Davidson 1, UNCW 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? With only 4:29 remaining in Friday night’s match between host Davidson (3-4) and UNC Wilmington (3-3), Wildcat sophomore Kristen Koehrn drilled a penalty kick into the lower left corner of the net past Seahawk goalie Christine York to give Davidson a 1-0 victory.
A pregame rain shower made for a wet field and balmy conditions at Alumni Stadium for kickoff of tonight’s game. The UNCW attack came out strong early in first period, but the Wildcats’ relentless defense frustrated multiple Seahawk scoring attempts. While the visitors rang up five first-half shots, Davidson registered just three on the other end of the field, including its best opportunity on a near miss by junior Maggie Womack, whose close-range shot was rejected by the post.
Scoreless at the break, the match appeared much the same in the second half until Davidson was awarded the crucial penalty kick late in the period for a foul in the box. UNCW fought hard to come back in the waning minutes, but could not penetrate Davidson’s defense.
Wildcat freshman Mel Smith made several critical clears in the box while sophomore keeper Bevin English tallied three saves on the evening. The ’Cats won the shot battle overall, 9-8, recording six in the second period.
Texas State 9, The Citadel 1
NACOGDOCHES, TX - For the second straight game, the Bobcats put nine goals in the net and grabbed a victory from The Citadel (2-4). Texas State (2-6 overall) looks to continue its winning ways in its second game of the Stephen F. Austin Tournament on Sunday when it meets Louisiana Tech.
Sophomore forward Angela Crissy led the Bobcats with a seven-point outing. The San Antonio native scored a hat trick and assisted on a Laura Burden goal in the second half. Jerelyn Lemmie added two goals and continues to lead the Bobcats in scoring (five goals).
Texas State's fourth and fifth goals came off penalty kicks, and were scored by Crissy and Ashley Brown, respectively. With starting goalkeeper Brittany Beltramini out with an ankle sprain, junior Paige Perriraz earned her first win of the season after making four saves and allowing a Miriam Crawford goal in the game's 25th minute.
Natalie Holder, who leads the team with three assists, kicked her first goal of the season to start all scoring at the 1:31 mark. Holder is seeing extra minutes and taking a leadership role for the Bobcats after forward Danielle Holloway suffered a torn ACL two weeks ago.
Citadel goalkeepers Brit Bunnell and Angie Ellenwood faced 35 Texas State shots forcing them to make 14 saves on the evening.
After being outscored 18-4 in the season's first six games, the Bobcats have outscored their opponents 18-1 in their last two outings.
Western Carolina 1, Eastern Kentucky 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Senior Emily Pierce netted her second goal of the season as Western Carolina held on to defeat the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 1-0, in the first game of the Furman Select Kickoff Classic Friday evening in Greenville, S.C.
Just under 20 minutes into the match, Pierce, a fourth-year defender from Chattanooga, Tenn., capitalized on a scrum in front of the Colonels net which resulted from a corner kick by freshman Arlan Whittle, who was credited with the assist. Eastern Kentucky's goalkeeper Christina Graul attempted to punch Whittle's offering out of the scoring box, but Pierce managed to find the back of the net with a quick shot.
Pierce's two goals thus far this year equal her career total from her first three seasons in the purple and gold. According to records, Pierce has tallied the most goals for a Catamount defender in the program's seven-year history.
In all on Friday, the Catamounts (6-1-0) dominated the offense in the match, out shooting EKU's first-year program 19-2 and holding a 3-0 advantage in corner kick opportunities. Graul managed a total of four saves on the evening, preventing Western from adding any insurance goals, while her counterpart, Western's Alesha Row, earned her third-consecutive shutout, and fourth perfect match of the 2005 season. With the performance, Row closes to within half a shutout of taking over second all-time on the WCU career list.
Alabama A&M 2, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- After leading by a slim one goal lead at the half, the Lady Mocs gave up a pair of second half goals to fall 2-1 to Alabama A&M Friday night at the North River Soccer Complex.
Junior Melyna Valdez scored her first goal of the season on a cross from freshman Bjork Gunnarsdottir from the left side of the net to the right at the 16:33 mark. Chattanooga went on to outshoot the Bulldogs 21-5 in the first half.
In the second half, A&M’s leading scorer Belinda Kanda charged the keeper who came out of the net scoop up the ball. She won the challenge and took a clear unassisted shot to tie the match 1-1 at the 59:34 mark. Kanda notched the game-winner at 79:44 on a pass from Rachel Sepeng to the middle of the box to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage and the eventual final score.
Chattanooga had several more opportunities to score including a shot by sophomore Susan Ward that resounded off the post, ricocheted to Jennifer Wilson whose shot was saved by keeper Priscilla Mensah. The Bulldog keeper tallied nine saves on the nigh and allowed just one goal in 90 minutes.
The Lady Mocs outshot Alabama A&M 27-10 and held a 5-3 corner kick advantage, but couldn’t get a shot to hit the net. Valdez had five shots on the night and senior Diana Jallo had three shots on goal in four tries. UTC keeper Stacey Matthiessen made five saves, but gave up a pair.
#10 Wake Forest 1, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The 10th -ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team defeated UNC Greensboro, 1-0, Friday night. The Deacons move to 5-1-1 with the win, while the Spartans fall to 3-3. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Doe continued her stellar play in the cage in recording her second shutout on the season.
The Deacons took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when senior midfielder Melanie Schneider made a crossing pass into the box. A UNC Greensboro defender attempted to clear the ball, but it deflected into the goal.
Junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Doe had a very impressive opening half making three diving saves and knocking away several crossing attempts. Doe preserved the 1-0 lead in the half.
In the second half, the Deacons continued their strong defensive performance by limiting the Spartans to just two shots on goal. The Deacs spent the final five minutes of the match deep the Spartan half running off the clock.
For the match, Doe registered four saves including one in the final minute to seal the match.
Junior forward Elizabeth Remy did not play in the match due to an injury. The Norman, Okla., native leads the team in assists with seven and ranks second in goals with three.
Missouri 1, College of Charleston 0
COLUMBIA, MO - Senior Jennifer Nobis’ 90th minute header led the University of Missouri to a 1-0 win over the College of Charleston on Friday night at Walton Stadium.
With the victory, Missouri (5-1-1) extends its unbeaten streak to six games, winning streak to five games and tied the school record with three consecutive shutouts. The Tigers are also a perfect 4-0 at home this season.
College of Charleston (1-4) goalkeeper Erin Smith deflected a Nobis header out of play to set up a corner kick for the Tigers in the last 20 seconds. With the clock nearing zero, junior Aria Hudetz sailed a perfectly placed left-footed corner kick into the box as Nobis ran unmarked and headed the game-winner past the Cougar defense.
"We're proud of our kids," said Missouri head coach Bryan Blitz. "It's easy to get frustrated and get out of our game but we stayed with our game plan. Hats off to (Charleston), they had a good game plan and it almost worked."
Despite control by Missouri for the first 20 minutes and last 15 minutes, the match was sandwiched by end to end play and possession from both sides.
“For stretches, Missouri was very dangerous and had numerous chances,” said College of Charleston coach Kevin Dempsey. “But for a very large part of the match, we caught them not ready for our ability to possess, attack and play them even. Matches can be viewed in many ways but I think people took notice of the College of Charleston tonight."
Nobis was the difference in the match, creating several first and second half chances with individual strength, pace and attacking ability, including a first stanza opportunity which saw the Cougar keeper pull a 25-yard shot out of the top corner.
The College’s best opportunity also fell in the first half when Colleen Hoban’s left-footed blast was headed off the line behind a beaten Tiger keeper.
“Our plan, as evidenced by our formation and pre-game preparation, was to play and attack,” Dempsey said. “The quality of the Big 12 caught us for 20 minutes but once we settled in, we made a very good account for ourselves. We’re excited to get back on the horse Sunday (at Missouri State) and then open Southern Conference play (September 25 at UNC-Greensboro).”
The Tigers outshot the Cougars 21-9 in the game, including 10-4 in the second half.
Furman 2, Gardner-Webb 1
GREENVILLE, SC - Nicky Darling recorded two goals as Furman defeated Gardner-Webb 2-1 in the second match of the Select Kickoff Classic. Darling now has five goals on the season for the Lady Paladins.
"Gardner-Webb was a well-organized, very good offensive team," said head coach Andrew Burr. "We are glad to get a win in our season home opener, and get a good result in the first match of our weekend tournament."
Gardner-Webb had the first scoring opportunity as Brittany Woods dribbled through the defense, but her shot from 25 yards was collected by Furman goalkeeper Andie Hinshaw.
Furman had a scoring chance in the 37th minute as Katherine Kelley's shot from distance beat Bulldog goalkeeper Corinne Razem, but sailed just wide of the far post.
The Lady Paladins threatened again in the 42nd minute as Kate Myatt's pass found Andrea Morrison at the top of the penalty box. Morrison left the ball for Nicky Darling, but the senior captain's try flew over the crossbar.
After a scoreless first half, Nicky Darling opened the scoring with her fourth goal of the year at the 51:12 mark. Gena Villari sent a short corner kick into the penalty area that Darling touched inside the near post past Razem.
Darling added her second goal of the match just two minutes later. Katie Tucker sent a bouncing cross into the penalty box where Darling one-timed the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out.
Gardner-Webb got on the board at the 60:39 mark as Woods collected a miss-hit clearance and slotted her 16 yard shot past Hinshaw.
Anna Betton had two scoring opportunities as she dribbled through a host of Bulldog defenders, but each time her shot on goal was saved by Razem.
The play of the match occurred in the 84th minute as Kelley's blistering shot from 40 yards out looked to have beaten Razem, however the net-minder fully extended and got a fingertip on the ball to push it wide of the post.
Darling's curling shot to the upper corner looked to complete her hattrick,, but again, Razem was able to make a diving save.
Appalachian State 2, Longwood 1
FARMVILLE, Va. - Women's soccer's Dana Murphy (Greensboro, N.C./Greensboro Day) recorded two assists to become Appalachian State University's all-time leader in the category with 14 in Saturday's 2-1 victory at Longwood.
The win was the Mountaineers' fifth straight as they move 5-1 on the season. The Lancers dropped to 2-5.
The two teams were evenly-matched in the opening period and battled to a scoreless first half. The Mountaineers finally got on the board in the second half as Whitney Southard (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) finished a cross from Murphy into the back of the net at 55:30. ASU extended the advantage to 2-0 at 78:10 when Casey Cleary (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) scored on a header from a corner kick play, assisted again by Murphy. The goal also extended Cleary's goal-scoring streak to five matches.
Longwood made things interesting when freshman Beth Shade tallied her first collegiate goal at 85:00, beating the keeper on a cross from Lauren Lawson. The Lancers had a couple of potential game-tying attempts over the final minutes, but could not convert.
Appalachian State took a 15-10 advantage in shots, and had a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. Liz McCutcheon (Norcross, Ga./Wesleyan) played the full 90 minutes in goal for ASU, allowing the one goal with two saves.