Falcons top Clayton State in conference tournament opener
Published 11:29 am Wednesday, October 31, 2012
FROM STAFF REPORTS
MONTEVALLO – University of Montevallo freshman Pierre Omanga netted his 11th goal of the season to lift the Falcons to a 1-0 win over visiting Clayton State University in a Peach Belt Conference tournament quarterfinal match Oct. 30 at Varsity Field.
Following 82 scoreless minutes, Omanga took a feed from senior Patrick Dean and fired a shot past Clayton State goalkeeper Matt Sutton into the upper left corner of the net to give the Falcons the only goal they would need in the match.
Montevallo, the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, will face No. 3 seed Flagler College in a Peach Belt Conference semifinal match Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at Blanchard Woods Park in Evans, Ga. Flagler defeated North Georgia 2-1 in the opening round to advance to the semifinal match.
Top seed Lander University fell to No. 8 seed USC Aiken following a penalty-kick shootout, leaving the Falcons as the highest remaining seed in the conference tournament.
Sophomore Pedro Carneiro led the Falcons with five shots in the match. Omanga and senior Shane Howard attempted three shots each. Freshman Thomas Davis finished with three shots in the match.
Montevallo junior goalkeeper Brendan Ledgeway finished with 11 saves as he posted his 10th shutout of the season. Ledgeway improved his conference-leading goals against average to 0.53 following the shutout. Ledgeway also leads the conference with a .855 save percentage.
Omanga’s game-winning goal moves him up to a three-way tie for second among the leading goal scorers in the Peach Belt Conference with 11 goals this season.
The Falcons, who are ranked No. 8 in the most recent National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II Southeast Region poll, defeated Flagler 4-1 in the regular season meeting between the two teams. The semifinal match will set up a rematch of last season’s Peach Belt Conference tournament championship match after the Falcons fell to Saints in the title match a year ago.