Carolinian

Issue date: 10/10/06 Section: Sports

Media Credit: JOHN READ/THE CAROLINIAN BOMBS AWAY: Mike Richardson follows his shot in a match against Coastal Carolina earlier this season. Richardson scored two goals in last week's 3-1 win over Wofford. The senior is second on the team and third in the SoCon with 16 points (5 g, 6 a).

UNCG (8-5-1, 3-1-1 SoCon) took care of business at home last Tuesday, defeating Wofford, 3-1, but it failed to protect the home pitch on Saturday when Appalachian St. upset the Spartans by a 3-2 score.

With several players hurting, head coach Michael Parker went to his bench for replacements in the Wofford match.

The move paid off only 13 seconds into the game when senior Matt Mulvena fired a long cross into the box from the far sideline. Michael FitzGerald was Johnny on the spot, sliding feet-first to connect with Mulvena's pass for an easy score to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

The offense couldn't finish several other chances for the remainder of the half, mainly because of the superb play of Terrier goalkeep Russ Sandifer. Sandifer made several outstanding saves to keep his team in contention. He finished with 13 on the night, one of them coming in a 1-on-1 face-off with a wide-open Randi Patterson.

With fifteen minutes left in the half, the Terriers struck for an unexpected goal. A defensive lapse in the Spartan backfield left Wofford's Phil Beane unmarked from 40 yards out.

UNCG keeper Chad Janda wandered out a bit too far from goal and Beane burned him on a high-arching shot to knot the score at 1-1.

Sandifer continued to make spectacular saves, and Wofford appeared to be feeding off his intense play. Heading into halftime, the underdogs were hungry for an upset.

Mike Richardson ended all thoughts of a Wofford victory when he delivered two crushing goals in a span of 5:23 during the second half.

After narrowly being denied on a couple of first-half chances, Richardson tallied an improbable goal in the 62nd minute when he picked his way through a flurry of defensemen before depositing the ball top-shelf from the left side. Henning Jonasson and Travis Young assisted.

"I just wanted to keep challenging him (Sandifer)," commented Richardson. "I saw the chance and I took it."

Continued...

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