game in the final moments better with the lead," Powell said. "(The team) did that very well against Wake Forest but couldn't do it against Georgia Southern Friday night."
Elon is currently seventh in the SoCon standings and will wait to see how the final games of the SoCon season play out to determine who it will face in the SoCon tournament.