TIGERVILLE, S.C. — The Catawba College men's soccer team's defense held North Greenville silent for 85 minutes, but the Trailblazers tucked in a late score to chalk up a 1-0 decision in the programs' season openers at Pepsi Stadium on Thursday night.
TEAM STATS
- The Catawba Indians (0-1) outshot the host Trailblazers (1-0) by a 12-10 edge, but North Greenville held a crucial 8-3 margin in on-goal boots
- NGU was heavily penalized, being tapped with more fouls (16-11) and more cards (5-2, all yellows)
- Catawba, who ranked fourth nationally in corner kicks last season, is off to another big year in the category as it possessed an 8-2 advantage
- Eight of Catawba's starters made their debuts in blue and white with three more doing so while coming off the bench
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Adriano Melo, Vito Venaría and Alex Payton provided the Catawba shots on goal
- Leading a 10-man array of shooters, Bautista Vecchi Ramello and Giovanni Benericetti registered a team-high two shots apiece
- Goalkeeper Héctor Vara went the distance while making seven stops between the posts
- Five Catawba Indians, including Vara, spent all 90 minutes on the field
- True freshmen Vara, Payton and Juan Camilo made their collegiate debuts in the starting 11
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- NGU pressured the Catawba Indians early with two shots on goal in the first few minutes
- The visitors began to earn good looks around the 18-yard box, but the Trailblazers' stingy defense removed promising angles and blocked potential shots on goal
- Catawba's persistence produced a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks as part of a possession shift midway through the half, resulting in the blue and white controlling the rock for 56% of the opening period
- Yellow cards went like hotcakes against the Trailblazers who picked up three cautions in the last 15 minutes due to tripping
Second Half
- Melo launched the Catawba Indians' first on-target shot 75 seconds into the second stanza, starting a back-and-forth series of chances
- The Catawba offense maintained possession for most of the final 45 minutes; however, the program that held the 14th-lowest goals against average value in 2024 kept its back line zipped tight
- Dribbling up the endline in the 86th minute, Cooper Tyler placed a cross into the goal box that hopped to a waiting Vinicius Silva who slipped a shot inside the left post to take the lead
- Payton found an opening at the top of the box with inside two minutes to go, sending a firm delivery to the upper-left corner that deflected off the crossbar and out
- A physical last-chance drive for Catawba came up short to finalize the 1-0 result
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians travel to Francis Marion on Saturday, Sept. 6 for a 7 p.m. start against the Patriots at Hartzler Field.
