WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Junior forward Edney Derrick (Kumasi, Ghana/KNUST
University) scored off a header in the 23rd minute as the nationally-ranked
No. 19 Monmouth University men's soccer team defeated the College of
Charleston, 1-0, Sunday afternoon on The Great Lawn. With the win, the Hawks
improve to 5-1-1, while the Cougars fall to 3-4-0.
Senior captain Ryan Clark
(Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township) sent a beautiful ball into the 18-yard box
from the midfield where Derrick redirected it inside the right post past
Cougars goalkeeper Kees Heemskerk in the 23rd minute. The Hawks
outshot Charleston, 8-1, in a dominant first-half effort.
"RC has great vision and we've been talking to Derrick about peeling off
between the center back and the outside back," said Head Coach Robert McCourt. "He
made a terrific run and I think the ball almost hit him in the head. RC's pass
was picture perfect. It was what we've been working on and what we've been
talking about as a team, so it was good to see them execute it."
The Hawks fended off several Cougars scoring chances in the second half to
secure the win, the Monmouth defense's fourth clean sheet of the year. For the
game, the Hawks outshot the Cougars, 12-7, while the corner kicks were an even
4-4.
Senior goalkeeper Alex Blackburn (Natick, Mass./Natick) made two saves in
posting the shutout, while Heemskerk made four saves for the College of
Charleston.
The Hawks take to the road
for their next three games, finishing the non-conference slate at Iona on
Saturday at 2 p.m., before opening Northeast Conference play in Connecticut
against Quinnipiac (Sept. 28 - 3 p.m.) and Central Connecticut State (Sept. 30
- 3 p.m.).
