2009 Men's Soccer

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The Freed-Hardeman Lions didn't end their season with a win, but they did play the role of the spoiler in a 0-0 tie with Union (Tenn.) University on Thursday night at the Josh Riley Soccer Complex.

The tie keeps Union out of the TranSouth Conference tournament and brings the Bulldogs' season to an end as well.

"Tonight showed that we have a good team," said FHU head coach Jason Elliott.  "We have not played together and on the same page this year but tonight we did.  Even with two starters out we handled ourselves well in this game."

Freed-Hardeman had a couple of good scoring opportunities in the first half that were turned away by the Bulldogs.  In the 24th minute, FHU was awarded an indirect kick inside the box when Union keeper James Landham picked up a ball played back to him.  Joshua Mankey took the kick and ripped a shot to the far post, but a Union defender was there to clear it away.

Nine minutes later, Travis Shivers took a nicely played through-ball into the box but Landham made a diving deflection on his shot.

The Lions appeared to finally be on the verge of taking the lead in the 60th minute when Landham came out of the net to attempt to stop Simbarashe Zvaita, but Zvaita made a nice pass to Nolan Beede.  However, Beede's shot with an open net sailed just above the crossbar.

"We missed several quality chances that we will think about for a while but defensively that was our best game of the year," Elliott said. 

Perhaps the match's most exciting play came with 10 seconds left in regulation.  Union, looking to get a shot off before time expired, found Rafael Carvalho all alone just outside the top of the box.  Carvalho turned and ripped the ball toward the crossbar, but FHU keeper Alexandre Girodo made a leaping save to punch the ball away and send the match to overtime.

Both overtime periods were defensive battles, with neither team getting a good opportunity to score.  Union managed two shots on goal in the extra time while FHU had one.

For the match, Union outshot the Lions 28-16 and had a 15-11 edge in shots on goal.  Girodo had a fantastic game with 13 saves.  It was also the final match for FHU's three seniors: Adimou Barry, Mauricio Campos, and Travis Shivers.  Barry was unable to play after receiving a red card in the Lions' previous match.

"We will miss the seniors and thank them for what they have done for our program," said Elliott. "Travis Shivers, Maurcio Campos, and Adimou Barry will be missed on the field next season."

FHU finishes its season with a record of 9-7-1 and a lot to build on for 2010.

"Our men's team improved a great deal this season," Elliott said.  "I think we have a lot to build on and our guys will be hungry to get back to work for next year.  We have closed the gap but have work to do for next season to be successful in conference.  Our guys understand that and I have no doubt they will start working hard quickly for next year."