Wofford 0, Kennesaw State 0 (2O)T
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Wofford women's soccer team, despite being outshot 18-8 in its home opener, held on for a scoreless 0-0 tie versus Kennesaw State Friday evening at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C. The two schools were meeting for the first time since the Terriers started their program in 1994.
The visiting Owls, listed No. 12 in the Southeast Region in the most recent SoccerBuzz rankings, held the shot advantage; however, both teams had equal scoring opportunities in the contest.
Wofford (1-2-2) had its first chance 21 minutes into the game when senior Jessica Connett sent a hard shot from 40 yards out into the upper right-hand corner of the goal mouth. The attempt was deflected off Kennesaw State goalkeeper Staci Pugh's hands and then brushed against the crossbar before being cleared by the Owl defense.
The Terriers' junior Whitney Steelman then turned and fired on a ball she corralled following a Connett header only to be saved by Pugh with just over five minutes remaining in the first stanza.
Wofford's next scoring opportunity occurred just under 13 minutes left in regulation when freshman Erika Bishop sent a direct kick just high over the goal.
Kennesaw State (2-1-1) nearly put a tally on the board with under seven minutes left in the second period when Rebecca Hall blasted a direct kick off the Terrier wall following a Wofford foul just outside the 18-yard box.
The Owls then had two chances in the second overtime frame. The first came with just over eight minutes to go as Caitlin Dingle found herself all alone in front of the net and sent her shot high from 15 yards.
Another direct kick opportunity with just over four minutes remaining by Kennesaw's Laura Tucker sailed just high.
Senior Austin Somers made five saves during the first half before succumbing to freshman Becca Maloney for the final 65 minutes in net for the hosts. The Terrier rookie registered two saves.
Pugh stopped five Wofford shots in playing the full 110 minutes.
The tie is the Terriers' second straight, following a 2-2 deadlock against Coastal Carolina Monday.
Wofford will next play Sept. 15 as it opens Southern Conference action at defending league champion Western Carolina. The match is slated for 7 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.
UNC Wilmington 2, College of Charleston 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C., - An early first half goal by sophomore Katie Browne for the Cougars was not enough as CofC lost a hard-fought 2-1 decision against UNC Wilmington before 213 spectators at Patriots Field on Friday.
UNC Wilmington (4-1-0) scored the first goal in the match with an unassisted strike from Ashley Church in the first minute of action to give the Seahawks an early 1-0 advantage.
CofC (2-2-0) responded in the fourth minute with a goal from Browne, which was assisted by sophomore Gia D’Agostino.
However, UNCW scored the game-winning goal of the match in the 38th minute from an unassisted goal by Erica Roberts.
“We played hard throughout the match, but we made some critical mistakes in the first half that were costly,” said Cougars head coach Kevin Dempsey. “We gave up those two goals in the first half and those were tough to overcome.”
The Cougars closest chance to tie the match came in the 51st minute when freshman Chrissy Caruso made a shot that went past the Seahawks goalkeeper but hit the crossbar.
“We executed our game plan better in the second half, especially Caruso’s shot that just missed going in,” said Dempsey. “We will continue to improve our play through our non-conference schedule and mature as a young team.”
CofC had 5 shots in the match, while UNC Wilmington had 12.
Freshman Sarah Wiggers had 9 saves in the match for the Cougars.
CofC returns to action on Sept. 15 when they face the University of North Florida at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant. The match will begin at 7 p.m.
Gardner Webb 1, Appalachian State 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Appalachian State University women’s soccer couldn’t put an end to Gardner-Webb’s quick start as GWU remained unbeaten at 5-0 following a 1-0 victory over ASU Friday evening. Appalachian falls to 1-3 with the non-conference loss.
Appalachian was outshot, 19-13, in the loss with GWU’s Lindsey Gladhill racking up 10 shots, three of them on goal, against the ASU defense. ASU was led by freshman Caroline Lowe’s (Raleigh, N.C.) four shots. Three of ASU?s four shots on goal came from its freshman class.
Gardner-Webb scored the match’s lone tally in the 34th minute on Kasey Gladhill’s shot from the left side. Dara Goldstein and Lindsey Gladhill were awarded assists on the scoring strike. The Mountaineers were unable to mount a scoring strike and were outshot 11-5 in the second period, despite being earning four penalty kicks.
Appalachian will have a short respite before hosting Chattanooga in its Southern Conference opener on Sunday, September 10 at 2 p.m. ASU is 8-2-2 all-time against the Mocs, but has not defeated UTC since 2001.
Tennessee 2, UNC Greensboro 0
KNOXVILLE, TN ? Tennessee’s Emily Redberg scores two goals in the second half to give the No.10-ranked Lady Vols the 2-0 victory over UNC Greensboro at the Tennessee Lady Vol Classic on Friday.
Redberg gave the Lady Vols the 1-0 lead early in the second half. In the 48th minute, Sarah Van Sickle sent a chip pass from inside the box to Redberg who then sent it across into the back of the net. Then in the 89th minute, Jenny Jeffers passed the ball to Kristen Doukakis. Doukakis flicked the ball to Redberg who kicked the ball past Spartan keeper Katherine Ryan for her second goal of the game.
“I thought our girls played a good game,“ said head coach Eddie Radwanski, “We had a solid first half and we kept our shape. There were several opportunities in the second half but couldn’t connect. We gave a very good effort in the end against the defending SEC champs.”
Ryan recorded six saves for the Spartans in 90 minutes of play.
UNCG (0-5-0) will take on Mercer (3-0-0) on Sunday at 12:30 pm.
Jacksonville 1, Georgia Southern 0
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sophomore Angela Hulse scored a first half goal, while senior goalie Michelle Kmiotek recorded her third shutout of the season to help Jacksonville University women's soccer team down Georgia Southern, 1-0, on Friday night at the Ashley Sports Complex.
At 13:50 mark of the first half, Hulse scored on a header from a cross by sophomore Keri Zwikker to give the Dolphins (3-2) all the offense they needed for the win.
The Eagles (1-3-1) tallied 12 shots, but Kmiotek recorded eight saves to earn her third shutout in four games.
Junior Katie Gosnell (Charleston, S.C.) came off the bench to record four shots for GSU, three on goal. Sophomore Kate Boardman (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and freshman Niki Lepper (Carmel, Ind.) had two shots each.
The Eagles open their home schedule Sunday against South Carolina State. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Western Carolina 3, Texas State 1
El Paso, Texas ? Three Catamounts tallied their first goals of the season on Friday afternoon as the Western Carolina women’s soccer team knocked off the Texas State Bobcats, 3-1, in the Border Shootout. Sophomore Buki Baruwa, junior Lauren Atkinson, and senior Meghan Reilly all tallied goals as the Catamounts earned their first win of 2006.
Prior to racking up three goals on Friday afternoon, Western (1-3) had been held scoreless in each of the first three games of 2006 and four-in-a-row counting the NCAA College Cup Championship appearance at North Carolina in ’05. All told, the Catamounts had a 402:45 scoring drought ended versus the Bobcats.
“We had a lot of players step up and have great games today,” said second-year head coach Tammy DeCesare. “In our three losses prior to today, I felt we have played well enough in spurts to win but were not able to take advantage of our opportunities. Today, we capitalized on solid play defensively and executed offensively, and it feels very good to get that first win of the season.”
Baruwa, who tallied two goals during this preseason in exhibitions but had never recorded a goal during the season, broke the scoreless deadlock just moments before the halftime buzzer sounded. The second-year forward from Cary, N.C., fired a shot on the Bobcat cage which hit the post and rebounded into the goal, giving WCU the 1-0 lead at the half and Baruwa her first career goal.
Five minutes into the second stanza, Western garnered its second goal of the match and of the season. The Catamounts played a free ball into the box where Atkinson secured the bouncing ball and knocked it into the lower right corner of the net for the two-goal advantage with less than 40 minutes remaining in regulation.
Texas State (1-3) cut the Catamount lead in half inside the 63rd minute on a free kick by Kristy Collison. WCU senior goalkeeper, Alesha Row, who earned the win having to make just four saves, played the ball low along its perceived trajectory. However, at the last second, the bouncing ball took an irregular hop that sailed just over the net minder’s outstretched arms and into the goal.
The Catamounts finished off the match with a third tally at the 87:07 mark. Freshman forward Shanna Schmoker played a through ball into the box where Reilly uncorked a blast that was buried in the left-hand side of the net to provide the match’s final tally.
Overall, Western out shot Texas State, 14-10, while the Bobcats held a slim, 4-2, edge in corner kicks.
Western continues its current road trip on Sunday at the Border Shootout as it faces Sam Houston State at 10:00 am CT Sunday morning. The Catamounts will also visit Nebraska on Tuesday before returning to Cullowhee.