College of Charleston 3, Furman 2 (2OT)
Greenville, S.C. -- Amanda Andrews tapped in a Danielle Jordan corner kick with 50 seconds remaining in the second overtime period to lift the College of Charleston to a 3-2 victory over Furman in Southern Conference women’s soccer action Thursday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Trailing 2-1 with just 54 second left in regulation, Charleston’s Brittany Schneider slipped a shot between goalkeeper Briana da Mota and the right post to even the match at 2-2 and force overtime.
Furman looked like it would steal the three points when it produced several scoring threats in extra time. Kate Johnson’s 30-yard shot knuckled wide of the post in the first overtime period. With 6:36 remaining, Margaret Antonik collected a loose ball in space on the left side of the box, but her shot was turned back by keeper Erin Smith.
Antonik regained possession and was taken down in the box, but no penalty was awarded.
In the final seconds of the match, an Andrews cross deflected off of a Lady Paladin defender for a corner from the right side. Jordan served the ball inside the six-yard box where Andrews shielded the keeper and deposited the game-winner for her first tally of the season.
The Cougars jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half. After da Mota saved an Emily Morgan penalty kick in the fourth minute and another Charleston chance glanced off of the cross bar, Julie Romanik volleyed in a Jordan corner kick at the back post to open the scoring at 26:44.
Furman answered with the equalizer shortly after the hour mark. Anna Betton chipped a through ball into the box behind the defense and Rachel Fry bested Smith from seven yards to tie the match at 62:05.
The Lady Paladins gained their first lead in the 74th minute. Emily Krankowski played a ball into the box from the right corner and Sara El-Shami redirected the pass to the back post where Gena Villari buried a 12-yard effort for her fifth goal of the season.
Charleston went on the attack for the final 15 minutes without creating many scoring opportunities before Schneider leveled the score in the final minute on an assist from Teryn Schuetz.
Furman held a 22-11 advantage in shot attempts while the Cougars garnered a 7-5 edge in corner kicks. Smith notched nine saves in net for Charleston. Da Mota managed three stops for the Lady Paladins.
The loss drops Furman to 8-9-1 overall and 5-3-1 in conference play while the College of Charleston improves to 8-7-2 overall and 6-3-0 in the SoCon.
Furman concludes the regular season hosting The Citadel in a 2 p.m. match at Stone Stadium on Sunday. Charleston concludes its regular season at home against first place UNC Greensboro on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Davidson 2, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. ? The Davidson Wildcats received second half goals from Blakely Low and Tracy McCausland to defeat the Elon Phoenix by a 2-0 margin in Southern Conference women’s soccer action on Thursday night. The victory moves Davidson to 10-6-2 overall and 6-3-0 in SoCon play. Elon falls to 6-10-1, 3-5-1.
Despite Davidson holding a 6-0 lead in total shots in the first half, the teams finished the first 45 minutes deadlocked at zero.
After more than 30 scoreless minutes in the second stanza, the Wildcats broke the stalemate. Kristen Koehrn fed a ball from the left side of the box to Low who was streaking down the middle and beat Elon keeper Lizz Johnson for the eventual game-winner at 76:27. The goal was the second of the season for Low. McCausland tacked on an insurance marker at 85:59 with Katharine Laco earning the assist on the play.
On the night, Johnson stopped three shots and allowed both scores. Elon did not get off a shot on goal to test Davidson’s Loring Ward.
The Wildcats held a commanding 18-2 advantage in total shots over the 90 minutes of play. Davidson also earned nine corner kicks to none for Elon.
Elon will hit the road for its final regular season contest. The Phoenix visits Western Carolina for a 2:00 p.m. tilt on Sunday afternoon. Davidson will host Chattanooga that same day at 1:00 p.m.