Box Score BUENA VISTA, Va.-An Erik Gutierrez goal in the 38th minute lifted the Southern Virginia University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over visiting Ferrum College Saturday night at The Fields in Buena Vista, Virginia, to begin the 2014 season.
Gutierrez, a Santa Barbara, California, native, snuck behind the Panther defense on a breakaway opportunity when Anthony Skeeters advanced the ball downfield. Gutierrez used a nifty move to cut to the interior of the box past a defender and shot it past Panther keeper Zach Moorman into the lower left corner of the net for a 1-0 Knight advantage (see the 46:35 mark of the webcast).
The Knights registered what appeared to be another goal midway through the second half but was called off due to an offside penalty. Southern Virginia had 10 shot attempts to Ferrum's 14 but had an equal amount of shots on goal as both squads finished with six.
Gutierrez, Carlos Munoz, Josh Smith and Brahema Molubah each had two shot attempts while Colby Briggs and Cort Cox each had shot opportunities. Munoz and Smith led the way in shots on goal with two apiece.
The Panthers were led by Keith Ricks and Kyle Simpkins, who each had four shot attemps with three of Simpkins' being on goal. Cristian Turcios earned three shot attempts with one on goal.
With a complete 90 minutes in the box, Erik Gutierrez's twin, Efren, registered six saves on the night. Moorman earned five saves for the Panthers on the opposing end.
The Knights next compete Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Southern Virginia returns home to The Fields for a matchup with Virginia Wesleyan next Friday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m.
