Appalachian State 1, Georgia Southern 0
BOONE, NC - It appeared that Appalachian State University women’s soccer was destined to play its fifth overtime match in its last six matches before senior Jennipher Martin (Belmont, N.C./South Point) reversed ASU’s recent run of bad luck with a header into the near corner with 2:26 remaining in the match to give ASU a 1-0 decision over Georgia Southern. Junior Staci Smith (Roswell, Ga./Roswell) was credited with the assist on the helper from the far sideline.
The win improves the Mountaineers’ record to 10-7-1 overall and 3-6-1 in the Southern Conference. The ten wins is tied for the second most in school history. Georgia Southern falls to 3-15-1 overall and 2-8-0. Unfortunately, the Apps’ didn’t get any help in the SoCon standings today as Wofford and Elon played to a scoreless draw. The draw ties Elon with Appalachian for the eighth and final playoff spot with Elon holding the tiebreaker after downing ASU, 2-1, on Friday. As such, Elon earns the right to play No. 1 seed Davidson on Thursday.
Despite the close score, Appalachian controlled much of the match and had many scoring opportunities that it failed to convert on. ASU outshot the Eagles 32-8 with 10 of its shots on goal. Appalachian was also awarded 11 corner kicks while the Eagles failed to earn a single one.
Freshman Casey Cleary (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) led all players with eight shots. Senior Whitney Southard (Brentwood, Tenn./Christ Presbyterian) had seven. In goal, the Eagles’ Laura-Ashley Harris played well, stopping nine shots. Megan Amorosi (Norfolk, Va./Maury) made three stops in 70 minutes of action as Katie Michel (Norcross, Ga./Wesleyan) played 20 while an injured Amorosi was tended to.
College of Charleston 5, Chattanooga 0
MT. PLEASANT, SC - Colleen Hoban scored two goals and had two assists while teammate Kristin Rhyne added a pair of goals leading College of Charleston to a 5-0 win over Chattanooga in women's Southern Conference soccer action before 365 on Sunday at Patriots Point.
The Cougars close out the regular season with a 7-8-2 overall record and a 5-3-2 mark in league play. The Mocs finish 8-9-0 and 5-4-0.
Seven College of Charleston seniors were honored in pregame festivities. The seniors include Emily Brenner, Perri Brenner, Megan Broderick, Rhyne, Hoban, Carolyn Morris, and Jessie Johnson
Hoban picked up the unassisted game-winner at 14:53 and netted her second goal of the match at 63:10. She also had the assists in Rhyne’s two goals, which occurred at 20:34 and 26:24. Teryn Schuetz garnered two assists on the day, picking up one on Hoban’s second goal and one on the goal by Broderick, the Cougars’ fifth, at 71:37.
Charleston out-shot Chattanooga 12-7, with the Mocs coming away with the 6-1 advantage in saves. Elfa Erlingsdottir led Chattanooga with two shots, while Rhyne paced the Cougars with three shots in the match.
Elon 0, Wofford 0, 2OT
ELON, NC - The Elon women’s soccer team earned a berth in the 2005 Southern Conference Tournament by fighting hard for a 0-0 tie with Wofford on Sunday during Senior Day at Rudd Field. The scoreless tie moved the Phoenix to 5-10-3 overall and 3-6-1 in SoCon play while the Terriers now sit at 5-11-3, 4-4-2.
In the first half, the two teams combined for five shots on goal ? three for the Wofford Terriers and two for the Elon Phoenix. The Phoenix got off only one shot on goal to five for the Terriers in the second half. In the two overtimes Wofford took two total shots on goal to one for Elon.
Elon’s Lizz Johnson corralled nine saves on the day for Elon while her counterpart, Bernie Sikes, made five stops.
Elon nearly won the game in the closing seconds of the second overtime period when a shot from Alisa Petitt found the back of the net, but the Phoenix was called for a foul and time expired.
With the tie, Elon finishes the regular season tied for eighth place with Appalachian State at 3-6-1 in the league, but holds the head-to-head tiebreaker as a result of the 2-1 overtime victory on Friday.
Furman 4, UNC Greensboro 3, 2OT
GREENVILLE, SC - Tara Marker scored the game-winning goal in the 104th minute, and Furman overcame a 3-0 deficit to defeat Southern Conference rival UNC-Greensboro 4-3 in double overtime as part of Senior Day on Sunday afternoon. The win marked the greatest comeback in Furman women's soccer history.
The goal was Marker's sixth goal in the last seven matches, including two game-winners. Furman owns a 5-1-1 record over that seven match stretch.
"As I was approaching the ball for the penalty kick, I was just thinking that this is how we wanted to end Senior Day," said Marker. "This was the perfect ending to the regular season, and a great way to beat UNC-Greensboro."
All four of Furman's goals were scored by seniors in their final regular season home match. Andre'a Morrison netted two goals, giving her 15 on the season, which ties her for the fourth-most single season goals in Furman history.
"We fell down 3-0, but we didn't let that stop us," said Morrison. "We knew that we just needed to keep fighting and we would be able to turn it around."
UNC-Greensboro had an early scoring chance in the fourth minute. A free kick sent deep into the Furman penalty area was flicked to the back post by Amy Carnell, but Dacia Beachum's header sailed just high of the crossbar.
The Spartans had another opportunity in the 13th minute as Karla Davis' corner kick looked to be bending toward the goal, but Furman goalkeeper Andie Hinshaw was able to push the ball over the crossbar.
On the ensuing corner kick, Shannon Donovan's shot from 20 yards out deflected off a Furman defender, but was snared by Hinshaw before the ball could cross the goal line.
UNC-Greensboro got on the board at the 18:31 mark on a goal by Amy Carnell. Dacia Beachum took a shot from 10 yards out that was saved by Hinshaw, but the Furman `keeper could not control the ball, and the rebound was tapped in by Carnell for her fifth goal of the season.
The Spartans extended their lead at the 26:29 mark on Deven Beachum's fourth goal of the season. Carnell's header off a corner kick ricocheted off the crossbar, and the rebound was knocked home by Beachum past a diving Hinshaw.
After the intermission, UNC-Greensboro added another goal at the 51:35 mark. Following a Furman foul at the top of the penalty area, Davis curled a left-footed free kick around the Lady Paladin wall and into the side netting for her third goal of the season.
Furman cut into the UNC-Greensboro lead at the 63:31 mark as Katherine Kelley converted her second penalty kick of the season in as many tries. The Lady Paladins earned the free kick as Nicky Darling broke free in the penalty box and was tackled from behind by a UNC-Greensboro defender.
The Lady Paladins added another goal at the 71:32 mark on Andre'a Morrison's 14th goal of the season. Kelley's through ball found Morrison behind the Spartan defense, and the senior forward's shot beat the UNC-Greensboro `keeper to the far post.
Furman nearly tied the score in the 74th minute as Kate Myatt's header was saved off the line by a UNC-Greensboro defender. The rebound came back to the Furman freshman, but her low shot was saved by Spartan goalkeeper Jennifer Stillman.
Emily Krankowski nearly scored the equalizer in the 79th minute as she received a pass from Anna Betton in the Spartan penalty area. Krankowski collected the ball and rifled a point-blank shot at the goal that was saved by a sprawling Stillman.
Furman netted the equalizer on Morrison's second goal of the match at the 86:22 mark. Mickey Palanza sent a long ball to the corner for Krankowski. Stillman came off her line to get the ball, but Krankowski beat the Spartan netminder to the ball and sent a high cross into the box with her first touch. The ball bounced inside the box before Morrison headed the ball into the open net.
Rachel Fry nearly ended the match in the 12th minute of overtime, but her shot from 22 yards out banged into the crossbar.
Furman ended the match at the 103:58 mark on a Tara Marker penalty kick. Marker beat Stillman with a shot to the left side. The play was set up as Marker set a high pass over the top of the UNC-Greensboro defense. Morrison gave chase, and took advantage of a Spartan defender's misplay back to Stillman. Morrison took a touch around the UNC-Greensboro `keeper, but was brought down by Stillman to prevent the easy goal to the open net. Furman was awarded the penalty kick, its second of the match.
With the win, Furman improves to 12-5-2 overall, 7-1-2 in the Southern Conference. The loss drops UNC-Greensboro to 10-6-1 on the season, 6-3-1 in conference action. Furman returns to action this weekend as the Lady Paladins play host to the Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championships.
Davidson 2, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, NC - The Western Carolina women's soccer team jumped out to an early lead, but league-leading Davidson scored twice late to claim a 2-1victory Sunday evening at the Catamount Athletic Complex. The loss dropped the Catamounts record to 15-5-0 with 6-4-0 mark in the Southern Conference, while the Wildcats improve to 13-4-2 with 9-0-1 in the Southern Conference.
The Catamounts, who held a 13-12 advantage in shots, capitalized on an early scoring opportunity in the first period of the game. Freshman Arlan Whittle centered a pass to senior Casey Davis, who redirected the ball with a header into the net. The goal was the fifth of the year for Davis, while the assist was Whittle's fifth.
The Catamounts had another scoring opportunity midway through the first, but Heather Dittmer's shot hit the cross bar and Davidson keeper Bevin English stopped Natasha Moore's follow.
In the second half, Davidson was able to keep pressure on the Catamount defense. The SoCon's leading goal scorer, Kara Koehrn, added to her total with her 18th on the season, tying the game at 1-1 with a goal 28 minutes into the second half. Brittany Eddy was credited with the assist.
Just over nine minutes later, Tracy McCausland took a pass form Anne Stevens and found the back of the net for her first goal season, as well as what proved to be the game winner.
Western, who also held a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks, had one final opportunity with just over four minutes left. A shot by Catamount senior Megan Chambers was stopped on an impressive save by English to preserve the win.
Catamount keeper junior Alesha Row picked up seven saves on the match, including six in the second half, while English recorded five saves.