CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's soccer team suffered a 4-2 defeat to the College of Charleston Cougars in its season-opening match at the new CCU Soccer Complex on Thursday evening.
A record-breaking 1,577 fans were in attendance for the in-state clash.
The Chanticleers got off to a flying start when Kaito Uekis' rebounded shot found the feet of Deryn Armstrong, who netted Coastal's first goal of the night after just five minutes of action.
The Chants controlled the next 25 minutes of action, outshooting CofC 4-2 while forcing one save from Cougar keeper Olly Marshall.
Momentum flipped for the remaining 15 minutes of the half with the Cougars taking six shots to Coastal's zero. However, none of their shots hit the target to hold the score at 1-0 at the end of the first frame.
The Chants doubled their lead in the 55th minute after Ueki drew a foul to give Coastal a penalty kick. Armstrong stepped up to the spot and smashed the ball to the bottom left corner but it was met by the glove of Marshall. The ball rebounded to Ueki who made no mistake in burying the ball into the bottom right corner to give CCU a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars tallied one goal back in the 63rd minute when the Chants gave up a penalty of their own and CofC's Chris Elliot struck the ball into the bottom left corner to narrow the gap to 2-1.
CofC tied the game in the 74th minute when a shot off the woodwork ricocheted to the feet of Noah Gold, who tapped the ball in to make the score 2-2.
Just two minutes later the Cougars took the lead when Chris Cushing chipped the ball over the CCU defense to teammate Leonardo D'Ambrosio, who poked the ball into the top of the net to put CofC up 3-2.
The Cougars closed out the game in the 83rd minute when Ezra White and Adil Iggoute linked up with some quick passes to assist Matt Lenert, who laced CofC's last goal of the night to secure a 4-2 victory.
The Chanticleers will hit the road to take on UNCG on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media at @CoastalMSoccer (Twitter), Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
