11/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2010
No. 2 Coastal Carolina (9-7-2) vs. No. 7 VMI (3-11-2)
Tuesday | 11.11.10 | 2:30 p.m.
High Point, N.C. | Vert Stadium
Tournament Bracket Live Stats Live Video
CONWAY, S.C. - The Coastal Carolina men's soccer team begins its quest for a berth in the NCAA Tournament when the second-seeded Chanticleers battle No. 7 seed VMI Thursday at 2:30 p.m. in the Big South Tournament from Vert Stadium on the campus of High Point.
Coastal Carolina (9-7-2) has reached at least the Big South Tournament semifinals in each of the last two seasons, but will be in search of its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2005. The Chanticleers finished the season with a 5-2-1 record inside the conference and turned in a five-game winning streak against league foes midway through the season.
Freshman Pedro Ribeiro and sophomore Luis Faz ended the regular season tied for first on the team with 11 points apiece. Riberio paced the team with five goals and currently stands tied for eighth in the Big South. The Belo Horizonte, Brazil, native recorded four game-winning goals thus far and is tied for first in the league.
Faz picked up five assists and two goals and is tied for sixth in the Big South in assists. Justin Portillo also tallied five assists for the Chants, while freshman Kristoffer Sandtroen posted a team-leading six helpers and is tied for fourth in the conference.
Junior keeper Scott Angevine enters the tournament third in the Big South with a 1.15 goals against average. The Kansas City, Kan., native recorded five shutouts during the regular season and only allowed a total of seven goals in eight league games.
VMI (3-11-2) ended the regular season with a 4-3 victory over Presbyterian Saturday to snap a two-game losing streak.
Senior midfielder Brian Harding leads the Keydets with 16 points on five goals and six assists, while fellow senior midfielder Amir Shihata is second on the team with 13 points on five goals and three assists.
Keydet keeper Brian Sowell owns a 2.38 goals against average and has allowed six goals over the his three games.
"We are very excited about playing a very tough opponent in VMI in the Big South Tournament," Coastal Carolina head coach Shaun Docking said. "They are very well coached and have a very good team that is playing great soccer right now."
Coastal Carolina owns a commanding 12-0 lead in the all-time series against VMI that dates back to the 2003 season. The Chanticleers have also outscored the Keydets 29-5 during that stretch and have turned in eight shutouts as well.
The Chanticleers defeated VMI 1-0 earlier this year behind Rodrigo Vianna's first goal of the season.
