GREENWOOD----The top-seeded Lander men's soccer team won its third Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship Sunday afternoon when the Bearcats defeated No. 3-seeded USC Aiken, 1-0.
Lander's Nick Cooke, the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year, scored the game's lone goal at 82:55 when he raced down the left side of the field and converted a pass from Ivan Stoykov.
Lander, the No. 15-ranked team in the country, improves to 16-3 overall, while the Pacers drop to 12-6-2.
“We feel very fortunate to win,” said Lander coach Van Taylor, who earlier this week earned his 300th career victory. “We beat a very good Aiken team. (USC Aiken) is very athletic and they have some dangerous forwards. Even playing a man down, they played with a lot of character.”
USCA was forced to play one man down after Felix Ogbuke was red-carded and ejected from the game at 49:08.
Lander avenged two of this season's three losses in this tournament. The Bearcats lost to USC Upstate, 5-0, during the season, but downed the Spartans, 2-1 in double-overtime, in Friday's semifinal game. Also during the regular season, USC Aiken defeated Lander, 2-1.
“This tournament gave us a great opportunity to avenge those losses,” said Taylor. “I would rather have played the two conference teams who beat us in the regular season. We couldn't have picked the seedings any better.”
In a defensive struggle, Lander out-shot the Pacers, 7-5, while USCA led in corner kicks, 5-3.
USCA goalkeeper Harold Tate had two saves, while Lander's Garrett Daum recorded one.
Lander advanced to the championship game by defeating No. 8 Georgia Southwestern, 2-1, in the first round, followed by its victory over USC Upstate. USCA advanced by beating North Georgia, 2-1 in two overtimes, in the first round, then downed Clayton State, 2-1, in the semifinals.
The Bearcats' Jamie Ramm was named the tournament MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Tyler Davis, Colin Kent and Garret Daum; USC Aiken's Harold Tate, Tim Costanzo and Emmanuel Maduka; USC Upstate's Saul Stoner and David Stovall; Clayton State's Andre Rall and Hailab Habton; Georgia Southwestern's Conrad Brown; UNC Pembroke's Steve Locker, Francis Marion's Matt Gourie and North Georgia's Sheldon Best.
The NCAA tournament pairings will be announced Monday.
