Men’s soccer still on a roll

By Dan Kelly
Assistant Sports Editor

UNCP men’s soccer pushed their undefeated streak to seven games with a 2-2 tie against the North Georgia College and State Saints on Oct. 1.

The strong play has resulted in the Braves earning a national ranking, as they stand at no. 15.

The Braves were able to rebound off an early 1-0 deficit with an unassisted goal off a foul shot by Mustapha El M’Hassani going into the 40th minute. Another foul shot in the 60th minute led to an unassisted goal by Bjorn Beck.

Photo by Carol Franch Miguel Ferrer (18) attempts to break away from two North Georgia College and State players.

The game appeared as if it would be another close victory for the Braves until the 63rd minute, when Steve Locker was given a yellow card in the goalie box to allow a penalty kick goal for the Saints.

The game remained a deadlock throughout the remainder of regulation and the two overtime periods, resulting in UNCP’s second tie of the season.

The definite highlights for the Braves in the current four-game stretch were their wins against ranked opponents, no. 2 Tusculum College and no. 7 Mt. Olive College. Both victories were by a 1-0 score.

The match against Mt. Olive College on Sept. 28 marked the first loss of the year for Mt. Olive. Jose Sanchez scored the lone goal of the game in the 6th minute off an assist from Tuncay Dilek.

The UNCP defense was especially impressive in this game, by allowing only 6 shots with none on goal. It was the fifth shutout of the season for the Braves.

“ Mt. Olive is the hardest working, hardest playing team we have seen so far this year,” head coach Mike Schaeffer said. “I want to congratulate our defense for a great effort.”

Dilek highlighted a 3-1 road victory against Methodist College on Sept. 22, as he scored all three goals for the Braves, giving him a hat trick. John Cooper, M’Hassani, Miguel Ferrer and Evan Saleeby each tallied one assist in the game.

The Braves faced Tusculum on Sept. 17 and got the winning goal shortly after the game began. Christian Staackmann struck only four minutes into the game with a goal off an assist by M’Hassani. The remainder of the match was a defensive battle.

The ejection of Tusculum’s goalie due to obstructing a clear breakaway opportunity for the Braves was one of the few highlights of the game. This resulted in Tusculum remaining shorthanded the rest of the game and nearly ensuring a UNCP victory.

Staackmann deserves special mention as he was named the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 20 for his crucial goal early in the game and overall defensive presence in the victory against Tusculum College.