"I thought our guys played hard until the final whistle against a very talented Carolina team," commented Elon head coach Darren Powell. "We just have to keep learning from these big games in preparation for the final push of the year."
Both squads came out of the gates firing, with each team getting solid looks at the net. In the third minute of action, Elon senior Erfan Imeni rocketed a left-footed shot from about 18 yards out but it sailed just high of the net. Shortly after, rookie Chris Thomas nearly put Elon on the board, but his header ricocheted off the cross bar. The ball deflected back into the field of play, directly to the foot of senior Justin Wyatt. Wyatt’s attempt off the deflection went right at UNC keeper Scott Goodwin who was there to make the stop.
Midway through the opening half, UNC’s Michael Farfan had a chance to put the Heels on top, but his shot from the right side glanced of the near post and out of bounds. With less than four minutes remaining in the period, Schuler got his first score of the game, dribbling through the defense in the box and blasting his sixth goal of the season to the middle of the net from about 12 yards out.
Schuler cushioned the Carolina advantage in the 60th minute. Possessing the ball deep on the left side of the field, Schuler slid a low shot along the edge of the goal line to the far post to give UNC the 2-0 lead at 59:20.
Elon managed to cut the lead in half in the 75th minute. Imeni centered the ball to James Carroll in the middle of Elon’s offensive third. Carroll served the ball to the right side where Thomas lofted his team-leading eighth goal of the season over Goodwin into the far corner at 74:42.
The score ignited the Phoenix as the home team aimed for the equalizer during the remaining minutes of the contest. The UNC back line cleared away any Elon threat to secure the 2-1 victory.
North Carolina outshot Elon 22-9 and held an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks. Phoenix goalie Clint Irwin posted nine saves in the contest while Goodwin corralled three Elon attempts.
Elon will face Southern Conference rival UNC Greensboro on Saturday, November 7 at Rudd Field. The Phoenix will honor seven seniors prior to the game’s kick at 7 p.m.
-- ELON --
