Southern Poly went into their
final home Conference match with an impressive 11-0-1 record and an
SSAC record of 6-0. They had only conceded 1 goal in their previous
6 Conference matches and were looking to improve on this record.
Their opponents, Southern Wesleyan University, came into the game
with an overall record of 6-6-2.
It
was a big Conference match and Southern Wesleyan would come out to
make the Hornets fight for a win. Both teams were physical and
would create good chances in front of the net.
The Hornets would get off the
mark in the 38th minute. Sean Grisham got to the by-line
and his cut-back would find midfielder Diego Nicholson. Nicholson
struck a good shot and it was parried by the Wesleyan keeper. The
ball found its way to Freshman and Conference leading scorer, Emeka
Maduka who curled a beautiful ball into the far corner form the edge
of the box. This would take his tally to 11 for the season, and
would prove to be the decisive goal in this match. It would also be
his 5th game winner in the Conference, and increase on
his already impressive tally.
The Hornet’s had several chances
in the second half for an insurance goal, but could not capitalize
on any of them. SWU GK, Leonardo Berenguel would make multiple
saves in the second half and the Hornet’s attacking players would be
sloppy in front of the goal. SPSU GK, Eric Ati who would help them
win the game as he recorded his 8th clean sheet of the
season and pulled off a close range save with seven minutes left.
After the game, Head Coach Kom
Momeni expressed his delight on winning his first Conference Title
as a Head Coach. “It’s been an incredible year for us. To only
concede one goal in the Conference and win all our matches is
something I’m really proud of. Once again Emeka scored the opening
goal and I’m happy he’s settled into our style of play. As for our
back line and solid midfield, they continue to impress us and get
the job done.”
Freshman Defender, Marcos Mendez, helps keep
another shutout
