STATESBORO, Ga. – After sitting an extra day due to the weather canceling Wednesday's game, Coastal Carolina and Howard moved over to Savannah to get in today's quarterfinal match.
Coastal Carolina found themselves down early to Howard, but a two-goal second half led the Chanticleers to a 2-1 victory and into the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Championship.
Howard's Daniel Hart was able to maneuver through the Chants defense in the 11
th minute to drive the ball past a diving
Chris Dattalo to give the Bison a quick 1-0 lead.
Howard withstood several CCU attempts and carried the one-goal lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Chants came out swinging and in the 52
nd minute the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year,
Tsiki Ntsabeleng shot a ball towards the net that Howard's goalie Carlos Caro knocked away. However, he knocked it right back to Ntsabeleng who hit the back of the net with his rebound shot to even the score.
The Chants continued to keep pressure on Howard's defense and once again broke through with a goal in the 65
th minute when
Tyrone Mondi was able to get between defenders and put his shot into the goal for the 2-1 lead and eventual game-winner.
Howard's defense was centered on shutting down Sun Belt Co-Offensive Player of the Year,
Yazeed Matthews, and did a good job of keeping a defender in front of and behind the senior. Matthews was able to get off three shots with one of those on goal and one of those ricocheting off the cross bar in the first half. It was the first time in the last eight matches Matthews did not score a goal.
CCU out shot Howard 18-7 and 12-4 in shots on goal. Dattalo had three saves in picking up his 10
th win of the season.
There will not be a lot of rest for the Chants as they must turn around and face top-seeded Georgia State in tomorrow's semifinal match. The two teams met just 10 days ago, a match the Panthers won 4-3 in Atlanta.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMSoccer (twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
