(GREENSBORO, NC) October 16, 2004 – Hampden-Sydney soccer dropped an extremely physical and emotional Old Dominion Athletic Conference game to Guilford College 1-0. The loss puts the Tigers at 2-11-1 overall and 0-6-1 in the ODAC while bumping Guilford up to 6-5-4 on the season and 3-1-3 in conference play. Right from the kickoff you could feel the intensity coming from the field; both teams knowing how important this game is with limited conference play left in the season. The first half was a defensive battle with few scoring opportunities for either team resulting in a 0-0 score heading into the break.
Heading into the second half the battle continued until Guilford senior Matt Feraci (Midlothian, VA/Midlothian/Appalachian St.) found himself wide open on a corner kick and headed the ball into the net for what would be the game winning goal at 59:39. Greg Hinkle (Highland, MD/River Hill) chipped the ball in for the assist as Feraci scored his 15th goal of the season for the Quakers.
Guilford out shot the Tigers 13-9 yet both teams only had two shots apiece on goal. The Quakers had the advantage on corner kicks 4-2 which may have made the difference in the game.
Despite the loss, Hampden-Sydney captain Chris Cadogan (Raleigh, NC/Leesville Road), sophomore back Patrick Albrecht (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin), and junior defender Grant Dickens (Raleigh, NC/University of Richmond) put together one of the most impressive defensive performances of the season for the Tigers. The Hampden-Sydney squad also had great efforts from players battling constant injuries such as Kerry Burke (Chester, VA/Thomas Dale) and Greg Smith (Warrenton, VA/Fauquier). Burke has struggled with back problems nearly the entire season and has yet to sit out a game while Smith plays in pain day after day with shin splints and is still being recognized as one of the best mid-fielders in the ODAC.
The effort and dedication is an encouraging sign as the Tigers desperately need to win their last two conference games to have a chance at getting into playoffs. H-SC travels to Emory & Henry on Tuesday, October 19th in a must win situation starting at 4 pm.
