Men's Soccer | 11/9/2013 8:49:00 PM

Box Score  AXTON, Va. – In a rematch of the 2012 USA South Tournament championship match, the top-seeded Methodist men's soccer team came up short this time against No. 2 seed Greensboro, 2-1, on Saturday evening at the Smith River Sports Complex, giving the Pride the USA South title and an automatic bid to this year's NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Following a scoreless first half, GC (13-5-2) broke through with two second-half goals, both by Shaun Watt in the span of less than 11 minutes. In the 54th minute, George Dimopoulos played a ball into the box, and Watt headed it in, giving the Pride a 1-0 edge. Later on, Watt took a pass from Kyle Giscombe and found the right side of the net for another goal at the 64:24 mark.
 
Facing a two-goal deficit, MU (11-7-2) ended Greensboro's shutout bid in 78th minute. On a long free kick by Methodist, GC goalkeeper Manbi Nyepon leaped up in a crowd and grabbed the ball, but lost control of it on the way down. Following a short scrum for the ball, Sean MacDonald found the ball and booted it in at the 12:01 mark, cutting the Pride's lead to a single goal.
 
In the opening period, MU had several scoring chances, including two in the last five minutes of the half. In the 41st minute, Chris Ryan fired two consecutive shots on goal, Nyepon stopped the first one, and Ryan's rebound attempt was headed off the line by at GC defender. With just a little over a minute left, Eric McGinnis ripped a shot on goal, but Nyepon plucked the ball out of the air. The two teams exited the pitch at halftime dead even at 0-0.
 
As the final buzzer sounded, the Monarchs held a 12-8 shot advantage over the Pride, but struggled to capitalize.
 
Methodist goalkeeper Nick Martens took the loss, allowing both goals and making two saves. Nyepon earned the victory, giving up one goal while stopping six shots.
 
Following the match, MU had five players named to the All-USA South Tournament Team: Frank Barone, Nahom Hargwoin, Mike Ilodigwe, MacDonald and McGinnis. Greensboro's Watt claimed MVP honors.
 
Methodist ends the fall with an 11-7-2 record, and as the regular-season conference champions after going 7-1-1 against USA South opponents.