MONTREAT, N.C. (Sept. 26, 2018) – Behind a stellar team effort, the Truett McConnell University men's soccer team defeated Montreat College for their second Appalachian Athletic Conference victory and fourth shutout of the season on Wednesday night (2-0).
The Bears improved to 5-2, 2-2 AAC while the Cavaliers dropped to 3-5-2, 1-3-1 AAC on the year.
GIRAUDO'S GOAL
TMU controlled the majority of the first half outshooting the Cavaliers 10-5. Victor Clemente, Austin Manzo, Daniel Holt and Joao Costa all took a chance at the goal for the Bears but were unable to find the back of the net. Nonetheless, in the 70th minute Clemente found the feet of Giovanni Giraudo 12 yards out which allowed Giraudo to poke the ball into the bottom right hand corner to send the Bears into halftime with a one-goal advantage.
COSTA'S GOAL
The second half saw a tighter game with both teams going head to head on both sides of the field. TMU's keeper, Evan Gaffney, booted the ball from his box to the feet of Costa on the left wing allowing Costa to drill his team-leading eighth goal of the season over the head of Montreat's keeper to further fasten the Bears' AAC shutout on the road (2-0).
COACH'S COMMENTS
"It was great to get a win on the road," Head Coach Rob Miller said. "Montreat is always a tough place to play and the boys dealt with the conditions great. After a tough loss on the road last week, our players had to show a lot of character and the boys did not disappoint. We scored two great goals.
Clemente had a great assist to Giraudo, who has been great this season, and everybody had the chance to witness an unbelievable goal by Costa. Gaffney produced a great assist to Costa who scored a magical goal. We now focus to a great Bryan team this weekend and get back to work."
LEADERS
Clemente lead with five shots while Costa added four. Costa ranks number two in the country for shots per game (5.33). Holt and Giraudo also tallied two apiece.
Gaffney compiled a total of four saves on the night.
UP NEXT
TMU is set to host their next two conference games. First on the schedule is Bryan College on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 2:00 p.m. The Bears will then take on the Union College Bulldogs on Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 4:00 p.m.
