Wilmington, NC - Sunday, September 8 2024

Cape Fear vs Eastern Florida State

Eastern Florida State wins 4-0

In Short: Cape Fear stood their ground against a nationally-ranked contender until the second half where the Titans took the 4-0 win over the Sea Devils.

Highlights: CFCC Men's Soccer took the pitch at home on Sunday afternoon to take on the NJCAA Division 1 #1 ranked team on the country: the Eastern Florida State Titans. The Sea Devils knew that this game would be a challenge, so they made key lineup adjustments to hold off strong attacks from the Titans. This strategy worked as Cape Fear maintained their shape and the first half came and went with no points on the board at 0-0.

Moving into the second half, the Sea Devils let in an avoidable goal due to an unfortunate defensive breakdown and struggled to find momentum again throughout the final minutes of the match. The Titans' first 3 goals came within 6 minutes of each other as Cape Fear struggled to regroup and find their shape again. The final goal came with less than 7 minutes left to play.

Freshman goalkeeper Aydan Scharf was a workhorse for the Sea Devils as he earned 18 saves for Cape Fear. He defended back-to-back attacks on goal with composure and set his teammates up for success in transition up the pitch. Zaiere Evans and Mason Rone also worked well on the defensive end of the ball to break down attacks from EFS in crucial moments of play.

Final Thoughts: "We started off strong in the first half, but we need to continue working on having that mental focus and toughness for the full 90 minutes of play," says Head Coach Giovanni Vlahos.