UNC Greensboro 2, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE NC ? Despite leading at halftime, the Western Carolina women’s soccer team surrendered the first two goals in the history of the Catamount Athletic Complex, falling 2-1 to the UNC Greensboro Spartans in the Southern Conference opener for both squads Wednesday night.
The loss drops Western to 7-2-0 overall, 0-1-0 in the Southern Conference, while UNC Greensboro improves to 5-3-0 on the season, 1-0-0 in league play.
After the Spartans dominated the first five minutes of the play, keeping possession in the Western zone, WCU freshman Arlan Whittle lit the scoreboard for the Catamounts, netting her first career goal 10 minutes into the game. Western’s Meghan Reilly sent a cross in front of the Spartan net on a corner kick where senior Emily Pierce corralled the loose ball, flicking it to Whittle for the score, giving the Catamounts the early 1-0 advantage.
UNCG opened the second half of play much like it did in the first, dominating the possession, which paid off in the 59th minute. Senior Dacia Beachum tallied the first-ever goal by an opponent in the Catamount Athletic Complex, breaking a string of five halves ? or 241 total minutes ? that Western had held its opponents scoreless in the new facility. Roughly 22 minutes after allowing the first goal, another Beachum lit the scoreboard for the Spartans as Deven Beachum scored the game winner, a slow roller that beat the Catamount defense and keeper.
For the match, UNC Greensboro out shot Western 14-to-13. The Western defense held defending Southern Conference Player of the Year, Spartan senior Amy Carnell, to one shot for the match. Catamount goalkeeper Alesha Row had six saves on the game. Row still stands just one shutout away from tying WCU's single-season record for shutouts, currently standing at six held by Mandi Tinsley from the 2001 season.
Coastal Carolina 2, Wofford 1
SPARTANBURG, SC - A late goal in the second overtime period was the deciding margin Wednesday night as the visiting Coastal Carolina Chanticleers posted a 2-1 victory against Wofford in women's soccer action at Snyder Field.
The Chanticleers' Bobbie Parsons slipped her second goal of the game into the right side of the net on a pass from the far side by Chelsea Terry at the 107:27 mark.
Parsons had earlier given Coastal Carolina (7-2) the early 1-0 lead at 14:35 when she knocked home a Danielle DeSonia assist.
Wofford tied the match later in the first half, at 22:06, when sophomore Natalie Ferrara collected a deflection off a Chanticleer defender and fired the shot past Coastal's goalkeeper Jaclyn Stoll. Preseason All-Southern Conference pick Mallory Bramlett registered the initial attempt which ricocheted directly to Ferrara for her first career goal.
The Terriers (1-7) were forced to play a pair of field players in goal due to an injury to starting keeper Austin Somers. Sophomore Sarah Goolsby played the first 45 minutes and recorded six saves before being relieved by junior Bernie Sikes, who notched four saves in the final 62:27.
Furman 3, East Carolina 2
GREENVILLE, NC - Furman raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead and withstood a late rally by East Carolina to down the Pirates 3-2 in non-conference women’s soccer action Wednesday afternoon before a crowd of 103 in Greenville, N.C.
“This was a very emotional win for our team,” said Furman head coach Andrew Burr, following the victory. “We came out strong in the first half and did an excellent job of finishing our chances. I felt like we showed a lot of character in the second half by staying organized on defense and holding on to the lead against a motivated team.”
Midfielder Katharine Kelley started the first half fireworks for the Lady Paladins in the 26th minute. East Carolina goalkeeper Heather Johnston denied a shot from Andre’a Morrison, but Kelley pounced on the rebound to net her first goal of 2005 and give Furman a 1-0 lead.
Morrison finished a chance of her own less than seven minutes later. The Kernersville, N.C., native took a pass from Katie Tucker on a breakaway and slotted a shot into the lower lefthand corner past the ECU keeper for her league-leading seventh goal of the season.
Sophomore Gena Villari capped the Lady Paladins’ scoring at the 36:05 mark with the eventual game winning goal. Villari rocketed a shot into the upper righthand corner from almost 25 yards out for her first goal of the season to up the Lady Paladin advantage to 3-0. Nicky Darling and Katie Tucker were credited with assists on the score.
The Pirates kept the verdict in doubt with two goals early in the second period. Patty Pierce finished a Meghan McCallion cross with a header past Lady Paladin keeper Andie Hinshaw at 51:51 to pull a goal back. McCallion netted a goal exactly two minutes later when she beat Hinshaw one-on-one for her sixth goal of the year, but the Lady Paladin defense held the Pirates a bay for the final 36:09 to collect the victory.
East Carolina held a 14-11 edge in shots attempted while Furman enjoyed a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. Hinshaw notched eight saves to pick up the win in net for the Lady Paladins. Johnston tallied three saves, but allowed three goals in just over 38 minutes of work to absorb the loss for the Pirates.
With its third consecutive win, Furman improves to 5-4-0 on the season while East Carolina slips to 3-6-0.