THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 28, 1996 TAG: 9609280537
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REA FARMER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HACKENSACK, N.J. LENGTH: 40 lines
Old Dominion squandered a two-goal lead and fell 4-3 to the U.S. Naval Academy in the MetLife Soccer Classic at ODU Friday night.
The Monarchs were up 3-1 until midway through the second half. At 19:55, Old Dominion keeper Ryan Duncan was called for an intentional foul in the box when he crashed with an attacking forward. J.T. Merchant scored on the ensuing penalty kick.
Ryan Cox punched in the tying shot from just outside the left cornerpost less than a minute after entering the game at 28:32. At 38:19, Cox scored the winning goal from the opposite side.
The Monarchs' offense dominated early. John Wierzbowski rebounded a save and smoked a 10-yard shot past keeper Derek Diorio.
The lead was shortlived. At 7:49 of the first, former Hampton Roads Academy standout Matthew Neely blasted a 30-yard shot from the corner for a 1-1 tie.
Old Dominion continued to attack, breaking the tie at 15:16 when James Tanner stroked a long, curving shot into the net.
The momentum carried into the second half. At 6:53, Carlos Vasco streaked down the field and smashed a shot past Diorio. The ball bounced off the cornerpost, but Vasco got the rebound and scored the Monarchs' final goal.
``They forced us, particularly in the second half, into their style of play,'' Old Dominion coach Bob Warming said, whose team dropped to 0-7 in its home opener. ``A good bit of that was because of Navy, but another part was the inexperience of our players ... Our guys panicked.''
Navy suffered an early loss in the game. Less than two minutes into the first half, Midshipman senior David Cuthbert collided with an Old Dominion defender. Cuthbert was wheeled off the field and taken to be X-rayed for a possible broken leg.
In earlier action, the San Diego Toreros, ranked No. 15 in the country, defeated Radford University 3-0.
The Monarchs play San Diego Sunday at 2:30 at the Old Dominion Soccer Stadium. Radford faces Navy at 5. by CNB