No. 14 Lander survives furious second-half MOC rally

Published in Sports on August 28, 2006 2:20 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Matt Wallin's goal in the 87th minute pulled tournament host Mount Olive within a goal, but nationally 14th-ranked Lander held on for a 3-2 victory over the Trojans at the 2006 Sleep Inn Classic Sunday at Trojan Field. Mount Olive outshot Lander 9-6 in the contest, which was played in a surprise downpour for most of the final 30 minutes of the match.

Adam Arthur led Lander with a goal and two assists as the Bearcats scored a pair of goals in a span of less than six minutes midway through the first half.

Mount Olive (1-1-0) had a couple early scoring chances, including a restart from 30 yards out in the second minute, but could not get on the scoreboard. The Trojans also had a potential breakaway on a counter attack in the 24th minute, but Lander goalkeeper Garrett Daum was able to intercept Chris Varela's cross.

Lander (2-0-0) followed with its own counter attack to break the deadlock as Tyler Davis found Arthur, who scored from 10 yards out at the 24:29 mark. The Bearcats extended the lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute when Arthur's cross deflected off Trojan goalkeeper Chris Roush and Nick Cooke put in the loose ball.

Mount Olive got on the board in the 40th minute by way of a Lander own goal. Trojan forward Bradley Carroll challenged for a ball in the box, forcing a Lander defender to head the ball to the goalkeeper. But the ball went wide of the keeper and into the back of the net to bring the Trojans within 2-1 at halftime.

The Trojans had a scoring chance early in the second half during a flurry in the Lander box, but Daum was able to deflect Woody Stilley's shot wide of the goal and Mount Olive was unable to capitalize on what turned out to be its only corner kick of the match.

Mount Olive stayed within a goal until Lander took advantage of a series of corner kicks as Arthur's service found Andres Cattla in front of the goal to push the Bearcats' lead to 3-1 in the 79th minute. The corner kick was the fourth in a span of six minutes for Lander, which recorded 12 corner kicks for the match.

The Trojans put themselves in position for a late run as Chris Jasso ignited a breakaway and served to Wallin past the Lander keeper to pull Mount Olive back within a goal at the 86:34 mark. But Lander was able to keep possession for most of the final minutes to seal the win.

Defender Ryan Capdepon and midfielder Erik Small earned All-Tournament honors for Mount Olive. Christian Mason and Jamie Ramm joined Arthur on the All-Tournament Team for Lander.

Roush and Daum finished with one save apiece. Mount Olive was whistled for 20 fouls, while 16 fouls were called against Lander. Each team received four yellow cards.

In the first match of the day, Gordon Ortiz tallied a goal and an assist to lead St. Andrews to a 4-1 victory over North Georgia.

Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Southern Virginia in a non-conference matchup. Match time is 4 p.m. at Trojan Field. Lander travels to Due West, S.C., Saturday at 7 p.m., to face Erskine in a non-conference matchup. Lander's first five matches are against Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference opponents.