Oregon 2, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. - The Elon Phoenix women’s soccer team was shutout 2-0 by the visiting Oregon Ducks in the home opener for Elon from Rudd Field on Friday afternoon. The loss dropped the Phoenix to 0-2-2 on the year while Oregon improved to 4-1-1 this season.
Nicole Garbin got the scoring started for the Ducks in the 28th minute when she redirected a cross from Madison Cheek past Elon’s Lizz Johnson for the 1-0 lead. The rest of the half remained scoreless, but Johnson made four saves to keep the Phoenix within striking distance.
Garbin struck again in the second half for her fifth goal of the year. This time she took a pass and went on a breakaway and beat Johnson at the 64:27 mark for the final score of the contest. Tiffany Smith and Dylann Tharp both earned assists on the play.
Johnson finished the day with eight saves, facing 10 Duck shots on goal. Oregon’s Jessie Chatfield stopped each of the two Elon shots on goal. Oregon held a commanding 22-5 edge in total shots and a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Georgia Southern 0, Morehead State 0
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Morehead State and Georgia Southern played to a 0-0 tie after two overtimes and could not decide the opening match of the first Green and White Invitational, hosted by Marshall University, at Sam Hood Field on Friday.
Morehead State (2-2-1) dictated the game's tempo in the first half, drilling 12 shots toward Georgia Southern goalkeeper Megan Macdonald, while GSU recorded only two first-half shots. MSU continued to win the shot differential battle the rest of the way, 21-7 for the match, but GSU (1-3-1) managed to get better quality scoring opportunities in the second half and the overtimes.
GSU's Kate Boardman nearly ended the game in the first overtime with a shot that ran along the grass toward the open corner of the MSU goal, but sprawling MSU defenseman Rachel Kendall kept the ball out of the net while backing up goalie Leslie King.
Macdonald registered seven saves to King's two.
Charlotte 2, Furman 1, 2OT
Clemson, S.C. - Lindsey Beam netted her second goal of the night in the second overtime period to lead the Charlotte 49ers to a 2-1 victory ovr Furman in women's soccer action Friday night at the Carolina's Cup at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C.
Furman scored the game's first goal when Nicky Darling scored an unassisted goal in the 52nd minute.
Charlotte tied the score when Beam scored her first goal of the season in the 63rd minute.
Beam scored the game-winner with just under seven minutes left in the second overtime. Nikki Dumencich passed to Beam, who was running down the right side of the field. Beam sent a scoring shot from about 12-yards out into the left corner of the goal giving the 49ers the 2-1 win.
The loss drops the Lady Paladins to 2-3-0 on the season while Charlotte improves to 2-3-0.
Davidson 3, Kent State 0
EVANSTON, ILL. ? Two goals by Davidson senior Kara Koehrn helped lift the Wildcats to a 3-0 victory over Kent State (2-3) Friday evening at the Northwestern Soccer Tournament in Evanston, Ill., in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Sophomore goalie Bevin English recorded her first career shutout as Davidson improved to 2-3 on the season after losses to nationally-ranked North Carolina and Duke last weekend.
The first goal was a Koehrn-to-Koehrn combination with sophomore Kristen assisting sister Kara at 23:54 in the first period. Shortly after securing an early lead, the Wildcats struck again with Kara Koehrn scoring on an assist from junior Heidi Wilbrandt.
“We played a physical team tonight and were able to get on top early,” Davidson head coach Greg Ashton said. “We used some of the things we learned last week, and hopefully we’ll continue to do that and get a win against Northwestern on Sunday.”
Davidson’s final goal came from senior Jenny Soldano late in first half, sending the Wildcats into the break with a comfortable 3-0 lead. Neither team would register a goal in the second period, though not for lack of trying ? KSU recorded six shots (14 total), and Davidson notched five (10 total). In goal, English tallied a career-high 10 saves while KSU goalies Alicia Fernandez and Kristen Nelson combined to collect seven.
Florida International 2, Wofford 1
CHARLESTON, SC - A first-half goal was not enough, as the Wofford women's soccer team allowed two second-half tallies by Florida International to fall, 2-1, to the Panthers at the Quality Inn & Suites Classic in Charleston, S.C., Friday. The neutral-site contest was the first meeting between the two schools.
Junior Jessica Connett found the back of the net at the 20:00 mark to give the Terriers (1-4) the early 1-0 lead. Senior Megan Snaider was credited with an assist on the play.
However, after halftime, the Panthers roared back to claim the victory on a pair of unassisted goals. Florida International tied the contest at 55:54 on a Janet Liguori tally. Teammate Tamara Kochen provided the game winner with 70:11 on the clock.
Overall, FIU (2-0-2) held a 17-8 shot advantage and 6-5 edge on corner kicks.
Western Carolina 2, Longwood 0
Cullowhee, N.C. - In the second home game under the lights for Western Carolina, the Catamounts shutout the Longwood Lancers, 2-0, Friday night at the new Catamount Athletic Complex behind a pair of scores by members of the senior class. Senior Natalie Turgeon recorded a first half score, while classmate Emily Pierce capped off the night late in the second with her first goal of the year.
This is the second consecutive home victory for the Cats, which left them with an overall record of 4-1-0, the best opening five-match start in the program's seven-year history. The game was also the first-ever meeting between the Catamounts and Lancers in women's soccer.
"Overall, I'm very happy to get another win, especially defending our home turf. But there is still room for improvement that I'm looking for out of our team," said head coach Tammy DeCesare. "I thought we had great intensity and played very well in the first half. But most of the second half, we did not look like a hungry team. I want us to be aggressive from start to finish."
Turgeon got Western on the board just under nine minutes into the contest. The Cary, N.C., native received a pass from junior teammate Megan Chambers and found the back of the net to give WCU the early advantage. Junior Keevy Harris also assisted on the goal which gave Western a 1-0 advantage that they took into intermission.
On the second goal of the night, less than four minutes after an offsides call negated what would have been an insurance goal, Pierce corralled a bouncing ball in front of the Lancer goal and netted it, giving Western the 2-0 lead. Freshman Arlan Whittle put a cross in front of Longwood's goal after a Lancer foul, which Harris tried to lay down a header on goal. The attempt sailed wide, but bounded right to Pierce who was stationed near the left post who put it home for her first score of the season.
On the night Western outshot Longwood, 16-11, which is just the second time the Cats have outshot an opponent this season. Catamount keeper Alesha Row recorded five saves and helped to blank Longwood, her sixth shutout of her career.
Appalachian State 2, Charleston Southern 1
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University’s women’s soccer squad won its fourth consecutive game with a 2-1 victory over visiting Charleston Southern at the ASU Soccer Stadium today, September 9. Freshman Casey Cleary (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) led the Mountaineers with an assist and a goal to extend her personal scoring streak to four games.
Neither team was able to capitalize on its opportunities in the first half as they remained knotted at 0-0 at intermission. The Apps broke the stalemate in the 71st minute as the throw in from the left sideline was headed twice in the box with senior Whitney Southard (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) getting the final touch as she headed the ball into the upper right corner of the goal for her third goal of the season. Cleary recorded the assist on the play and had a game-high seven shots on goal.
Eight minutes later Charleston Southern was whistled for a foul in the box and ASU was awarded the penalty kick. Cleary converted on the penalty shot knocking the ball into the left side of the net past goalkeeper Miki Wilson. Wilson, however, recorded 10 saves between the pipes in the loss.
The Buccaneers also lit up their side of the scoreboard on a penalty kick as the Mountaineers were whistled for the foul in the 86th minute. CSU’s Katie Crona converted on the shot, kicking a line drive into the left side of the goal. Crona led the Buccaneers all afternoon with three shots. Despite assembling a few decent opportunities in the waning minutes of the game, the ASU defense managed to stymie the Buccaneers’ attack to hold on to the 2-1 victory.
CSU falls to 0-5 with the loss while the Apps move to 4-1 with the second-longest winning streak in the program’s history. ASU held a 23-8 advantage in shots, however the teams were both even in corners with four each. ASU netminder Liz McCutcheon (Norcross, Ga./Wesleyan) stopped three shots for her fourth win of the season.
Virginia Tech 2, College of Charleston 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Virginia Tech scored just two-and-a-half minutes into the game and added an insurance goal in the second half to secure the 2-0 win over the College of Charleston women’s soccer team at the Quality Inn & Suites Classic being held this weekend at Patriots Point Field in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
The Cougars drop to 0-3-0 on the season, while the Hokies improve to 2-2-1.
Mauri Liberati snuck by several Cougar defenders and sent her shot sailing to the right of the goalkeeper for Virginia Tech’s first goal of the night at the 2:25 mark in the first half. The second goal for the Hokies came 58:07 into the game as Shannon Poach sailed an indirect kick from about 20 yards out to the left center of the box over the defenders into the back of the net.
Virginia Tech out-shot Charleston 11-5, with the Cougars edging the Hokies in saves, 5-2. Poach paced Virginia Tech with three shots, while five different Cougars contributed in the five CofC shots.