RADFORD – Elon scored twice off of rebounded shots in the final 20 minutes to break through against Radford, as the Phoenix picked up a 2-0 non-conference men's soccer win on Friday night at Cupp Stadium.

The Phoenix (8-6-2), which entered the evening 10th in the NSCAA/adidas South Region rankings, beat Big South first-place team Winthrop 4-0 early in the week.   While head coach Spencer Smith said the Highlanders (4-7-2) were up to the task early against a team that he called one of the top opponents on the schedule, it was a gradual slowdown after the first half.

“I thought the first 30 minutes we did some quality things, but was disappointed in the way things went later in the game,” Smith said.

For Smith and the Highlanders, play dropped off when Elon goalkeeper Clint Irwin guessed right and got a piece of senior Justin Zimmer's (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) penalty kick attempt in the 41st minute, which capped off a first half with opportunities both ways.

“After we missed the penalty kick, which our guys need to know that things like that happen, Elon seemed more inspired the rest of the way.”

Late in the game, Elon was able to find the net on goals from Justin Wyatt in the 70th and Brad Franks in the 80th, which both came off rebounded saves in the goal box.

Wyatt tapped in the go-ahead tally from right on top of the goal line, after Taylor made a lunging save on Chris Thomas's point-blank shot.  Franks netted an insurance goal 10 minutes later in a similar fashion, as Taylor's diving save on Stephen Miller's shot was knocked in from 12 yards out to give the Phoenix a 2-0 lead.

Radford sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Taylor (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) made a career-high nine saves for the Highlanders.

“He made some big saves for us, especially early and had an all-around solid game for us tonight,” Smith said.  

Taylor stood out, making four first-half saves and five in the second.  His biggest stops came when he kept Elon off the board in the 26th minute, stopping Steven Kinney's shot in tight before turning aside James Carroll's follow-up try on the rebound.

Radford resumes Big South conference play on Monday, hosting High Point in its home finale at 7 p.m.