Appalachian State 2, Chattanooga 0
BOONE, N.C. - An extremely strong second-half performance was the difference in Appalachian?s 2-0 win over Chattanooga Sunday afternoon in the Southern Conference opener for both teams. Appalachian recorded a goal in both halves and outshot the Mocs 23-9 to improve to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the SoCon.
The Mocs fall to 2-2-1 overall and 0-1 in the league.
The Mountaineers recorded their 23 shots from nine different players while the defense did not give up a shot on goal in the second half. Twelve Appalachian shots were on target, with UTC keeper Stacey Matthiessen making 10 saves in the loss. The match was also subjected to a 30-minute lightning delay and played under ominous skies for much of the second half with a light sporadic rain.
Appalachian scored first in the 23rd minute on Jennifer MacNeill?s (Ft.
Lauderdale, Fla.) third goal of the season. MacNeill took a Paige Morrow (Chapel Hill, N.C.) pass at the far-top corner of the six-yard box and drilled a shot into the near corner of the goal. The score is McNeill?s third in as many matches.
ASU maintained the 1-0 advantage until the 73rd minute when Casey Cleary (Wellington, Fla.) knocked in an insurance goal. Cleary redirected a Caroline Lowe (Raleigh, N.C.) pass along the endline past the keeper right in front of the goal. The goal was Cleary?s second of the season.
The Mountaineer defense continued to dominate the remainder of the half as goalkeeper Emma White (Arden, N.C.) was never tested in the period, but did stop four shots in the first half to record her first collegiate shutout.
Lowe finished the match with five shots and was backed up by MacNeill and Dana Murphy (Greensboro, N.C.) with four shots each. The Chattanooga attack was keyed by Chelsea Hurst and Nikki Brannen with three shots each.
ASU will take the field next on Wednesday, September 13 at UNC Asheville.
Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Davidson 4, Gardner-Webb 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. Junior Kristen Koehrn (La Mesa, Calif.) topped off a solid weekend for the Davidson women?s soccer team by coming up with her first career three-goal hat trick of the season as the Wildcats gave Gardner-Webb its first loss of the year by picking up a 4-0 shutout, their second of the weekend, on Sunday, Sept. 10. Davidson improved its record to 2-2-1 after earning two wins this weekend, while the Bulldogs fell to 5-1-0.
Davidson dominated the first half of play and got all the scoring it would need in that opening stanza. The Wildcats defense did its part, allowing only three shots in the first half as Garnder-Webb got only one corner kick in the half as well.
Sophomore Tracy McCausland (Albuquerque, N.M.) got the scoring started in the 20th minute for the Wildcats with a very crafty and well placed 30-foot shot between mid-field and the 18-foot box. She struck a high ball sending it soaring over the defenses? head and into the top-right corner of the net, just out of the reach of the Bulldogs goalie, for her first marker of the season and a 1-0 Davidson lead.
Then just two minutes later at the 22:38 minute mark, Koehrn, who struck Friday night for her first goal of the season, scored the first of her three goals off a pass from senior Amanda Traver (Duanesburg, N.Y.) with a blast just outside the 18-foot box to the right side of the net, giving the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage going into halftime.
Koehrn wasn't done there as she picked up both Wildcat goals in the second half. Koehrn added her second goal of the afternoon in the 51st minute when she received a cross from senior Jessica Lahre (San Diego, Calif.). Lahre crossed the ball from the corner to the near post, where Koehrn headed the ball in past GWU?s goalie Sarah Wyszynski for a 3-0 advantage.
The junior's final goal of the afternoon came with under a minute remaining in the contest when she struck one in off a rebound for the final score of 4-0. She now has four goals through the first five games. Koehrn utilized her shots on goal wisely this weekend, as four of her nine shots on goal found the back of the net in the two games played.
Fellow junior Bevin English (Charleston, S.C.) was back in goal for Davidson, recording two saves and got her first shutout of the year. She had five of the Wildcats 10 shutouts last season.
Wyszynski finished with six saves for Gardner-Webb as the Wildcats won in the shot column, 16-10.
Davidson wraps up its six-game road trip to start the year with a match against No. 20 Wake Forest on Friday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 1, Mercer 0
KNOXVILLE, TN ? UNCG freshman Jennifer Bronson scored her first collegiate goal in the second half to give the Spartans the 1-0 victory over Mercer at the Tennessee Lady Vol Classic on Sunday afternoon.
Bronson scored at 73:28 off a rebound for the game’s only goal. She got the feed from fellow freshman Kelly Attayek and took advantage of the empty net, sending the ball in for her first collegiate goal to make it 1-0 in favor of the Spartans.
Overall, the game was controlled by the Spartans who finished with a 21-8 shot advantage, including two missed penalty kicks. Carolin Feierabend recorded six shots and Bronson finished with five. Keeper Katherine Ryan had two saves in her first shutout of the season.
“It’s good to get a win,” stated head coach Eddie Radwanski, “In the second half, we gave a good effort in the heat. We made the game harder than it should’ve been but we fought through it and are looking ahead to Wake Forest on Tuesday.”
UNCG (1-5-0) travels to Winston-Salem on Tuesday to take on nationally-ranked Wake Forest. Kickoff set for 7pm.
Elon 2, High Point 1
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix women’s soccer team won its second consecutive game to improve to 3-3-0 on the season after defeating the visiting High Point Panthers by a 2-1 margin from Rudd Field on Sunday afternoon. High Point dropped to 0-6-0 in 2006.
The Phoenix got things going in the first half when Molly Calpin netted her third goal in two games at 9:34. The score came when Alisa Petitt fed a ball to Calpin that started a breakaway.
Elon upped its lead to 2-0 with just four seconds remaining in the first period. After a Panther foul, Elon’s Tina Longo blasted the free kick from 30 yards out to beat the keeper.
The Panthers clawed to within one at the 58:50 mark when Reine DeLaat sent a corner to Alex Torriero who knocked the ball home for the score.
Elon’s Lizz Johnson grabbed three saves in her 90 minutes in net while two Panthers each saw 45 minutes in goal. Hannah Nail started and allowed both scores without making a save while Marisa Abbott played the final 45 minutes, making three stops.
High Point finished the day with an 8-6 edge in total shots, but the Phoenix got off more shots on goal, 5-4.
The Phoenix heads to Jacksonville, Fla. where it will participate in the Kick Out Cancer Classic hosted by Jacksonville University. Elon will face the hosts at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening.
Western Carolina 4, Sam Houston State 2
El Paso, Texas ? Two freshmen combined for three goals as Western Carolina garnered its second victory of the season, defeating the Sam Houston State Bearkats, 4-2, Sunday morning at the Border Shootout. Freshman Marianne Daino put the Catamounts on the board first with her first career goal and classmate Bri Cunningham tallied her first collegiate points with two goals in the win.
Western claimed at least a share of the tournament title after going unbeaten in both matches, including Friday evening’s 3-1 victory over Texas State. The Catamounts did not face the tournament host, UTEP, which concluded the tournament against the Bobcats at 1:00 pm MT. If the Miners win, they will join WCU as an unbeaten team in the tournament. A Miner loss will leave Western as the lone undefeated team in the tournament (check CatamountSports.com for more information).
After being held scoreless in each of the first three games this season, Western has lit the scoreboard for seven goals in its last two outings. The four goals on Sunday are the most by a Catamount team since scoring six in a 6-1 home win over Georgia Southern in the season finale of 2004 (10/31/04).
Daino, the younger sister of WCU junior Leah Daino, put Western on top early, netting her first career points. Junior Lauren Atkinson served a cross into the center of the box where Daino gathered and one-timed it into the back of the cage for the 1-0 lead just 13 minutes into the game.
Sam Houston State evened the match at one inside the 28th minute as Mary MacGregor recorded her first of two goals, one-timing a bouncing ball in the box off a Bearkat free kick.
The Catamounts tallied back-to-back goals inside the final six minutes of the first half to surge ahead, 3-1, at intermission. Junior Heather Dittmer, who led the 2005 Catamounts with seven goals, tallied her first score of the season to push WCU back ahead in the 40th minute of the match. Sophomore Arlan Whittle crossed one ahead, beating the SHSU offside trap where Dittmer slipped through the defense and beat the Bearkat keeper with Whittle credited with the assist.
In the final minute of the first half, Cunningham scored her first career goal to provide the halftime margin. Cunningham redirected a rebound off a teammate’s shot on goal into the net for the two-goal lead.
Out of the break, Sam Houston State closed the deficit to one, 3-2, as MacGregor tallied her second goal of the match. The margin would remain at one for the majority of the second half until the opportunistic Cunningham scored her second goal of the game, depositing one into the net after the shot ricochet off the cross bar and spun into the goal at the 82:27 mark in the second half.
Overall, Western applied a lot of pressure offensively, out shooting the Bearkats 16-to-7 including eight shots in each half. Also a telling sign was that the Catamounts were whistled off sides eight trying to push offensively. WCU finished with a 7-0 edge in corner kick opportunities, as well.
Atkinson, who ranks second on the team with three points on the year, added to her team-lead in shots with a team-high three on Sunday. Cunningham, Leah Daino, and freshman forward, Rachael Shomper each recorded two shots as 11 Catamounts fired towards the Bearkat goal.
Senior goalkeeper Alesha Row earned her second win of the season only having to make one save on seven Sam Houston State shots.
The Catamounts conclude the three-game, thousand-mile road swing by visiting the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb., on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 4:00 pm CT, 5:00 pm ET.
Longwood 3, The Citadel 0
Farmville, Va. -- Longwood University took a 3-0 women's soccer victory past The Citadel Sunday afternoon at the new Athletics Complex. It was the second shutout in three matches for the Lancers who improved to 3-2-1 this season, while the Bulldogs dropped to 0-5.
Longwood jumped out in front with two early goals. Lancer Kaylyn Mahon tallied her first collegiate goal at 11:23 when she corralled a loose ball out top and blasted it into the back of the net from about 25 yards.
The Lancers quickly added another goal at 14:34 as freshman Sarah took a pass in front of the net from Colleen Thamm and one-touched the ball to the right post. It was Fening's team-leading second goal of the season and provided for a 2-0 advantage at the intermission.
Longwood added a third goal less than a minute into the second half when senior Tiffany Crane got her own rebound of a shot attempt and promptly headed the ball over the keeper's head and into the net at 45:58. Longwood enjoyed a 24-1 advantage in shots, and had a 2-0 edge in corner kicks.
The Lancers split time in front of the net between junior keeper Anne Whitmore (45:00) and senior Heather Starrie (45:00). The Citadel split time in front of the goal between junior Brit Bunnell, who made her fifth consecutive start (45:00) and freshman Emily Green as she made her second appearance as a Bulldog.
Bunnell continues to inch closer to the number one spot in all-time career saves at The Citadel as she notched six stops against the Lancers. Bunnell now has 201career saves, 25 shy of Angie Ellenwood’s 226.
The Citadel will return home to host S.C. State on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. at WLI Field. The Bulldogs hold a 5-0 record in the all-time series.
Georgia Southern 4, South Carolina State 0
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Georgia Southern freshman Lauren Crossan (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the womens soccer team to a 4-0 victory over South Carolina State Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
The Eagles (2-3-1) snapped their scoreless streak of 358:13 dating back to Aug. 27 vs. North Florida. The four-goal outburst was the teams highest since defeating The Citadel 4-0 in 2003.
It was good to finally score some goals, said GSU head coach Ashley Hart. Weve struggled the last three games finishing, so I think we finally put that final piece together. We were able to get shots off and put them in the back of the net.
After recording six shots in the first 23 minutes, two on goal, GSU finally got on the board. Freshman Mallory Springfield (Marietta, Ga.) scored her first collegiate goal at 23:22 when she first-timed a corner kick from fellow freshman Heather Smith (Kingwood, Texas).
Just over three minutes later, sophomore Holli Finneren (Lake Orion, Mich.) doubled the lead, putting home a rebound off the crossbar. Crossan, who entered the match at the first goal, had her shot from the right wing go off the bar, right to Finneren who placed the ball into the open net.
Freshman Laura Smith (Buford, Ga.) also had trouble with the bar shortly after, as her header failed to go in.
The Eagles held a 13-2 advantage in shots in the opening half and 21-12 for the match.
Crossan recorded her two scoring tallies in the final seven minutes. She first-timed a crossing pass from freshman Niki Lepper (Carmel, Ind.) at the 83:29 mark and put home a shot at the top of the box at 86:37.
The scoring margin could have been greater had it not been for South Carolina States (2-3) offside trap. Georgia Southern was called offside 19 times.
“(The trap) did give us trouble,” added Hart. “Finally at the end of this half we were able to hold our runs up a little bit and then run through. We figured it out in the last 15 minutes of the game. Better late than never, I suppose.”
Freshman Lauren Santos (Berwyn, Ill.) and junior Laura-Ashley Harris (Jonesboro, Ga.) combined on the shutout, making four saves. SCSUs Alechia Brothers (Charleston, S.C.) went the distance for the Bulldogs and allowed the four goals with eight saves.
Georgia Southern continues its four-match homestand Friday, hosting Georgia State.