Chowan, Converse Advance to Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship
CONVERSE-FRANCIS MARION BOX SCORE | BARTON-CHOWAN BOX SCORE
Bracket | Tournament Homepage | Final Site Live Video | Final Site Tickets | Final Site Live Stats
BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – Second-seeded Chowan, the Fall 2021 tournament champion, and fifth-seeded Converse, the defending champions, will meet in the 2023 Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship final on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. at Truist Stadium at Bryan Park in Brown Summit.
Converse advanced via a 4-1 win over top-seeded Francis Marion in the first men’s semifinal on Friday afternoon and Chowan went extra time in a 3-2 win over sixth-seeded Barton.
In the first semifinal the Valkyries used a brace by Kyle Lewis to pace the offense in the three-goal victory. Lewis put Converse on the board first in the sixth minute as Guilherme Fontes sent a cross into the box at the far post and Lewis tapped the ball to the back corner of the net for the early advantage. In the 49th minute, Nathan Hoover sent a cross in front of the net and Joel Houston finished for the 2-0 lead. Jaxon Keene won a one-on-one with the keeper for the Valkyries third tally and Lewis posted his second of the game in the 84th minute for 4-0 lead. Rafael Silverio recorded the lone goal for the Patriots in the 89th minute for the final margin. Converse outshot Francis Marion 13-12 in the contest with a slim 7-6 margin in shots on goal. Converse keeper Tim Baerwalde made five saves in the win.
The second semifinal was a see-saw, overtime thriller that saw Chowan score in the 108th minute for the victory. Gabriel Slemer Lopes got the scoring started as he converted a penalty kick for Barton in the 16th minute for the 1-0 lead. All was quiet until the 62nd minute when Leke Ademmola sent a pass across the front of the net and Hlynur Fridriksson finished on the back post for the equalizer. Less than seven minutes later at 70:05, Immanuel Akpeme fired a rocket from the top of the box that hit the left post and bounced in for the 2-1 lead. With time running out, Chowan drew even as Tylar Elliott had a touch in the bottom left corner on a pass from Junior Smith in the 87th minute to send the game to overtime. In extra time, it was Smith who netted the game-winner with 2:01 to play as he touched the ball in near post off an assist from Sam Deacon. Chowan outshot Barton 18-17 in the contest and 11-9 in shots on frame. Steingrimur Gunnarson made eight saves in the loss while Chase Jansen collected six saves in the victory.
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and the Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park are available
here.
2023 Conference Carolinas Men’s Soccer Championship
First Round – Wednesday, November 1 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#9 Emmanuel def. #4 Belmont Abbey, 2-1 (OT)
#5 Converse def. #8 Lees-McRae, 3-2 (OT)
#6 Barton def. #7 Mount Olive, 1-0
Quarterfinals – Saturday, November 4 (Higher Seed Hosts)
#5 Converse def. #9 Emmanuel, 2-1
#6 Barton def. #3 Young Harris, 5-5 (4-3 PKs)
Semifinals – Friday, November 10 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
#5 Converse def. #1 Francis Marion, 4-1
#2 Chowan def. #6 Barton, 3-2 (OT)
Final – Sunday, November 12 (Truist Soccer Complex at Bryan Park – Browns Summit, N.C.)
#5 Converse vs. #2 Chowan, 1 p.m.