Men's soccer defeated in overtime 2-1 by USC Spartanburg

By Nathan Walls
Editor

For 46 minutes and 52 seconds Sunday, UNCP men’s soccer team was USC-Spartanburg’s equal. Then Rifles forward Preben Ringerike changed things around.

Ringerike ended overtime almost as quickly as it began, shooting the game-winning goal past UNCP keeper Alex Hall’s left side in the 92nd minute, giving the Rifles a 2-1 win.

The win lifted Spartanburg to 10-0 (4-0 Peach Belt Conference) and dropped UNCP to 10-1 (2-1).

The game was a separator of two of the nation’s top teams. Spartanburg was ranked second nationally in NCAA Division II, and Pembroke was ninth, coming into the contest. The two squads were two of the four remaining undefeated teams in the country.

“It was a tough game, especially the way they came back,” Ringerike said.

UNCP furiously attempted to get past the Spartanburg defense and keeper Janiel Simon in the waning minutes of regulation, but a collective effort, including the outstanding footwork of the nation’s leading scorer, forward Ricky Charles, made the Braves chances appear slim.

A foul by Spartanburg midfielder Josh Richardson, however, in the final minute of play opened the door of hope. Richardson’s steal attempt on UNCP forward Sascha Görres went awry and gave UNCP a free kick.

From 20 yards out, Gorres looped the ball into the right side of the goalie box, where lurking forward Trond Myrland headed it in for a 1-1 tie with 37 ticks left.

The dramatic conclusion to regulation erased the small amount of dominance that Spartanburg showed earlier in the game.

After a scoreless first half, in which Hall denied Charles a goal off of a penalty kick, Spartanburg midfielder Shamir Vieira made good on midfielder Gary Lynch’s corner kick in the 67th minute, booting in the ball after it bobbled around the penalty box. The 1-0 lead seemed to dash UNCP’s hopes for a bit.

“They got the goal off the corner kick and we sagged for a while, but eventually we ended up pushing a player forward to try and give us more offense and then start putting them under a little bit of pressure,” UNCP head coach Mike Schaeffer said.

The pressure was something that Spartanburg, a team that has gone to the NCAA Tournament eight times since 1991, was used to, though.

The Rifles defeated another Peach Belt foe in similar fashion earlier this year, when they walked away with a 2-1 overtime victory over Lander. Ringerike scored the game-winner in that game, also.

Schaeffer did not think that Spartanburg’s past success was an advantage, however.

“I think the fact that we were a goal down and we tied it up in the last minute of the game certainly says volumes for us, not regarding whether they have been there and done that,” Schaeffer said. “To be able to come back and send it to overtime the way we did, that’s tremendous.”

A different outcome is possible if the two rivals meet in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament in November, as UNCP’s leading scorer Christoph Schiessl was serving a red card suspension from the previous game.

Ringerike expects to see UNCP again.

“I’m sure we’re going to play them in nationals as well,” Ringerike said. “It’s the two best teams. I think we’ll see them again later.”