No. 6 Seed Tusculum Wins South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament Crown
ark Patterson scored the winning goal with 1:04 remaining in the second overtime period as the Tusculum College men’s soccer team upset top-seeded Wingate University 2-1 in the championship match of the 2014 South Atlantic Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament
ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Mark Patterson scored the winning goal with 1:04 remaining in the second overtime period as the Tusculum College men's soccer team upset top-seeded Wingate University 2-1 in the championship match of the 2014 South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. The match was held Sunday afternoon at Manchester Meadows.
Tusculum (11-6-3) captures its league-leading fifth SAC Tournament title as the Pioneers (No. 6 seed in the tournament) finished the season with 8-1-2 record in its last 11 matches.
Patterson's match-winner came in the 109th minute as the Belfast, Northern Ireland senior gathered in a loose ball inside the penalty area and scored with a sliding right-footed shot that deflected off a Wingate player and into the roof of the net. Sophomore Kyle Dickson was credited with the assist on the winning goal.
In the 15th minute, Tusculum was whistled for a foul 25 yards at the top of the box. Shaun Gadsby's free kick clanged off the right post and rebounded in front of the goal, which Victor Tozelli headed in the loose into the open net for a 1-0 Wingate lead.
That would be all of the offense until late in the regulation. With just under two minutes remaining in regulation TC freshman Andreas Kvam (Valderoey, Norway) chipped a shot over the head of WU keeper Stephen Banick for the equalizer to send the match into extra time. TC sophomore Ricardo Da Silva (Leiria, Portugal) had the assist on the match-tying goal that came at the 88:01 mark of the contest.
Tusculum out-shot Wingate 16-9 in the match, including a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal. The Pioneers racked up 13 shots after halftime, while Wingate had just six shots in the final 63 minutes.
Tusculum sophomore goalkeeper Jorge Alvarez finished the match with three saves, while Banick also tallied three saves for the Bulldogs (13-4-1).
Kvam was named the SAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, while Patterson, Da Silva and sophomore Jonathan Spicher (Cologne, Germany) were also selected to the SAC All-Tournament Team.
Tusculum has now captured SAC Tournament titles in 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009 and 2014. The Pioneers won this year's championship by eliminating the top three seeds of the tournament for a second time in school history. TC achieved the feat in its 1999 title run, including a victory over No. 1 seed Wingate in the championship match.
All-Tournament Team
Andreas Kvam, Tusculum (MVP)
Ricardo Da Silva, Tusculum
Jonathan Spicher, Tusculum
Mark Patterson, Tusculum
Alex Nelson, Wingate
Askel Juul, Wingate
David Fairgraves, Wingate
Ben Jones, Lenoir-Rhyne
Tyree Clark, Lenoir-Rhyne
Christian McArthur, Mars Hill
Alex Mullen, Mars Hill