The College of Charleston men's soccer team offered a quality showing in taking down Georgia Southern, 2-0, in Southern Conference action on Saturday night at Patriots Point.
The Cougars kept possession in the Eagles' half for a vast majority of the contest and consequently managed a 23-14 shot advantage. Three different Cougars fired five shots and nine total CofC players registered an attempt.
Freshman keeper Kees Heemskerk (Zaandam, Holland) was brilliant once again and made eight saves - one off of a penalty kick - to maintain the blank slate.
The Cougars saw a quality opportunity in the opening minutes of the game when Ralphie Lundy (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sent an out-swinging free kick into the box. Shawn Ferguson (Rock Hill, S.C.) got to the front of the pack and got a boot on it but the shot fired just outside the post.
CofC continued to push and cracked the Eagles' defense in the 12th minute with Sean de Silva (Port of Spain, Trinidad) making a fine individual effort to notch the goal. He controlled the ball at the left edge of the box, cut inside between two defenders and fired a shot underneath the diving keeper. The goal was de Silva's fifth of the season, tying him for the team high with Francis Twohig (St. Simon's Island, Ga.).
The Cougars continued to dominate the game and finally insured their lead in the 74th minute when an in-box scramble resulted from a corner kick. Twohig fired a hard shot on frame but a defender on the goal line was able to keep it out. The ball found the boot of Kareem Yearwood (Sousou Lands, Tobago) who would not miss the open-net opportunity.
The Cougars break from SoCon action to travel to Winthrop on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. before closing the regular season with a pair of ensuing conference bouts.