Georgia State 4, Georgia Southern 1
ATLANTA, GA - Georgia State scored twice in the first four minutes of the second half to break a 1-1 tie and went on to defeat the Georgia Southern women’s soccer team 4-1 Friday afternoon at the Panthersville Soccer Complex.
Georgia Southern got on the board first at the 20:21 mark as sophomore Katie Gosnell (Charleston, S.C.) fed freshman Kate Boardman (Hilton Head, S.C.), slipping through the Lady Panthers’ offside trap. Boardman lofted her shot just over the head of the Georgia State netminder for her second goal of the season.
The Lady Panthers answered two and a half minutes later when Amber Collins-Cephers drove home a rebound off a shot from Christa Mann.
The teams went into the half tied at 1-1 but Georgia State wasted little time in going ahead. Lauren Chavez chested home a corner kick from Dana Van Winkle 1:59 into the second half. Two minutes after Chavez put the Lady Panthers ahead, Collins-Cephers tallied her second goal of the contest, heading in a cross from Tenisha Cohen.
Georgia State completed the scoring in the 72nd minute on Amanda Schneider’s direct kick.
Megan Macdonald (Lilburn, Ga.) made seven saves in goal for the Eagles.
Western Carolina 2, Francis Marion 0
CULLOWHEE, NC - Sophomore Lauren Atkinson tallied the game-winning goal and an assist Friday night as the Western Carolina Catamounts blanked the Francis Marion Patriots, 2-0, in non-conference action at the Catamount Athletic Complex. The shutout was the sixth recorded by Western this season, and the third at the new home facility
Catamount goalkeeper Alesha Row was credited with her sixth shutout of the year, tying a WCU record for shutouts in a single-season. Row, who moved into second on the Western career shutouts list last weekend versus Gardner-Webb, now stands with 10.0 career scoreless appearances.
Atkinson broke the scoreless tie in the 37th minute of the game, giving the Catamounts the advantage. She took a rebound off of a Meghan Reilly shot which had been blocked by the Francis Marion defense. The sophomore forward gathered the bouncing ball and put it upstairs for the goal to beat the keeper. The one-goal lead would stand through halftime.
Aside from a few runs by the Patriots, Western Carolina (8-2-0) maintained possession with a renewed vigor at the outset of the second half. At the 22-minute mark, the Catamounts had a golden opportunity to push the advantage to two when senior Natalie Turgeon won a long punt from keeper Alesha Row. Turgeon spun it around between two defenders where sophomore Melissa Berry had slipped through for a breakaway, but her point blank blast was snagged by the Patriots' goalie, Jacque Sutphin.
Western did, however, manage to push the second goal across late in the second half. Surging the ball forward into the offensive zone, the Cats earned a corner kick opportunity. On the ensuing kick, freshman Arlan Whittle sailed a pass in front of the net where classmate Buki Baruwa, seeing her first action of the season, faked a shot, drawing the Pats defense. The ball skipped under the lifted leg of Baruwa where Atkinson tapped a one-timer to Pierce, who was pushed up on net because of the corner opportunity. Pierce deflected the ball on goal and found the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
A trio of Catamounts recorded three shots apiece in the win. In addition to Reilly and Berry, sophomore Heather Dittmer fired three times on the Patriot goal.
In the first ever meeting between the Catamounts and the Patriots in women's soccer, Western out shot Francis Marion, 21-6, and held an 8-to-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities, handing the Patriots their fourth loss of the season (1-4-0).