 Brangman in Blue IslandStats.com
Francois scored the game-winning goal in the 104th minute of play this time after scoring the clincher against East Tennessee State in the 93rd minute in Johnson City in the second-to-last regular season game, a victory that secured the win.
“A win is a win and we are happy to be moving on,” head coach Justin Maullin said. “Really proud of our guys as they stuck to the game plan, stuck together and got the result we needed tonight. There is no tomorrow in tournament time and we played with that intensity all game long. We are excited to be hosting the final two rounds of the tournament here next week and eager to play in front of our fans again.”
The back-and-forth game started from the very beginning as just 1:03 into the game the University of North Carolina at Greensboro had a strong chance. Senior forward Austin Miller made a run down the right-hand side and his first touch gave him space against the ETSU defender. Miller ripped a shot on the run that got past ETSU goalkeeper Daniel Adelman but skidded just over the cross bar.
East Tennessee State had its best chance in the first half come in the 23rd minute of action. Forward Joao Ramalho found space on the left-hand side and made a run on the top of the 18-yard box. He ripped a shot low on goal but freshman goalkeeper William Pyle was there to smother the attempt.
Ramalho came within inches of giving the Bucs the lead in the 70th minute of play as the intensity picked up in the second half. He found space inside the 18-yard box and ripped a shot form 10-yards out destined for goal, but Pyle made a fantastic diving save to keep the game scoreless.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro pressure was turned up in the second half as they had great chances in the 73rd minute of play. Reingen had a chance from 15-yards out that Adelman saved and Francois ran onto the rebound attempt and his shot was saved to keep the game scoreless.
East Tennessee State was rejuvenated by the referee’s call and took the game’s first lead at 1-0 in the 76th minute of play. Ramalho was the culprit as he got the ball on the left-hand side and made a couple of University of North Carolina at Greensboro defenders miss. He ripped a shot from just inside the 18-yard box toward the bottom far corner past the diving Pyle for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro showed their mettle though coming down the field and immediately tying the game just 24 seconds later. After the restart following the goal, Reifschneider sent a long ball to the top of the 18-yard box. An ETSU defender got his head on the ball but it sprung Francois into space. He calmly brought the ball down and stuck a shot through a defender’s legs past Adelman for his second goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1.
The Spartans took home the victory in the 104th minute of action, taking advantage of a long throw-in. Senior Justin Jones sent the ball into the box where it was initially cleared. Reingen chipped it back into the 18-yard box where freshman defender Eric Gunnarsson brought the pass down and fired a shot on goal. Adelman made the initial save but the rebound popped out in front of the goal where Francois beat three ETSU defenders to the ball and buried it into the open net, sending the Spartans onto the field with the golden goal victory.
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