Hammerheads clinch playoff spot; UNCW beats Wake Forest in soccer, ties Ohio State

WEST CARROLLTON, OH (USL PRO) — Wilmington Hammerheads FC became the sixth team to clinch a spot in the 2014 USL PRO Playoffs Friday night, defeating Dayton Dutch Lions FC 4-0 thanks to two goals and an assist from forward Sunny Jane. The Hammerheads (9-7-11) moved into sixth place in the USL PRO table and will close their regular season Sunday when they travel to face the Rochester Rhinos.

Dayton closed the season winless at home and 6-18-4 overall.

Wilmington opened the scoring in the ninth minute when a foul was called 30 yards from the Dayton goal. Jane served the ball into the box and found the head of Samuel Ochoa, who headed it past Dayton keeper Matt Williams.

Jane tallied his first of the night in the 17th minute, curling a free kick off the inside of the post and in to make it 2-0. He made it 3-0 one minute into the second half to remove any doubt about the outcome.

Wilmington finished the scoring in the 82nd minute when Steven Miller found Corben Bone, and he slid the ball into the far corner to make it 4-0.

Wilmington goalkeeper Brad Stuver made six saves to earn his second shutout of the season.

WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW) — UNCW rallied from an early deficit to draw even in the second half, but neither the Seahawks nor Ohio State could find the game winner as the two teams battled to a 1-all draw on Friday in the UNCW Courtyard Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach Classic at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.

The Seahawks remained undefeated at 2-0-1 while the Buckeyes posted their third draw in as many games to open the season.

OSU jumped on the board first with a goal from Yianni Sarris, his second of the season, in the sixth minute. Danny Jensen cleared Sarris at the top of the penalty area with a short pass. Sarris took a touch before lining a shot inside the right post.

The Seahawks, who posted a 19-8 shot advantage, broke through in the 65th minute behind Freddy Nzekele’s first career goal, coming off a free kick from David Sizemore. OSU committed a foul on the right flank and Sizemore sent his free kick from 40 yards out into the penalty area. Nzekele beat his defender and sent a head into the right side of the goal.

OSU goalkeeper Alex Ivanov finished with six saves, but none were bigger than his stop on a penalty kick by Sizemore in the 106th minute to keep the game going.

UNCW’s Sean Melvin finished with three saves while facing eight shots on the evening.

The Seahawks will play Winthrop on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. while the Buckeyes tangle with Elon, a 1-0 winner of Winthrop on Friday, at no one on Sunday.

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BLACKSBURG, VA (UNCW) -– A late start due to lightning in the New River Valley area of Virginia didn’t deter the UNCW women’s soccer team Friday as the Seahawks earned their third straight victory, 3-2, over Wake Forest in overtime at Virginia Tech’s Thompson Field.

Junior forward Maddie McCormick was the hero for the Seahawks after stunning the Demon Deacons with a goal at the buzzer past Wake goalie Lindsay Preston. It was the opening game of the Virginia Tech Tournament.

The thrilling win hiked the Seahawks’ record to 3-2 on the season heading into Sunday’s 2 p.m. contest against the host Hokies. Wake Forest stands 1-3 through four outings.

“The last goal was very fortunate for us,” said Paul Cairney, UNCW’s 18-year head coach. “We had players in the right place at the right time. It was an opportunistic goal.”

UNCW, which has scored six of its nine goals in the first half this season, struck early once again to grab a 2-0 advantage at intermission. However, Wake stormed back for a pair of goals in the second half before McCormick’s timely strike.

The Seahawks grabbed an early 1-0 lead when junior midfielder Morgan Leyble corralled a pass from Moa Jarl on the outside and volleyed a finish home just 5:55 into the contest. It was Leyble’s first goal of the season and the fifth of her career.

Junior Lindsey Byrne then extended the margin to 2-0 when she took a long shot that sailed over the head of Preston at 11:22 for her second career score.

“We were very good in the first half,” Cairney added. “We created some very good chances. We could have made it 4-0 with some breakaways in the second half, but give Wake Forest credit. They took the game to us in the second half. We hung on, though, and I’m really proud of the way we played in overtime.”

Katie Dry of Wake sliced the deficit to 2-1 with a breakaway goal at 49:33 and Riley Ridge scored the equalizer with a penalty kick at 87:35 to bring the game even for the Demon Deacons.

GAME NOTES: It was the first win against the Deacs for the Seahawks, who stand 1-6-1 lifetime against the ACC school…The victory was No. 177 for UNCW’s Paul Cairney…The game started 55 minutes late due to a lightning delay…Carolyn Huddy played the entire game in goal for UNCW, collecting seven saves…Wake outshot UNCW, 20-8…No UNCW player had more than one shot…Ridge launched seven shots for the Demon Deacons.

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WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Follow our sports on Twitter at @WWAYSports

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High School Friday Soccer

Coastal Christian 4
Calvary Baptist 1

Douglas McKinney had 3 goals for the Centurions. Matt Ward 3 assists.

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WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Follow our sports on Twitter at @WWAYSports