ROCK HILL, S.C. - Two goals in a span of nine minutes early in the second half lifted the Anderson men's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout past Carson-Newman Friday evening in the semifinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament at the Manchester Meadows Complex.
Anderson (13-5-1) earns a berth in Sunday's championship tilt versus No. 5 seed Mars Hill, who upset top-seeded Wingate, 2-1, in the other semifinal match. Carson-Newman's season ends at 12-5-1, while the third-seeded Trojans AU earned a victory in the conference tournament semifinals in their first season as a member of the league.
The Trojans have won nine of their last 10 outings and avenged an earlier 2-0 shutout at the hands of the Eagles in late September. The Eagles, who won a share of their third straight league crown last weekend, lost their first match after winning three straight.
AU's Clement Samson found the back of the net in the 55th minute for his fourth game-winner of the season off a long pass from Scott Clapperton and sophomore midfielder Shu Ogawa added an insurance goal, his first of the 2010 campaign, at the 63:57 mark.
The AU defense also came up strong, notching the Trojans' eighth shutout of the season. Senior Benjamin Pepion played the final 81:22 between the pipes for Anderson and recorded five saves.
The Trojans defeated Mars Hill, 4-2, in the two team's regular
season matchup at Trojan Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 4 p.m. at
the Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex.
