MOC men's soccer drops home opener

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on September 9, 2013 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Short-handed Mount Olive College battled toe-to-toe against Anderson University's relentless pressure for 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon.

But the physical attack took its toll over the final 60 minutes.

With five starters absent, the Trojan men's soccer team absorbed a 5-1, home-opening loss to their former Conference Carolinas foe at Amon Field.

"Anderson is a very good team and we knew that coming in," third-year MOC head coach Godfrey Miller said. "We expected them to move the ball quite well (and) have quick players that move well off of the ball. They attack ... were very aggressive against our forwards and we expected that.

"They pressured us all day."

Miller was forced to call upon walk-ons to perform against Anderson, which refused to back off once the opening whistle sounded. It played balls directly to goal and constantly stretched the MOC defense, which led to crossing passes that at times left starting keeper Alexsandar Dobrac alone on his line.

Dobrac yielded three first-half goals and logged five saves in the opening half. Fellow goalie Adam Lawrence played the second half between the pipes. The freshman from Fuquay-Varina allowed two goals and posted five saves.

Anderson concluded the day with a decisive 24-2 advantage in shots and 9-0 edge in corner kicks.

"We had walk-ons get on the field today that typically we would wait to develop a little more during the season before even considering that (actual playing time)," Miller said. "We had no choice today. It was a tough one, especially on our defense. They kept pressure on us the entire time ... don't back away and they look to finish off games."

Anderson (2-0-0 overall) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. Paul von Hinueber flicked a pass into the 6-yard box and junior Martin Brain scored on a low, one-touch shot inside the back post.

MOC found a little shape and generated an attack for the next few minutes. The Trojans (0-2-0) drew a hard foul well outside the 18 and Hiyago Matielo set up the free kick from about 30 yards out. The junior ripped a goal-scoring shot that curled between Anderson keeper Davon Ashy and the back post for the 1-1 tie.

"That one goal was a good and gave us a little boost," Miller said.

But a defensive error permitted Anderson to march into open space and create its second goal of the afternoon. Mattias Schyberg crossed the ball from the right side to the middle of the field and sophomore Mark Allen connected to make it 2-1.

"We had a switch and put a forward on defense, and left a guy unmarked on the backside," Miller said. "After that happened, we were right back down and momentum that we had (was gone). Then it was to manage and see who could play what position at that point.

"Anderson was persistent ... no room for us to regroup defensively with the new guys and work with them a little bit in-game. (It) was just hard to do."

Anderson led 3-1 at halftime and punched in two second-half goals to earn just its third win in 13 meetings against the Trojans since 1998. MOC is 22-34-7 all-time against SAC teams since 1998.