DANVILLE, VA.- The men's soccer team traveled to Danville on Saturday to face Averett in a ODAC road match. The WildCats took the lead midway through the first half and made it hold up in the end as they defeated the Cougars 3-2.
The WildCats' overall record now stands at 4-8-3 and 2-4 in the ODAC. Averett drops to 4-5-4 overall and 2-3-1 in the conference.
It was Averett that got on the board first in the 14th minute as Fernando Pintos converted on a solo shot. In the 22nd minute, Nick Conboy (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond River) fed a pass to Marcus Cortes (Annandale, Va./Annandale HS) who fired the ball into the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Less than three minutes later, Anelka Ngoy (Roanoke, Va./Patrick Henry) sent a pass from the right end goal line in front to Conboy who was able to beat the keeper and score to give the 'Cats the 2-1 lead. Randolph led at halftime despite trailing in total shots 8-6.
In the second half, neither team had a shot on frame in almost 25 minutes of game time. The WildCats were able to add to their lead as Javi Flores (Odenton, Md./Annapolis Area Christian) found Lance Yeobah (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) downfield and Yeobah smashed a shot inside of the left goalpost to put the 'Cats ahead 3-1 in the 70th minute.
Averett scored its second goal of the game just over a minute later to make it 3-2 at 70:39. The Cougars nearly had the game-tying goal with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation but the Randolph defense came up with a save in net to secure the victory.
Averett finished with a 17-9 advantage in total shots. Both teams had five shots on goal and four corner kicks.
Dominic Cortes (Annandale, Va./Annandale HS) had two saves in the net for Randolph. Anibal Lopez also had a pair of saves for the Cougars.
Randolph returns home to host Guilford on Wednesday night. Game time will be at 7:00 p.m.
