Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Jake Helmig’s score in the 88th minute was the deciding factor as the College of Charleston Cougars remained unbeaten in the Southern Conference with a 1-0 victory over the host Elon Phoenix in men’s soccer action from Rudd Field on Saturday night. The loss snapped the Phoenix’s (4-3-4, 2-1-0) eight-match unbeaten streak while the Cougars (8-2-1, 3-0-0) extended their winning streak to eight straight matches and took control of the top of the league standings.

With Elon playing a man down for the final six and half minutes, the Cougars looked to keep the game from heading to extra minutes. At the 87:29 mark, Sean De Silva sent a corner kick into the box where Helmig bumped it into the far corner of the net past Elon backup goalkeeper Reed Dillard. Dillard had just come into the game when Phoenix starter Clint Irwin went down with an injury with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

“This was a very competitive match and it was close until the very end,” stated Elon head coach Darren Powell. “We had a rough 10-minute stretch at the end of the game, but there are plenty of things to take from this contest. We will learn from our mistakes and get ready for our match at Clemson on Tuesday.”

Both teams had some solid scoring chances in the waning minutes of the contest. With about 12 minutes left on the clock, Elon senior Brad Franks stole the ball in the midfield and sent it wide to classmate Stephen Dilger on the far right. Dilger brought it down the field and crossed it back to Franks who was making a run in the box. The midfielder sent a short left-footed blast at the goal, but CofC goalie Kees Heemskerk made a great save to keep Elon off the board.

Irwin made one of his game-high five saves just minutes earlier when Rudi Hellberger blasted a shot from the top of the box. Irwin punched it away and Elon managed to keep the Cougars from a rebound opportunity.

In the opening 45 minutes of action, Elon’s Chris Thomas got a great feed from sophomore Gabe Latigue who hooked the ball into the box where Thomas managed to get ahead of his defender. The forward’s shot was blocked away by Heemskerk to keep the game scoreless.

CofC held a 15-8 edge in shots and an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks.

The Phoenix will head to Clemson to face the Tigers in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.