Furman 5, UNC Asheville 1
Asheville, N.C. -- Anna Betton tallied two goals and added an assist to lead Furman to a 5-1 victory over UNC Asheville in non-conference women’s soccer action Thursday afternoon at Greenwood Field.
The win improved Furman to 5-3-0 on the season while UNCA fell to 1-6-0.
Betton, with her sixth and seventh goals of the season, upped her career goal total to 26 and career points total to 65 Her 26 goals are good for seventh in school history and the 65 career points place her in ninth on the career list.
“I’m very proud of our effort and focus today,” said head coach Andrew Burr. “We created a lot of chances and did a nice job finishing our opportunities. Claire Richards also did a solid job in goal for her first career start.”
Richards stopped five shots and surrendered just one goal in just her second ever appearance between the pipes. The sophomore midfielder filled in for starter Briana da Mota who was injured in Sunday’s match versus South Carolina.
Furman jumped out to an early lead just 9:47 into the match when Betton’s header towards the far post deflected off of a UNCA defender and into the back of the net. Margaret Antonik served a corner kick into the box that was sent back out to the midfielder. Antonik’s second cross found the head of Betton to give Furman a 1-0 lead.
Joy Haynes leveled the match less than 10 minutes later. Shoshana Fried and Robyn Busha helped spring Haynes behind the defense and her shot from just inside the box cleared the outstretched hand of Richards.
Furman took the lead for good at the 24:12 mark. Gena Villari played a cross inside the box and Betton banked another shot off of a defender and past UNCA keeper Veronica Lazar to give the Lady Paladins a 2-1 advantage.
In the final minute of the first half, a collision between Furman’s Olivia Dashiell and Lazar left the Bulldog keeper unconscious in the box. After a lengthy delay in which medical personal stabilized the keeper and transported her via ambulance to the hospital, Dashiell connected with an Antonik corner to score Furman’s third goal of the half with just 35 seconds left in the period.
Rachel Fry opened the second half scoring at 49:07 collecting a loose ball in the box following a corner kick and slotting a shot past reserve keeper Shanna Brown to up the margin to 4-1. The Lady Paladins capped the scoring at 63:05 to push the final margin to 5-1. Gena Villari led Betton with a long ball down the right side and the senior picked out Emily Krankowski in the box. Krankowski touched a shot to the far corner for her fourth goal of the season.
Furman, who dominated possession for much of the match, held a 19-7 shot advantage and 5-3 edge in corner kicks.
Furman returns to Stone Soccer Stadium on Sunday when it hosts Charleston Southern in a 2 p.m. contest.
Appalachian State 1, Longwood 0 (OT)
FARMVILLE, Va. - It took 92 minutes, but the Appalachian women’s soccer team remained unbeaten following the 1-0 overtime victory over Longwood. With the victory, Appalachian is now 4-0-2 on the campaign and 1-0-2 in overtime matches. In the loss, Longwood falls to 1-4-0 this season.
Appalachian earned the victory with only 1:46 into the first overtime session. Sophomore Caroline Lowe delivered a corner kick into the box, which deflected off a Lancer defender and into the net. The own goal is the first scored for Appalachian on the season.
The milestone victory comes in the program’s 14th year of existence. The Mountaineers have 100 victories on 254 matches, which works out to a .433 winning percentage. Head coach Ben Popoola, who is in his 11th season at the helm at Appalachian, has 89 victories as a Mountaineer and 274 as a women’s coach in general.
Freshman Caroline Clarke earned the start in goal and made two saves while working the first 45 minutes of the match. At the intermission, sophomore Emma White made the relief appearance and stopped three shots in 46:46 of work. White earns the win to improve to 3-0-1 this year. The combined shutout is the fifth of the season for the Mountaineers.
Appalachian will now continue the road trip by heading west to Lexington, Va. for a meeting with the VMI Keydets. The match kicks off at 1:00 this Saturday, September 22. The next home match for Appalachian is on Sept. 30 against the College of Charleston. The match kicks off at 1:00 inside the ASU Soccer Stadium. Admission is free.