Elon 1, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A goal early in the first half was the only mark on the scoreboard as the Elon Phoenix claimed a 1-0 victory Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference women's soccer action against host Wofford at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
The game was played evenly throughout with both sides having several scoring chances, but Elon (6-9-1, 3-4-1 SoCon) was the only team to record a goal. The squads battled to a scoreless tie at halftime, but the Phoenix capitalized early in the second frame for the deciding factor.
Elon gained control of the ball near midfield when the Phoenix's Alisa Petitt slipped a through ball to Katina Boozer down the left flank. Boozer then beat the Terrier defense and placed the ball high in the upper left corner, above a leaping Austin Somers, for the goal at 50:12.
Wofford (5-7-3, 2-5-1 SoCon) nearly tied the contest following a couple Elon fouls near the top of the 18-yard box. Both Terrier attempts sailed just high as the hosts tried to equalize the scoring.
Lizz Johnson registered four saves in the shutout, while Somers stopped six Phoenix shots.
A 6 p.m. Friday match with Georgia Southern is next on the docket for Wofford as it continues its regular-season ending three-game homestand.
College of Charleston 4, Chattanooga 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. ? Three first-half goals by the CofC women’s soccer team lifted the Cougars to victory over Chattanooga, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point.
CofC improved to 7-7-2 overall and 5-3-0 in SoCon matches this season. Chattanooga dropped to 3-10-2, 0-7-1 in the SoCon.
Sophomore Chrissy Caruso scored the first goal of the match at the 16:39 mark to give the Cougars the lead, 1-0. Caruso attached a crossing pass from freshman Brittany Schneider, beat the goalkeeper to the ball and netted home her sixth goal of the season.
Senior Teryn Schuetz scored her third goal of the season at the 16:59 mark of the first half to make the score, 2-0. Schuetz flicked a crossing pass from Schneider past the goalkeeper for the score.
Sophomore Katie Browne scored the final goal of the first-half for the Cougars at the 32:45 mark to make the score, 3-0. Browne scored her goal by heading a shot past the goalkeeper after receiving the corner kick from sophomore Danielle Jordan.
At the end of the first half, CofC attempted 10 shots and five corner kicks, while Chattanooga took two shots and no corner kicks.
Elizabeth Southall scored the lone goal of the match for Chattanooga in the 53rd minute to make the score, 3-1, in favor of the Cougars. Southall deflected a crossing pass from teammate Nikki Brannen for the score.
Senior Caroline Wertis scored the final goal of the match for CofC in the 72nd minute to make the score, 4-1. Junior Kelly McGinty received credit for the assist.
Sophomore Erin Smith and freshman Sarah Wiggers made a combined two saves to preserve the shutout for the Cougars. Stacey Mattiessen made six saves for Chattanooga.
“Anytime you can win a conference match, it’s a good victory,” said associate head coach for CofC, Tim Santoro. “This victory prepares us for our next two matches against Furman and Greensboro, two SoCon teams we know will be our toughest opponents this year.”
The Cougars return to action on Oct. 26, when they face Furman in Greensboro, S.C. The match begins at 7 p.m.
Appalachian State 1, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- A goal by senior Dana Murphy (Greensboro, N.C.) with 22 minutes remaining in the match lifted the Appalachian State women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at a sloppy Eagle Field.
The 1-0 loss is the fifth suffered by the Eagles this season.
Both teams are now tied in the Southern Conference standings with a 5-4 record. Appalachian State improves to 9-8 overall while Georgia Southern falls to 7-9-1. Each side has one match remaining at Wofford before the start of the SoCon Tournament. GSU travels to Wofford Friday at 6 p.m.; App State faces the Terriers next Sunday at 2 p.m.
"It was a good match overall, it was evenly played by both teams," said GSU head coach Ashley Hart. "We came out a little sluggish and a bit sloppy. We didn't play our best game of soccer. This was a good lesson for us to learn that you have to show up and play your best every single time we step on to the field. Anybody can beat anybody in this conference."
GSU had an opportunity early to get on the board, just missing a chance five minutes in. Sophomore Ashley Toussaint (Warner Robins, Ga.) took the ball nearly three-fourths of the length of the field before dishing off to sophomore Kate Boardman (Hilton Head, S.C.). Boardman evaded one defender but put her shot into the side netting.
Appalachian State had an even better chance at the 18:23 mark with a penalty kick. But sophomore Casey Cleary's (Wellington, Fla.) attempt was straight at goalkeeper Lauren Santos (Berwyn, Ill.) who parried the shot to keep the score at 0-0.
The two teams went into the half scoreless and played another 23 minutes without a goal before Murphy and Cleary combined to put the Mountaineers on top. Murphy and Cleary completed a "1-2" pass five yards outside the "D" of the 18-yard box, and Murphy's shot was lifted just out of the reach of Santos.
The Eagles had two chances late to tie the score but were unable to convert. With just over five minutes left, Toussaint drilled a low shot from the right side that ASU keeper Emma White was able to deflect just wide of the net. A GSU corner kick with 1:22 remaining did not result in a shot on goal.
Davidson 1, Western Carolina 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. For the second straight game and fourth time this year, freshman Suzanne Sittko (Greenwood Village, Colo.) scored the game-winning goal in helping Davidson to its second straight 1-0 win, this time over second-place Western Carolina in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium. Davidson moved to 9-6-2 overall and 5-3-0 in SoCon play, while sporting a 4-2-1 record in the month of October. Western Carolina, who came into the contest in second place in the SoCon, dropped its second straight one-goal game, falling to 9-6-2 overall and 5-3-1 in league play.
Sittko started the week off with her third game-winner of her young career on Thursday at the College of Charleston as she scored her fourth marker of the year off a cross from Neely Meeks to carry Davidson to a 1-0 win on the road.
Like in Thursday's game at College of Charleston, the Wildcats played to an even 0-0 draw against its opponent after the first period. Both teams had a hard time gaining any momentum as they went back-and-forth all period. The defense's of Davidson and Western Carolina did not allow many looks at goal either as each team combined for only four shots in the opening stanza.
Things were a little different in the second half as the Wildcats came out aggressive and got off four of its seven second-half shots in the first five minutes of play. But the 'Cats were not able to punch one through as Western Carolina's defense continued to hold strong.
Then like on Thursday, Sittko came through again for Davidson late in the second period, this time in the 78th minute, when she was able to beat two Western Carolina defenders in the box. The Wildcats had worked the ball deep into the Catamounts' territory and junior Kristen Koehrn (La Mesa, Calif.) sent a nicely placed pass just in front of Sittko in the 18-yard box. The freshman proceeded to gather in the ball while streaking toward the goal with two Catamount defenders on her back and went one-on-one with goalie Alesha Row, chipping the ball near the left post for her fifth marker of the year and a 1-0 Davidson advantage.
The assist was Koehrn's second of the year and it was her team-leading 16th point of the season. Sittko fifth goal of the season is second-best on the team as is her 11 points.
Western Carolina turned up the intensity after Davidson took a 1-0 lead, but the Wildcat defense along with junior goalie Bevin English (Charleston, S.C.) halted two late opportunities by the Catamounts to secure the 1-0 win.
English set a career-high for shutouts with the win, her sixth of the season, and finished the contest with six saves, including a couple of nice diving saves late in the second half to preserve the win.
Kelly Gulledge and Alesha Row split time in the goal for Western Carolina with Row recording three of the team's four saves.
Davidson will play its final road game of the regular-season on Thursday, Oct. 26 at Elon at 7 p.m.