Davidson 2, College of Charleston 1
DAVIDSON, NC ? Davidson senior Kara Koehrn netted her 17th goal of the season just under five minutes into the first overtime period of Thursday night’s Southern Conference soccer match to give the Wildcats a 2-1 victory over visiting College of Charleston (6-8-2, 4-3-2 SoCon). With the triumph, Davidson improved to 12-4-2 overall, remained undfeated (8-0-1) in league play, extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games and, most significantly, clinched the regular-season conference championship for the first time since 1996.
With the score locked up, 1-all, at the end of regulation, the Wildcats faced sudden-death overtime for the second consecutive match after playing to a 2-2 draw with UNC Greensboro last Sunday. With nearly five minutes gone from the extra-period clock, Koehrn found herself alone with a loose ball just outside the Cougar goalpost. The forward looked as if she was going to dish the ball off to an advancing teammate, but turned abruptly to curl in the game winner past CofC goalie Erin Smith.
“Kara’s selection to the Soccer Buzz Elite Feet national team this week sums it up,” Wildcat head coach Greg Ashton said. “She was the first-ever Davidson player to earn the honor, and she deserves it. She terrorized the defenders tonight, and we’re hoping to get a few more games out of her before she graduates.”
Halfway through the second regulation period, Koehrn streaked three-quarters of the way down the field and beat four Cougar defenders to rip a shot from just inside the 18-yard box, pelting the crossbar with the near-miss. Currently ranked eighth in the nation with her goals-per-game average, the forward leads the SoCon in scoring with 17 goals and 38 points.
In the 78th minute of play, the Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead as Gia D’Agonstino headed in a corner kick to the middle of the box by Colleen Hoban. About a minute-and-a-half later, Davidson junior Jessica Lahre found a Chloe King corner kick at her feet just outside the CofC goal and touched it in to tie the score, 1-1, and precipitate the eventual overtime.
Davidson won the shot overall shot contest, 17-8, controlling the attack for the majority of the first half. The Cougars, however, closed the 9-3 gap after intermission, registering five shots to the Wildcats’ six in the second period.