Okawa’s Free Kick, Baerwalde’s Clean Sheet Send Men’s Soccer Past VMI
LEXINGTON, Va. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men's soccer team edged out a 1-0 victory over Virginia Military Institute (VMI), 1-0, in The Southern Conference (SoCon) action on Saturday afternoon at Patchin Field.
Senior Yoshiya Okawa scored the only goal on a free kick in the 30th minute to lift the Spartans to victory. In goal for the Spartans, junior Tim Baerwalde made two saves for his second clean sheet as a Spartan and the fifth of his college career.
The win extended UNCG's perfect record over VMI to 23-0-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Spartans applied the majority of the pressure from the get go and never looked back. Okawa scored the Spartans' only goal in the 30th minute by firing a free kick into the bottom-left corner with his left foot moments after redshirt junior Steven Hernandez drew the foul at the top of the box. UNCG carried the 1-0 lead into the half while also leading 7-4 in shots with a 1-0 edge in corner kicks.
The second half saw the Spartans play stout defensively while continuing to get chances. UNCG hit the left post twice during the second half and ultimately outshot VMI, 7-1, while also leading in corners, 3-2, on the way to the 1-0 victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Okawa scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
- Okawa and Arnaud Tattevin paced the team with four shots each.
- Baerwalde made two saves for his second clean sheet of the season.
- Baerwalde, Axel Alejandre, Daniel Longo and Emmanuel Hagan each played the full 90 minutes.
- UNCG led VMI in corner kicks, 4-2, shots, 14-5, and shots on goal, 3-2.
RECORDS
UNCG: 9-2-4 (2-1-1 SoCon)
VMI: 5-8-2 (0-4-0 SoCon)
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UP NEXT
UNCG will conclude the regular season hosting ETSU on Senior Day at UNCG Soccer Stadium on Nov. 2 at 6:00 p.m.
All regular season home games are FREE admission. Saturday's game will have a food truck in attendance.
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