NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University men's soccer team kept the pressure on visiting Goldey-Beacom for the full 90 minutes and came away with a solid 2-0 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory over its crosstown rival at the WU Athletics Complex on Wednesday afternoon.
The win was the second straight for the Wildcats (10-3-1, 6-2-1 CACC) and ninth straight over the Lightning (2-11-1, 1-6-1 CACC) in the NCAA era. The Wildcats now hold a 10-0-1 advantage in the all-time series dating back to the 2004 season.
Wilmington got on the board in the 28th minute, after dominating possession for a majority of the first half. The Lightning's best chance of the half came in the 39th minute as Luiz Ristow broke free around the 18 yard box, ripping back-to-back shots with the first being saved by Spyros Stergiotis and the rebound shot sailing high.
The Wildcats' goal came on the team's third corner of the first half, as Geoff Velasquez curled a ball to the back post. The ball barely beat Goldey-Beacom's goalkeeper Carlos Meinhard's out stretched arms and Sam Fahnboto was there for the header in the open net. It was the first career goal for Fahnboto, one of the team's top defenders.
Wilmington continued to keep the pressure on in the second half, adding to its lead in the 57th minute. Freshman Jordon Ellison received a pass from Tommy Quaranta off the end line at the six yard line for his second career goal at the 56:03 mark of the match. Quaranta made a long run down the right side before turning in towards the goal at the end line.
Other than the assist, Quaranta was the match's hard luck athlete, as he had numerous opportunities but couldn't find the back of the net. Two of his nine shots found the post and stayed out while two more were saved on a single breakaway chance.
The Wildcats outshot the Lightning, 20-5, for the match, including an 11-2 advantage in the second half, despite going down a man for the final 18 minutes of play. They also earned more corner kicks, 10-1, for the match.
Stergiotis needed to make two saves to record his second straight shutout while moving to 3-1-1 on the season. Meinhard tallied seven saves in the loss.
The Wildcats remain at the WU Athletics Complex for one more contest, as they host Dominican in a pivotal CACC matchup on Saturday. With its 4-0 win over Caldwell on Wednesday, Dominican is now 5-2-1 in the CACC, a game behind Wilmington. The final home game of the year for the Wildcats is schedule to start at 2:30 p.m., following the women's match.
