Men's Soccer Closes Out Non-Conference Slate with 2-1 Win Over Roanoke

Men's Soccer Closes Out Non-Conference Slate with 2-1 Win Over Roanoke

The Emory University men's soccer team rounded out its non-conference slate in winning fashion Saturday afternoon, defeating Roanoke College 2-1 at the WoodPEC in Atlanta.

The Eagles used a pair of first half goals to knock off the Maroons, improving to 5-6-4 while the loss drops Roanoke to 7-6-1.

A strong first half where Emory outshot RC by a 17-1 margin was highlight by freshman Josh Grand and senior Madison Conduah finding the scoring column for the Eagles.

Following a slew of near scoring threats in the early stages of the contest, Grand helped Emory finally breakthrough in the 23rd minute as he converted off the double header following a Matthew Tanzer corner kick. Tanzer's strike found the forehead of senior Alejandro Gomez who sent it towards the goal where Grand was there to head it in.

Conduah recorded his first goal of the season with three minutes remaining in the half to give the Eagles the 2-0 edge before the break. Classmate Will Tichy tried to send one through a couple defenders but his shot was blocked. Tichy was able to corral the rebound and poke it to the center of the box where he found Conduah all alone who finished the deal.

The Maroons quickly answered in the early goings of the second half as they cut the score to 2-1 just 1:10 into the second half. A Roanoke player lofted a ball into the box where freshman keeper Keirnan Skelly was there to contest it. Skelly swatted it away but the loose ball found Anthony Zarlenga who in turn finished on the empty net.

Roanoke had several more chances to try and tie the score before the end of regulation, notably in the 71st minute when Quinn Kunath missed wide right on a penalty kick opportunity as well with 1:01 remaining when Skelly made an incredible diving save on a free kick chance from the top of the box to deny the Maroons their final scoring threat. Skelly ended the match with three saves, all coming within the final 20 minutes of regulation as he picked up his third win of the year.

The Eagles return to UAA play next weekend as the team travels to Pittsburgh and Cleveland to match up with Carnegie Mellon and Case Western Reserve on October 28 and 30.