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SPARTANBURG, SC – The Wofford men’s soccer defeated Elon 2-0 Sunday night at Snyder Field in a key Southern Conference match-up. Wofford had two second half goals by Wilson Hood and Kentrel Owens and Thomas Hunter had three saves in the shutout.
The Terriers improve to 6-1-3 overall and 2-0-1 in SoCon while Elon falls to 6-5-2 and 3-1-0 in SoCon. Wofford is the lone undefeated team in Southern Conference play and sit in first place.
The Terriers controlled the pace of the game early, recording the first six shots. Paulo Bonfim had the first shot of the game at 6:24 that went wide right. Kentrel Owens had a one-on-one with Elon goalie Clint Irwin, however the shot was saved at 7:38. Wofford added four more shots on goal that were saved before the Phoenix had their first shot by Erfan Imeni at 21:11 that was saved by Thomas Hunter. The Terriers kept up the offensive pressure and had a ten to three advantage at the half.
In the second half, the temperature dropped as the sun went down. Wofford wasted little time in the half as Randy McLeod crossed the ball from the right side into the box and Wilson Hood tapped it into the left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead at 46:05. Elon had their first shot of the half by James Carroll, but the shot was saved at the left side of the net by the Terrier defense. At 62:03, Paulo Bonfim crossed the ball into the box from the right side and found Kentrel Owens. Owens put the ball into the right corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage. Following the goal, the Terriers continued to control the ball. The best chance for Elon came with just over a minute remaining when Justin Wyatt fired a shot towards the right corner, but Thomas Hunter made a diving block for the save.
With the win, Wofford has matched the mark for SoCon wins in a season with two (1997, 1999, and 2008). It was the first win for Wofford over Elon since 2005.
Wofford had an 18 to eleven lead on shots. Thomas Hunter had three saves for his fifth shutout of the season. Clint Irwin had eight saves and two goals against for Elon. Yellow cards were issued to Paulo Bonfim and Yakov Rubinchik of Wofford and Gabe Latigue of Elon.
The Terriers are back in action Wednesday October 21 against Georgia Southern at 2 pm in Statesboro, Georgia.
