UNC Wilmington men defeat Towson

BALTIMORE, Md. – Tyler Clare and Indy Smith scored just 35 seconds apart as UNC Wilmington overcame a halftime deficit for a 2-1 win over Colonial Athletic Association foe Towson on Sunday at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field.

The Seahawks remained unbeaten in conference play at 4-0-1 and improved to 8-2-2 overall. The win also moved the Seahawks into a tie for first in the league, along with Hofstra, with 13 points. Towson, who owns a pair of wins over nationally-ranked opponents, dipped to 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the CAA.

The game was moved to the campus of Loyola University in Baltimore after expected rains rendered the Towson Center Soccer Complex unplayable.

Towson entered the half with a 1-0 lead after Maxx Hurkamp notched his first goal of the season, just 21 seconds before the end of the period when he headed in a corner kick by Liam Maloney.

Trailing at the intermission, the Seahawks were able to regroup and drew level when junior Tyler Clare found the back of the net for the first time this season, coming at the 61:22 mark. Clare received a short pass from junior Daniel Roberts and fired it from 25 yards out and into the bottom right corner.

UNCW answered again just 35 seconds later as junior Indy Smith scored his first goal of the campaign off assists from sophomore Christian Davidson and junior Jeff Shapiro. Shapiro played a corner kick to the far post where Davidson headed the ball to Smith who buried his shot in the middle of the goal.

Both teams rattled off 12 shots, but Towson did hold an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.

Junior Brock Duckworth and sophomore Brandon Miller each played a half and combined for fives saves on the afternoon for UNCW while John Steele was called upon to make one save for the Tigers.

The Seahawks return to the UNCW Soccer Stadium on Oct. 21 when they host William & Mary at 7 p.m. That evening will also be “Stuff the Stands Night” as UNCW looks to set a new attendance mark. The current attendance record is 1398, set in 2008 against Northeastern in the semifinals of the CAA Championship Tournament.