Friday, August 26
The Citadel Holds on Against VMI Women’s Soccer, 2-1
LEXINGTON, Va.- On a rainy Friday afternoon in Lexington, The Citadel posted two early goals and then held off a furious late rally by VMI, topping the Keydets 2-1 in the annual rivalry game and season opener for both schools at Patchin Field.
The Bulldogs (1-0) got on the board first in the game’s 32nd minute, when Julie Austin’s (Willow Springs, N.C./Fuquay-Varina) corner kick from the left side somehow squeezed just inside of the post. The unassisted goal was followed just nine minutes later by a tally from Megan McAuliffe (Westminster, Md./Baltimore Catholic). Left alone in front of the goal, she received a pass from Emily Haller (Goose Creek, S.C./Stratford) and found the back of the net to give the Bulldogs a two-goal advantage at the half.
But the second half would belong to the Keydets. The home squad came out of the break fired up, taking control of the contest and predominately keeping the ball in their attacking half. The Keydets finally broke through with their first goal in the 55th minute, when sophomore Gia Bichara (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) scored the first goal of her career, a header off of a rebound following a save on a Colleen Redmond (Brownsburg, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit) shot.
The Keydets kept the pressure on, as they outshot the Bulldogs by a staggering 12-2 margin in the second half. However, it was the play of sophomore keeper Brit Bunnell (Barberton, Ohio/St. Vincent St. Mary) that kept The Citadel ahead, as seven of her nine saves came in the second period.
As expected, the contest was a physical battle. Spurred on by a few hundred cadets at the field’s sideline, 20 fouls were committed and five yellow cards were issued. Two of those cards came against Haller, who was sent off with 12 minutes remaining, giving the home team a man advantage for the remainder of the contest. The Keydets got off four shots in the game’s final minutes, but couldn’t find the back of the net, as three of those were saved by Bunnell.
Each team just missed scoring opportunities throughout the game, as Alexa Bernas (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) nearly opened the scoring in the fifth minute, before a Bulldog defender cleared Bernas’ shot just before crossing the goal line. In the 26th minute, Austin had a breakaway opportunity before she was chased down by VMI freshman Celine Ziobro (Henderson, Nev./Green Valley), who forced Austin to shoot the ball wide of the goal.
In the second half, VMI keeper Jessica Rheinlander (Manassas, Va./Forest Park) came up with her biggest save of the day in the 50th minute, stopping another shot by Austin from in close. The Keydets closest chances came on a diving header just missed by Bichara late in the second half, while Redmond unleashed a rocket in the 84th minute that might have tied the score if it were not for Bunnell’s outstanding, diving save.
In the contest, VMI outshot The Citadel by a 20-11 margin, while the Bulldogs held advantages in fouls (11-9) and saves (9-2). Each team received four corner kicks, while the Bulldogs were whistled three times for offsides calls.
VMI returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 3 when they host Appalachian State at Patchin Field at 11 a.m. The Citadel travels to High Point on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest.
Clemson 4, Chattanooga 1
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Chattanooga freshman forward Nikki Brannen took just 91 seconds to score her first collegiate goal, but it wouldn’t be enough as Clemson shut down the Lady Mocs’ offense to win 4-1 at Historic Riggs Field Friday night.
Brannen took a feed from Chattanooga’s all-time leading scorer Diana Jallo and shot the ball past Tiger keeper Ashley Phillips at the 1:31 mark to give UTC an early 1-0 lead.
Clemson’s Allison Graham knotted up the game 1-1 at the 29:24 mark assisted by Courtney Foster and Candace Hein. The two teams would remain locked up through halftime.
It didn’t take long in the second half for the Tigers to jump out ahead of Chattanooga. Just under two minutes into the half, Graham tallied her second goal of the game to put Clemson up 2-1 on an assist from Britten Meyer at 46:57.
Hein put the game a little further out of reach for the Lady Mocs with a solo shot at 75:52. Three-and-a-half minutes later Jenny Smith nailed it down with a solo shot for the final score 4-1.
Clemson outshot the Lady Mocs 22-15 with seven shots on goal to UTC’s six. Chattanooga keeper Stacey Matthiessen tallied three saves while Tiger goalie Ashley Phillips registered five saves on the night. Each team was called offsides twice and UTC had three corner kick opportunities to none for the Tigers.
Jallo had six shots with two on goal. Brannen took four shots. Foster and Graham each took four shots while Lydia Vandenbergh and Hein had three each.
In a very physical game, the two teams combined for 27 fouls and four yellow cards.
The Lady Mocs will continue its road stretch with a Sunday afternoon contest at Eastern Kentucky. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
Davidson 2, Charlotte 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. ? Soccer sister duo Kara and Kristen Koehrn combined for both Davidson goals in the Wildcats’ season-opening 2-1 victory at UNC Charlotte (0-1) Friday night. Prior to tonight, Davidson (1-0) had never defeated the 49ers on their home turf, and the win is only theWildcats’ second in the teams’ 12-year history; the first came last year at Davidson.
Wildcat senior and preseason all-conference selection Kara Koehrn assisted sophomore Kristen Koehrn on the game’s first goal to give Davidson a 1-0 lead with 20:21 to play in the first period. On the play, Kara sent a leading pass upfield to Kristen, who beat a Charlotte defender to drive the ball in from about five yards out.
The 49ers responded on a Nikki Dumencich goal with assists by Rachel Baer and Lindsey Beam, but just 11 seconds later, Kara Koehrn took it upon herself to regain the lead for the ’Cats, driving a shot from outside to the back of the net. All of the match’s scoring took place within a six-and-a-half minute span as the second period would not yield a single goal.
“We did a great job of getting back into the game after we were scored on,” said Davidson head coach Greg Ashton, who is now 2-0 against Charlotte. “That’s something we’ve been talking about. Tonight was a great place to start, but there’s plenty of room for improvement.”
On the whole, Davidson outshot Charlotte, 10-8, but the first half was dominated by the Wildcat attack, which registered seven shots to the 49ers’ one. Six first-years made their collegiate debut for Davidson tonight with two ? Tracy McCausland and Mel Smith ? making starts.
With one win under its belt, Davidson gets set to host #21 Wake Forest in its home opener Sunday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. while Charlotte hosts Mercer on Sunday as well.
Scoring Summary
20:21 Kristen Koehrn (Kara Koehrn)
26:45 Nikki Dumencich (Rachel Baer, Lindsey Beam)
26:56 Kara Koehrn (unassisted)
Coastal Carolina Tops Elon 1-0
Sophomore Jill Karelitz (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) broke a scoreless tie with a goal at 82:10 to lift the Coastal Carolina University women’s soccer team (1-0) to a 1-0 victory over Elon University (0-1) August 26 in the season opener for both teams.
Karelitz took the shot from five yards out and went off an Elon defender in the net. It was her fifth career goal and second career game winner. Coastal broke a string of two consecutive season-opening losses and won its second straight contest against the Phoenix.
Coastal held a 5-4 shot advantage in the first half, with junior Jaclyn Stoll (Fairfax Station, Va./Hayfield Secondary) making two saves and Elon’s Liz Johnson stopping three CCU shots.
For the game, the Lady Chanticleers outshot Elon 12-9 while the Phoenix had a 4-1 corner-kick advantage. Stoll and Johnson had six saves apiece, while Stoll recorded her seventh career shutout.
Senior Kristina Fisher (Landenburg, Pa./Avon Grove) and classmate Bobbie Parsons (Portugal Cove, Newfoundland/Prince of Wales) had three shots apice to lead Coastal. Elon?s Jaclyn Immordino had two shots, both on goal, to lead the Phoenix.
Coastal will host the Big South Challenge Sept. 2 and 4 at the CCU Soccer Field. The Lady Chants will face Army Friday, Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Elon faces Delaware at the Summit Hospitality Invite in Raleigh, N.C., Sept. 2 at 5 p.m.
Furman 4, Northern Iowa 0
Cedar Falls, Iowa -- The Furman women’s soccer team netted four second half goals and senior Andie Hinshaw recorded her 26th career shutout in goal as the Lady Paladins gave first-year head coach Andrew Burr his first career win with a 4-0 victory over Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
“I feel like tonight was a very strong start to the season,” said Burr “We got a solid effort from a variety of players and our organization was very good for the first match of the season.”
After a scoreless first half, Lady Paladin senior and Iowa native Nicky Darling notched the eventual game-winning goal on an assist from Hinshaw at the 51:43 mark.
Less than ten minutes later, Andre’a Morrison tallied her first goal of the season on assists from Darling and Tara Marker. Freshman Rachel Fry made her first collegiate match a memorable one scoring her first career goal at the 67:31 mark to up the Lady Paladin lead to 3-0.
Morrison added her second goal of the night in the 76th minute on assists from Fry and Gena Villari to cap the scoring.
Hinshaw, Furman’s all-time leader in shutouts, registered five saves for her first clean sheet of the season while the Lady Paladin attack outshot the Panthers 27-12.
Furman, ranked 11th in the Soccer Buzz Southeast Region preseason poll, returns to action Monday evening when it travels to South Carolina for a 7:00 contest.
Georgia 6, Georgia Southern 0
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia’s Caitlin Dingle scored two first half goals while Kathleen Howe tallied two assists as the Bulldogs defeated Georgia Southern 6-0 Friday evening at the UGA Soccer Complex in Athens.
The match was the season opener for both teams. GSU returns to action Sunday afternoon when it opens new Eagle Field, hosting North Florida at 2 p.m.
Georgia kept the ball in its attacking third for most of the contest, outshooting the Eagles 22-0 in the first half and 38-1 for the match.
UGA appeared to get on the board in the seventh minute, but an apparent goal was disallowed due to a foul. The Bulldogs eventually found the back of the net at the 38:17 mark and added two more goals soon after, notching all three first-half goals in a span of just over five minutes.
Georgia equaled its first-half total with three more goals in the second period, punching in two scoring tallies late in the match.
Georgia Southern was unable to mount a serious scoring threat with the lone shot coming from freshman Ashley Toussaint (Warner Robins, Ga.).
GSU goalkeeper Laura-Ashley Harris (Jonesboro, Ga.) made 12 saves, going the distance for the Eagles.
Duke 1, UNC Greensboro 0 (OT)
DURHAM, NC ? Christie McDonald’s goal with 29 second remaining in the overtime catapulted eighth-ranked Duke to a 1-0 victory over UNC Greensboro in women’s soccer action Friday evening at Koskinen Stadium on the Duke campus.
Duke held a 10-3 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes of play, but the Spartan defense stood tall, limiting the Blue Devils to only two shots on goal, leaving the score deadlocked at zero at the conclusion of the first stanza.
The Blue Devils nearly grabbed the early lead with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. Blue Devil midfielder Darby Kroyer cranked a shot from just outside the box, only to have Spartan midfielder Megan Kepley step in front of the ball, redirecting the ball backs towards midfield and out of harms way.
UNCG nearly broke the tie just 10 minutes into the second half when Spartan midfielder Deven Beachum received a well-place through ball, resulting in a one on one with the Blue Devils keeper Allison Lipsher. Lipsher, however, made a diving save on the ball, denying Beachum and the Spartans their first goal of the season.
As the second half continued, the two teams trading scoring chances for the latter part of period with neither team able to capitalize on a scoring opportunity, sending the game into sudden death overtime. The Blue Devils once again outshot the visiting Spartans, posting a 7-4 shot advantage in the second stanza.
Less than one minute into the first overtime, Spartans’ keeper Jennifer Stillman made an incredible save, keeping the game tied at zero. The Randolph, NJ product recorded her fifth save of the game when she snared Carolyn Riggs’ shot from just inside the Spartan 18.
McDonald connected on the game-winning goal when she netted her first goal of the young season. Duke freshman defender Kelly McCann sent the ball into the UNCG box where McDonald gathered the ball and sent a shot just passed the outstretched arms of the diving Stillman.
The Spartans return to action next Friday for the season’s home opener when the Spartans host Oregon State in the UNCG Soccer Classic. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Western Carolina 2, St. Bonaventure 1
Lewiston, N.Y. - The Western Carolina soccer team, playing the first match of the 2005-06 season for the all Catamount sports, got the year started right with a 2-1 victory over St. Bonaventure in a contest played at Niagara University. Not only was it the first win for the Catamounts this season, but gave first-year head coach Tammy DeCesare her first win as a skipper as well.
After going down a goal in the first half, Western regrouped at halftime to get on the board in the 69th minute. Senior Casey Davis took a pass from classmate Natalie Turgeon and put the ball away in the left corner to even the match. Fourteen minutes later, the two seniors teamed up once again to provide what proved to be the game winner. Junior Meghan Reilly and Davis found Turgeon, who headed the ball in from five feet out.
Despite being outshot 14-8 in the match, Davis led all Catamounts with three total shots, all of which were on goal. Sophomore Heather Dittmer added a pair of shots in the win, with Turgeon, senior Megan Chambers, and junior Stephanie Svoboda each firing once during the 90 minutes.
Catamount keeper Alesha Row recorded four saves in the winning effort, shutting out St. Bonaventure for the final 74:20 to earn the win.
Western continues play in the Niagara Women's Soccer Classic on Sunday, Aug. 28 as they play the host Purple Eagles at 1:00 pm. The Cats return home on Friday, Sept. 2 for the season home opener against Campbell at 6:00 pm at the new Catamount Athletic Complex. To commemorate the evening, the first 150 fans through the gates will receive a free T-shirt.