WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Elon University men's soccer team battled tough at Colonial Athletic Association leader UNCW, but a penalty kick golden goal by the Seahawks in the second overtime gave the Phoenix a 1-0 setback on Saturday night, Nov. 2, at UNCW Soccer Stadium.
 
With the loss, the Phoenix fell to 6-9-1 overall with a 1-6 ledger against CAA foes. The defeat also officially eliminated the maroon and gold from qualifying for the league's postseason tournament. UNCW improved to 11-4-2 and ended its regular season with an unblemished mark in the CAA at 7-0-1.
 
The Rundown
The match started with the Phoenix being aggressive offensively, looking to get on the board early against the Seahawks. Within the first 10 minutes of the contest, Elon had taken two shots while earning a pair of corner kicks, but could not maneuver past the Seahawks' defense.
 
Elon's first look on goal came in the 20^th minute as Tuki Tayali had a chance, but it was easily corralled by UNCW's netminder Gabriel Perrotta. Perrotta made another save for the Seahawks at the 27^th minute, stopping Burl Shepherd's attempt.
 
Early in the second half, UNCW had its first real chance on a goal in the 49^th minute. The Seahawk's Phillip Goodrum had beaten the Elon goalkeeper and seemed to have an empty net in front of him for a score. Elon's Lewis Green however was able to make a sliding stop to keep the match at a scoreless stalemate.
 
The match would eventually go into extra session with Elon looking for the golden goal opportunity. The Phoenix's Mattias Cooper had such a chance in the 95^th minute, taking a cross from Caner Snover and fired a high-arching shot towards the bottom of the crossbar. Perrotta was able to get a hand on it to knock it out of play to move the match to a final overtime period.
 
The Phoenix defended frantically in the final period with UNCW peppering Elon with a pair of shots in the 105^th minute. Unfortunately, Elon was whistled for a handball in the box which rewarded the Seahawks with a penalty kick. Goodrum was able to push it past Elon's Peter Wentzel to seal the 1-0 double-overtime victory.
 
Offensively, UNCW had 16 shots in the match while Elon recorded five with three of those on goal. John Walden led the Phoenix with two shots in the contest.  
 
Up Next
Elon is scheduled to close out its regular season at home next Tuesday, Nov. 5, versus College of Charleston. That contest is slated for a 7 p.m. start time at Rudd Field.