Appalachian State 1, Campbell 0
BUIES CREEK, N.C. ? The Appalachian State University women’s soccer team closed the pre-season with a 1-0 victory over Campbell on Monday afternoon. The Mountaineers finish the exhibition season with a record of 1-1 with the win. The Mountaineer defense allowed only nine shots, three on goal, en route to the shutout.
“We played much better tonight,” said Head Coach Ben Popoola. “We had a lot of chances and really should have extended the lead. We’ve got to do some more work on our finishing before the season starts on Friday.”
After playing the opening minutes in their defensive end, the Mountaineers organized a probing attack in the 14th minute which resulted in a corner kick. Sophomore Caroline Lowe delivered the in-swinging corner to the awaiting head of sophomore substitute Paige Morrow who netted the opening goal.
Appalachian controlled the pace of play for the majority of the match taking 17 shots total with nine on target. The Mountaineers earned seven corner kicks and committed 14 fouls. The Apps were caught offsides three times.
Sophomore Emma White started the game in goal and played in the first half. She earned one save and did not allow a goal in her 45 minutes of action. Freshman Caroline Clarke plated the second 45 minutes and scored two saves and held onto the combined shutout.
The Mountaineers open the 2007 regular season this Friday against Tennessee Tech. The August 31 opener gets underway at 7:30 p.m. and will be held at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Francis Marion 3, Appalachian State 1
FLORENCE, S.C. ? Appalachian State University women’s soccer saw their first action of the season on Saturday afternoon in a 3-1 loss at the hands of Francis Marion. The Mountaineers fell behind early 2-0 before cutting the deficit to 2-1 just before the hour mark. A late Patriot goal sealed the result in the season opener for the Apps.
In the 56th minute, sophomore Caroline Lowe (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) connected on a shot from 20 yards out to cut the deficit to 2-1. Senior Lindsay Moore (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Catholic) scored the assist.
Francis Marion was led by Kirby Stenard who scored all three goals for the Patriots. Her goals came in the 31st, 45th and 85th minutes.
Appalachian led in five statistical categories with 11 shots, eight corner kicks, six saves 18 fouls and two offsides.
Seven newcomers saw action for the Mountaineers including freshman Rachel Handy (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mt. Tabor), Renee Korman (Chapel Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) and transfers Amy Zahrirski (Happy Valley, Australia/Park University), Stephanie Balzano (Haymarket, Va./Duquense), Amy Balbier (Banner Elk, N.C./Lenoir-Rhyne) and Shania Gold (Shelby, N.C./Charlotte).
Sophomore Emma White (Arden, N.C./T.C. Robertson) started the first half and stopped three shots while freshman Caroline Clarke (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood Christian) earned one save.
Appalachian will finish the preseason with a final exhibition against Campbell on Monday, August 27 at 4:00 p.m. The regular season begins on Friday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. as the Apps take on Tennessee Tech inside Kidd Brewer Stadium.
North Carolina State 2, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Davidson women’s soccer team made its final adjustments before the Wildcats open the 2007 season at N.C. State on Friday, Aug. 31 with a preseason game against visiting UNC Wilmington on Saturday evening at Alumni Stadium. Two first-half goals by the Seahawks’ Kelly Renkin proved to be the difference as Davidson dropped a 2-0 decision in its final exhibition match.
Both teams played to a 0-0 tie for the first thirty minutes of the game till UNCW struck for the only goal it would need for the contest. The Seahawks worked the ball into the Wildcat box in the 32nd minute and got a shot off by Maddy Bullington that was directly at the goal. Senior goalie Bevin English stopped the ball, but had it bounce off her allowing UNCW’s Renkin to gather in the rebound and fire a liner that hit off the left bar and glanced in.
Renkin then capped off the scoring with her second goal of the game on a breakaway. She raced down the field on a nicely placed long pass from Corinne Kalsky, who was behind the midfield line on Davidson’s side. Renkin then split two Wildcat defenders on her way to sending a shot to the left-top corner of the goal post and the Seahawks held a 2-0 advantage.
Trailing 2-0 after halftime, Davidson tried to turn up the intensity with some aggressive play on the offensive side. Seven of their nine shots came in the second half, with four players each getting off two shots apiece.
UNCW outshot the Wildcats by the count of 18-9, while English saved eight of the Seahawks’ shots. Both teams were very physical on both sides of the field as they combined for 24 fouls, including drawing a penalty kick which was taking by UNC Wilmington.
The Wildcats now gear themselves up for the regular-season when they open their campaign with a trip to N.C. State on Friday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. Both teams have not seen each other since the ?Cats took a 1-0 victory in Raleigh on Sept. 9, 2000.
Furman 1, East Tennessee State 0
Greenville, S.C. - Furman's Rachel Fry hammered a header past East Tennessee State goalkeeper Erin Bilyeu in the 42nd minute to lift the Lady Paladins to a 1-0 victory over the Buccaneers in exhibition soccer action Friday afternoon in Johnson City, Tenn.
After dominating possession and creating several scoring opportunities in the first period, Furman cashed in when Fry rose above a pair of defenders to meet Sara El-Shami's cross and deposit it in the back of the net less than four minutes before halftime.
"I thought we had a good performance today," said head coach Andrew Burr. "Considering this was our first chance of the preseason to go 11-on-11 and the temperatures were in the mid 90's, we created a number of chances and got to look at a lot of different combinations."
The Lady Paladins, who played 19 players in the 90-minute tune-up, held a commending 18-3 edge in shots. The Bucs forced Furman goalkeeper Briana da Mota into just two saves, while Bilyeu made seven saves on the day to help ETSU stay within striking distance.
Furman continues preseason preparations this coming week before opening the regular season at the LSU Classic in Baton Rouge, La., on August 31. Furman will battle Louisiana Tech on Friday before facing Southern Miss on Sunday.
UNC Greensboro 0, #22 Duke 0
DURHAM, NC ? The UNC Greensboro women’s soccer team traveled to Durham, NC Saturday evening to take on the #22 Duke Blue Devils in an exhibition match. After 90 minutes of regulation play, the game ended tied 0-0.
UNCG’s senior goalkeeper Katherine Ryan kept watch in the net for the entire game and collected eight saves. Of the seven Spartan shots on goal, senior Jessica Patterson had three and freshman Jenn Partenheimer added another two. Duke held a 21-12 advantage in overall shots and 5-3 in corner kicks.
The Spartans kick off their 2007 regular season Friday, August 31 as they host William and Mary at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The match is set to begin at 7:00 pm.
AGATE
SCORE BY PERIODS
UNCG..... 0 0 0
DUKE..... 0 0 0
Shots: Duke 21, UNC Greensboro 12. Saves: Duke 7 (Powers 2, Lipsher 5), UNC Greensboro 7 (Ryan 7). Corner Kicks: Duke 5, UNC Greensboro 3; Fouls: Duke 10, UNC Greensboro 11
East Carolina 1, Western Carolina 0
Greenville, N.C. - Western Carolina wrapped up its preseason drills, falling at directional rival East Carolina, 1-0, Saturday afternoon in women's soccer action.
ECU junior Madison Keller tallied the lone goal of the contest, scoring on a set piece with the assist coming from classmate Nicole Moore. The win was the second over Southern Conference teams this preseason for ECU as the Pirates downed preseason favorite UNC Greensboro, 2-0, on the road back on August 21.
The Catamounts open the 2007 season this weekend with a pair of road matches out west. On Friday, Aug. 31, WCU visits the Cowgirls of Wyoming before traveling to Greeley, Colo., to face Northern Colorado on Sunday, Sept. 2