Trojan men open CVAC tournament today at Belmont Abbey

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on October 24, 2006 2:10 PM

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If the Mount Olive College men's soccer team wants to play another home match this season, they'll have to beat a Belmont Abbey team that's undefeated at home this season. Then again, the Trojans are undefeated on Belmont Abbey's home field, at least in conference tournament play.

In a battle of the last two conference champions, No. 7 seed Mount Olive heads to Belmont on Wednesday to take on No. 2 seed Belmont Abbey in the first round of the 2006 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference Men's Soccer Tournament. Match time is 2 p.m.

Mount Olive (11-7-0 overall, 5-5-0 CVAC) wrapped up regular-season play Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Erskine. Senior defender Charles Williams -- one of eight Trojan seniors on the squad -- scored the game-winning goal from 35 yards out in the 85th minute.

The Trojans won their final three regular season matches, posting two shutouts and allowing only one goal in 273 minutes. Mount Olive has held 13 of its 18 opponents to one goal or less, including seven shutouts.

Offensively, Mount Olive ranks 19th in the nation in scoring, despite not having any one player in double figures in goals. Freshman Adrian Daniels, who collected his first collegiate hat trick last week against Barton, leads the Trojans with seven goals. Seventeen different Trojans have scored at least one goal this season, 15 of whom have scored multiple goals.

Belmont Abbey (13-4-2, 7-1-2) defeated North Greenville 4-0 Monday in a non-conference match originally scheduled for September. The win improved the Crusaders' home record to 10-0-0 this season and extended their home unbeaten streak to 15.

Wednesday's match marks the Trojans' second trip to Belmont in the last two weeks. Mount Olive took an early lead, but Belmont Abbey rallied in the second half to hand the Trojans a 3-1 loss on Oct. 12.

Despite that loss, Mount Olive does have fond memories of Belmont Abbey's Alumni Field. In the 2004 CVAC Tournament at Belmont Abbey, the Trojans defeated Queens in a penalty kick shootout in the semifinals, then shut out Belmont Abbey in the final for Mount Olive's first-ever CVAC men's soccer championship.

The winner of Wednesday's match, along with the winners of the other three first-round matches, comes to Trojan Field for the "final four." The semifinals take place Saturday, with the championship game slated for Sunday.

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A live audio webcast of Wednesday's match is available on the Mount Olive College athletics web site. Go to www.moc.edu and click athletics.