UNC Greensboro 3, Chattanooga 1
GREENSBORO, NC ? Freshman Kelly Attayek scored a pair of goals in the first half as UNC Greensboro defeated Chattanooga, 3-1, in Southern Conference women’s soccer action Friday night.
Freshman Jennifer Bronson opened the scoring for the Spartans just 7:10 into the match. Junior Karla Davis sent a throw-in right to senior Deven Beachum. Beachum headed the ball to the front of the goal and Bronson tapped it in for the early 1-0 lead. The goal was Bronson’s second of the year.
Ten minutes later, Davis crossed the ball from the left corner perfectly to the feet of Attayek right in front of the net. Attaykek chipped it in passed Chattanooga keeper Stacey Matthiessen to give the Spartans a two goal advantage. UNCG got its final goal in the 36th minute of the match. Bronson intercepted a pass and played the ball to the left side of the goal and crossed it right to Attayek who sent it into the net for her third goal of the year.
The Lady Mocs got on the board late in the second half. After a Spartan foul, Amy Schermerhorn fired the free kick into the box, where Maya Peel shot the ball past UNCG keeper Michelle Crowder. Crowder replaced Katherine Ryan in the 80th minute.
UNCG kept play on Chattanooga’s end of the pitch throughout most of the match. The Spartans outshot the Lady Mocs 27-9 and held a 13-3 corner kick advantage.
Ryan recorded five saves for the Spartans and Matthiessen finished with 15 for the Lady Mocs.
“We had a very good first half,” quoted head coach Eddie Radwanski, “In general, I would have liked for us to put a few more goals in but there were good performances on our end and we’ll take it.”
UNCG travels to Statesboro, GA to continue SoCon play and take on Georgia Southern on Sunday. Game time set for 2 pm.
Woffrod 2, The Citadel 1
Charleston, S.C. ? Whitney Steelman knocked in the game-winner with less than four minutes remaining in the second overtime to give Wofford (4-4-2, 1-2 SoCon) a 2-1 victory over The Citadel (1-12-1, 0-4 SoCon) Friday night at WLI Field. Rachelle Ornelas knocked in her league-leading sixth goal of the season to send the game into extra periods.
“I was pleased with how the team responded after the Davidson game. They were positive and gave themselves a chance to win this game,” said head coach Bob Winch.
Both defenses worked hard to keep either side from getting off many shots in the first half. The Citadel had a 6-5 advantage in shots, but neither team was able score before the break.
The intensity heated up as Kendra Merchant scored the first goal of game in the 48th minute. A through ball by Steelman found the foot of Merchant who beat Citadel keeper Brit Bunnell and fired into the open net.
The Citadel answered back after 12 minutes as Sarah Burke drove the ball up the field and passed it up to Rachelle Ornelas. The Dogs were awarded a penalty kick after Ornelas was fouled inside the box. The freshman forward knocked into the left corner past a diving Austin Somers. The goal was Ornelas’ sixth of the season and her second score off a penalty kick.
Wofford then pressed hard to The Citadel’s side of the pitch, but the Bulldogs executed solid defense as they thwarted many scoring attempts by the Terriers. Rachel Hyatt found herself alone on the right side of the goal as she pressed towards The Citadel keeper with 18 minutes left in the game. Kristine Devine then snuck in and made one of many pivotal blocks as she forced Hyatt’s shot to go wide.
With 11 minutes left in regulation, Steelman made a shot that hit off the crossbar. Merchant then picked up the rebound for another shot, but Bunnell made an impressive stop to end the Terrier attack inside the box.
The Dogs finally pressed to the Wofford side of the field as Alex Byham pushed the ball up to Ornelas with 15 seconds remaining. Ornelas made a drive for the goal, but it was cleared at the last second by a Wofford defender.
The defensive battle ensued in the overtime periods as Wofford only got off one shot in the first overtime and the Dogs were not able to make an attempt at the net. With just under four minutes left in the second overtime, Merchant touched the ball through to Steelman who got past Bunnell and fired it in for the game-winner, making the final 2-1.
“It was a great game to watch in that it had a little bit of everything you want in a college soccer game,” commented Winch. “Some good clean physical play and some great determination by both teams.”
The Terriers ended up with 21 shots to The Citadel’s nine. Wofford was also awarded a slight 4-3 advantage in corner kicks. Bunnell made seven stops in front of the net to make her career total 215, only 11 shy of Citadel leader Angie Ellenwood. Somers also made three saves of her own.
The win marked the 100th victory in program history for Wofford and their first Southern Conference win of the season.
The Citadel continues to stay at home as they play host to Western Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 8 at 1 p.m. at WLI Field. Wofford will return home to host the College of Charleston at 2 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.