Appalachian State 2, Chattanooga 1
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's soccer posted a valiant effort Sunday afternoon at the ASU Soccer Stadium and was able to come away with a win in a very physical match, as the Apps defeated Chattanooga 2-1. With the victory, ASU improves to 7-8-2 overall and 3-6-1 in the SoCon, while the Mocs drop to 5-13-1 and 2-8 in the conference.
Chattanooga came out strong in the early minutes of the first half as the Mocs were able to earn an early corner, but the ASU defense was able to prevail to keep the match scoreless. Junior Stephanie Balzano responded to Chattanooga's early attack as she took a solid shot on goal, testing goalkeeper Allie Preston early.
Just seven minutes into the match, freshman Katy Dodd was able to get the Mountaineers on the board, as she hit the ball in the back of the net off a cross from Caroline Lowe. The goal was Dodd's first of the season along with being the first goal scored at the ASU Soccer Stadium, and was also the quickest ASU has been able to score all season.
Appalachian continued its offensive attack as Jordan Horvath had a good chance to score in the 26th minute but Preston was able to make an impressive save. Both Casey Cleary and Emily Moseley took solid shots on goal in the late minutes of the first half, but the Apps were not able to convert them into goals.
ASU took the 1-0 advantage into the break.
Early in the second half, the Mocs were able to capitalize on their offensive opportunities as Morgan Shelton launched a shot from outside the 18 yard box off a pass from DK Henry, hitting the right corner of the back of the net, tying the match at 1-1.
The two squads battled for the remainder of the second half, but Appalachian was able to prevail as Balzano launched a hard shot from the top of the 18 off a pass from Paige Morrow with 11 minutes remaining in the match. The ball sailed above the goalkeepers head and put the Mountaineers up 2-1.
The Black and Gold were able to hold off UTC for the 2-1 win.
Offensivley, Cleary and Dodd paced ASU with four shots each, while Henry, Shelton and Marlee Jenkins each recorded two shots for the Mocs. Appalachian outshot UTC 15 to 8, and earned six corner kicks compared to the Moc's two.
In goal Caroline Clarke played all 90 minutes, making five saves, while Preston also played the entire match, making eight stops.
College of Charleston 3, Wofford 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- The College of Charleston women's soccer team shutout Wofford, 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 11-5-3 on the year, 4-4-2 in the Southenr Conference, while Wofford falls to 3-10-5 (2-6-2 in the SoCon).
In the first half, the Cougars were quick to strike, as Amanda Raymond scored her second goal of the season in the ninth minute of play. Danielle Jordan was credited with an assist on the play, as she passed the ball to Raymond off a free kick.
Charleston would keep the 1-0 lead through the rest of the period, as they dominated Wofford in almost every statistical category in the half. The Cougars held a 5-1 advantage in shots, along with a 5-0 edge in corner kicks.
In the second half, Megan Manthey gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead when she scored her 12th goal of the season in the 54th minute. Jordan was credited with her second assist of the day on the goal, as she crossed the ball to Manthey to set up the score.
In the 73rd minute, Katie Browne put the match away, when she scored her third goal of the year unassisted after stealing the ball from a Wofford player.
The Cougars continued to dominate the match, as they outshot Wofford 10-1 in the period to make the final shot advantage on the day 15-2 in favor of Charleston. The Cougars also ended the day with a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Goalie Erin Smith earned her eighth shutout victory of the season in the win, as she made two saves on the day for Charleston.
UNC Greensboro 1, Davidson 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Lauren Lopez scored off a free kick with 16 second remaining in regulation for the only goal of the match as UNC Greensboro topped Davidson, 1-0, to claim its third consecutive Southern Conference women’s soccer regular season title Sunday afternoon.
UNCG’s win, coupled with Western Carolina’s 2-1 loss at home to Samford, gave the Spartans (14-4-1, 9-0-1 SoCon) their third consecutive outright regular season crown. It is the first time in 15 years of Southern Conference Women’s Soccer that a team has won three straight crowns
outright. Furman won five straight regular season titles from 1999 through 2003. However, the Paladins shared the 2001 crown with UNCG and Western Carolina.
The Spartans are now unbeaten in their last 30 Southern Conference regular season matches. UNCG has not lost a regular season conference match since October 30, 2005 in a 4-3 double-overtime setback at Furman. Ironically, the Spartans will close out the regular season at Elon on Thursday night ? October 30 ? with a chance to go unbeaten for three consecutive conference
slates. UNCG is 28-0-2 in that span, going 9-0-1 in 2006 and a perfect 10-0-0 in 2007.
A match-up of two teams that had already clinched home quarterfinal round games for next Sunday, the game was well-played throughout. With 40 seconds to play, a foul was called that appeared to be just inside of the box. However, the official ruled that contact took place just outside the 18-yard line to give UNCG a free kick. The clock continued to run as Davidson set up its five-person wall.
On the restart, Kristin Player touched to Kelly Attayek, who quickly touched as Lopez came forward. The junior from Concord, NC hooked the ball into the top left corner, just inside the near post, to give UNCG the only goal of the match and Lopez’s second of the season.
The shots in the match were even at 8-8. UNCG had an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks, but could not capitalize on them. Jessie Baxa had five saves for Davidson (9-5-3, 7-3-0), while freshman Kelsey Kearney had four saves to earn her eight shutout of the season, fifth-most in school history and the most by a UNCG freshman.
Elon 3, Georgia Southern 0
ELON, N.C. - Katina Boozer scored the game-winner and assisted on another score as the Elon Phoenix cruised to a 3-0 Southern Conference women's soccer victory over the visiting Georgia Southern Eagles on Senior Day from Rudd Field on Sunday afternoon. The shutout was the seventh of the year for the Phoenix who improved to 8-7-2 overall and 4-5-1 in league play. Georgia Southern fell to 4-10-3, 2-7-1 on the year and was kept without a shot on goal for the entire match.
Boozer's third goal of the season came at the 7:25 mark when Susannah Gianakos fed her a pass to the right side of the box. Boozer's low shot found the back of the net past a save attempt by Georgia Southern's Lauren Santos.
Elon had numerous chances to add to its lead in the first 45 minutes, but was unable to score again despite putting a total of eight shots on goal in the frame.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Boozer crossed a ball from the right side to a waiting Alix Heinicke. Heinicke blasted a shot off the hands of Santos, but the keeper could not control the save and the ball went through her hands and into the goal for the score. It was Heinicke's second tally this season.
Elon added another marker at 80:59. Brittany Hallberg touched a ball to the middle of the field near at the top of the box to Taylor Harlan. Hallberg made a run behind Harlan who played the ball back on a perfect give-and-go. Hallberg ripped the shot for her second goal of the season.
Lizz Johnson earned her second shutout of the year and the 10th of her career for the Phoenix.
Santos finished the afternoon with eight saves.
Elon took 19 total shots, including 12 attempts on goal. Georgia Southern managed just four shots, none of which were on goal, in the 90 minutes of play.
Elon will head back to the pitch to take on league-leading UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. on Thursday night from Rudd Field. Georgia Southern will host Davidson at 4 p.m. that same day.
Furman 5, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel dropped a 5-0 decision to Furman Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs held the Paladins scoreless for 55 minutes behind 11 saves from freshman goalkeeper Laura Serafino.
Furman kicked three corner kicks for the first plays of the game and the Paladins were the first to take a shot but it was saved by Serafino. Furman shot three more times before Nicole Martinoli took the first shot for the Bulldogs with 29 minutes on the clock. Furman held the Bulldogs for seven minutes before Martinoli took another shot but came wide of the net. The game was scoreless as halftime, marking the the first time this season that the Bulldogs went into the break, 0-0 with a SoCon opponent.
Jessa Scott took her first shot of the game to open the second half but it sailed wide. The Bulldogs held Furman for 55 minutes until Martha Hall put a point on the board for the Paladins. Dianna Martin took a shot for the Bulldogs but came high of the net. The Paladins scored twice in a six-minute span midway through the second half. The Citadel put in a good fight but was unable to attempt any shots before Furman put two more goals on the board for the, 5-0 win. The Bulldogs fall to 3-13-1, 1-9 SoCon and the Paladins improve to 12-6-1, 6-4 SoCon.
Serafino’s career high of 16 saves was against Marshall back on Sept. 5. The Bulldogs totaled five shots with Martinoli having two and Martin, Scott, and Jessica Stewart tallied one.
Samford 2, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- The Samford University soccer team picked up its biggest win of the 2008 season on Sunday as the Bulldogs outlasted the Western Carolina Catamounts, 2-1, in a critical Southern Conference showdown played at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Samford’s Caroline Baxter scored the game-winning goal during the 82nd minute of play. Redshirt freshman Sarah Wilkinson tallied her second goal in as many games during the first half and true freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead recorded down six saves.
Samford (8-8-2, 7-1-2 SoCon) extended its undefeated streak to seven-straight games and earned its fourth-consecutive victory. With the win, the Bulldogs also moved into third place in the conference standings and clinched a first-round SoCon Tournament match at home.
With Sunday’s home loss, Western Carolina (11-7, 8-2 SoCon) suffered its first defeat in five games and its first at the Catamount Athletic Complex since a 2-1 double-overtime setback against Belmont on Sept. 7. Western Carolina moved to 6-2 in home matches this season.
Samford’s Wilkinson opened the scoring with her fourth goal of the season during the 27th minute of play. She was set up for the goal by Whitehead, the Bulldogs’ goalkeeper. The assist was the first of her career.
On the score, Whitehead blasted a deep goal punt deep into Western Carolina territory. The ball then took another high bounce and Wilkinson ran under it, made a move past the Catamounts’ goalkeeper and scored to give Samford an early 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs continued to hold their 1-0 lead in Sunday’s match until the first minute of the second half when Western Carolina’s Kayla Beauduy notched her fifth goal of the season. On the score, she fired a shot past Whitehead into the lower left corner of the goal.
Beauduy’s goal snapped Whitehead’s scoreless streak of 581:36 minutes. Samford’s talented 6-foot-3 goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., had gone six-consecutive games without allowing a score, a streak that dated back to a Sept. 19 match against Auburn.
Despite giving up a goal for the first time in over a month, Whitehead registered six key saves and made a number of critical stops for the Bulldogs. Since taking over the starting job for injured Cayley Winters, Whitehead has tallied an impressive 5-0-1 record in goal.
Following Beauduy’s goal during the 46th minute of play, the teams battled back and forth for a majority of the second half and the game seemed destined for overtime.
Then, in the 82nd minute of play, Samford’s Baxter scored the biggest goal of her career to give the Bulldogs their decisive 2-1 lead. On the play, Samford’s junior from Dallas, Texas, gathered a loose ball on the left flank and rifled a hooking shot into the right corner of the net.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, Samford will play host to an opening-round game of the SoCon Tournament. The critical postseason contest will be held at Bulldog Field at 6 p.m. (CT).