Wofford 2, Presbyterian 1 (2OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Wofford sophomore Nikki Siebert tallied her first goal of the season, and second of her career, to lift the Terriers to a 2-1 double-overtime triumph over Presbyterian during opening day action of the Academy Sports Shootout at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
Siebert, a Naperville, Ill., native corralled a loose ball on the right side of the six-yard box and buried it high into the netting behind Blue Hose goalkeeper Abby Young for the game winner at 100:48. Freshman Anne Breeden was credited with the assist on the play.
Presbyterian (1-4) started by scoring the match's opening tally, at 13:38, when Lytle Cannon created her own shot after sidestepping a Terrier defender and fired her shot home from 25 yards out past Wofford goalkeeper Katie McChesney.
The Terriers, after trailing by one at the half, switched their game plan and came out in the second 45 minutes playing a more aggressive attack. Freshman Maggie McLaughlin tallied the equalizer at 47:14 after a long through ball from junior Monica Ploetzke. McLaughlin took the pass and dribbled 15 yards before sliding the ball underneath a charging Young.
Both teams held much of the possession in the middle of the field and the contest ended with a 14-14 deadlock on shots. Ploetzke and McLaughlin paced Wofford (1-3-2) with three shots apiece, while Tricia Bryan topped Presbyterian with a game-high seven attempts.
In earlier action Friday at the Academy Sports Shootout, Kennesaw State scored three times off corner kicks to defeat Furman, 3-1. Caroline Austin for the Owls assisted on all three goals after sending in passes from the corner flag.
Academy Sports Shootout play will conclude with two more matches Sunday. Presbyterian and Furman will kick-off at 2 p.m. followed by Wofford and Kennesaw State at 4 p.m. at Snyder Field.
UNC Greensboro 1, Santa Clara 0
PALO ALTO, CA. ? Freshman Nicole Danford scored her third goal of the season to give the UNC Greensboro women’s soccer team a hard fought win over 15th-ranked Santa Clara University, 1-0, at the Stanford/Nike Invitational.
The win marks the third victory over an opponent from the state of California in just the first trip to the California for the Spartans. UNCG (5-2-0) has now won three straight games and will look to make it four against No. 3 Stanford on Sunday afternoon.
Danford broke the scoreless tie in the 43rd minute, sending the Spartans into half time with a 1-0 advantage and much of the momentum as the UNCG defense was able to ward off two late attempts by the Broncos, forcing Santa Clara (3-3-0) to send two shots high and then wide.
The freshman upped her season point total to eight with her third goal of the year after a loose ball in front of the net founds its way to a sliding Danford and into the back of the net. Along with Danford, Katelynn Donovan and Jenn Partenheimer each record two shots, giving the Spartans a total of give for the night.
Despite being out-shot 11-to-five on the evening, the Spartan defense was able to hold their opponent scoreless for the first time this season.
Senior Jamie Corti and junior Lauren Lopez anchored a Spartan defense that allowed the Broncos just five shots on goal in 90 minutes of play in front of freshman goalie Kelsey Kearney. In just her second collegiate start, Kearney came up with five saves, including her one and only save of the second half, in the 47th minute of play, to keep Santa Clara at bay.
The Broncos’ also held the advantage on corner kicks, an area that the Spartans have dominated their opponents thus far this season. Santa Clara sent six corners into the box, but came up empty each time as the UNCG defense turned each away from net.
The Spartans will return to action on Sunday as they take on host and third-ranked Stanford in a 5:30 pm ET game. The Cardinal and Spartans have never faced one another.
Elon 1, Gardner-Webb 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Molly Calpin continued to lead her Elon Phoenix women's soccer team on Friday afternoon as she connected for her third goal of the season to lead Elon to a 1-0 victory over Gardner-Webb in the opening game of the Carolinas Border Classic hosted by USC Upstate. Elon (2-2-1) will face Winthrop (2-3-0), who defeated USC Upstate 1-0 Friday night, for the tournament title on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Calpin's tally, her second game-winner of the year, came in the 40th minute when she sent a slow roller past Gardner-Webb's Sarah Wyszynski after taking a pass from Susannah Gianakos.
Elon's Sydney Little had to turn away just two shots from the Runnin' Bulldogs in her 90 minutes of work in goal.
Wyszynski collected four saves while playing the entire game for GWU (1-5-0).
Elon out-shot Gardner-Webb 6-4 overall and 5-2 on goal in the victory.
The Runnin' Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on any of their eight corner kicks. The Phoenix took four corners.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday with Elon and Winthrop playing at 2 p.m. That will be followed by USC Upstate hosting Gardner-Webb at 4:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern 1, Mercer 1
MACON, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women’s soccer team scored first in the 58th minute of play against Mercer, but settled for a 1-1 draw. Ashley Toussaint scored her third goal of the season off a pass from Danae Kaimuloa to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Toussaint finished the game with a goal and four shots on goal. Georgia Southern is now 2-2-1 and Mercer is 1-3-2 on the season.
Mercer responded late and tied the game up at one goal each, when Olivia Tucker scored her first goal of the season off a pass from Meghan Castaldo.
That ended the scoring and neither team was to score in either of the two overtimes.
The Eagles took nine shots in the game.
Lauren Santos played all 110 minutes in goal for the Eagles and made 9 saves.
The Eagles return to Statesboro to face Georgia State on Friday the 19th.
Longwood 1, Appalachian State 0 (OT)
BOONE, N.C.- In the second match of the Mountaineer Invitational, Appalachian State University women's soccer posted a solid effort, but was unable to come away with a win, as Longwood scored in the first overtime period with less than two minutes remaining to grab the 1-0 victory. With the win, the Lancers move to 3-1-1 on the season while Appalachian falls to 1-2-1. The Mountaineers had defeated the Lancers in the team's four previous meetings.
The Apps got off to somewhat of a slow start in the first half, launching only two shots on goal. The Lancers on the other hand had a total of seven shots in the first half with six of them on target.
The score remained tied at zero at the halfway point.
Appalachian came out strong in the second half, as Jennifer MacNeill (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Western) crossed the ball to Caroline Lowe (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) who took a shot on goal just four minutes into the action. Lowe also had another good opportunity to score at the 35 minute mark but was called offsides.
Longwood also had its chances, as Kayla Huggins had a breakaway but hit the ball just wide of the goal.
After 90 minutes of play, neither team had scored so both headed into overtime.
With less than two minutes to play in the first overtime period, Michelle DiSieno scored for the Lancers, as the ball deflected off of her into the back of the net, off of teammate Brenda Cary's corner kick to give Longwood the 1-0 win. The corner kick was Longwood's only one of the afternoon.
Offensively, LU outshot ASU 13 to 6. MacNeill led Appalachian with three shots and two on target, while Kayla Huggins carried the Lancers offense, launching five shots with three on goal.
Defensively, Caroline Clarke (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood Christian) played all 98 minutes in goal for the Apps, tallying nine saves, while Marcia Biddle had four saves while in goal for the Lancers. Two yellow cards were issued during the match, one to ASU's Paige Morrow (Chape Hill, N.C./East Chapel Hill) and the other to Longwood's Kaylyn Mahon.
Appalachian looks to rebound as the Mountaineers take on Francis Marion in the second match of the Mountaineer Invitational, Sunday September 14 at 3 p.m. Longwood plays UNCW at Noon.
Harvard 2, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Davidson women's soccer team saw their school-record start to the 2008 campaign come to an end when Harvard took a 2-1 decision against the 'Cats on a cloudy Friday afternoon at Ohiri Field.
Davidson fell to 2-1-3, snapping their five-game unbeaten streak which was the best start in school history after five games. The last time Davidson started the year unbeaten was 2000 when that team went 3-0-0 through the first three games. The Wildcats also saw their nine-game unbeaten streak in road or neural games come to an end dating back to last season.
Harvard picked up its second straight win to improve to 2-2-0.
Down 2-0, freshman Stephanie Gerow (Houston, Texas) netted her second collegiate goal to cut the Crimson lead in half. After a volley from the right side, junior Blakely Low (San Antonio, Texas) chipped the ball in front of the goal. Gerow received the ball with her right foot and struck it past Harvard's goalie Lauren Mann for her second score of the season. The assist for Low was her first of the season and third of her career.
Harvard grabbed an early 1-0 lead at the 10:37 mark when Melanie Baskind dribbled the ball into the Davidson zone and passed to her right, finding Erin Wylie in front. Wylie chipped the ball over the shoulder of goalie Loning Ward (Charleston, S.C.) and into the top of the net, giving the Crimson a 1-0 advantage.
Baskind made it a 2-0 game later on in the first half at 31:34 mark. After receiving a pass from Lindsey Kowal at midfield, Baskind moved the ball on the left side into the box where she fired off a shot for her first career goal and third point of the day, while Kowal was credited with her first collegiate assist.
For the game, Harvard led in shots, 17-14, and in corners, 7-3. Ward made eight saves in net for the Wildcats, while Mann came up with six saves for the Crimson.
The Wildcats wrap up their road trip to the Northeast with a 12 p.m. contest at Providence College on Sunday, Sept. 14. Davidson and Providence have never faced each other.
Kennesaw State 3, Furman 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Kennesaw State’s Carolina Austin set up three goals off of corner kicks as the nationally-ranked Owls downed Furman 3-1 in women’s soccer action Friday night at the Academy Sports Shootout at Wofford College.
The loss dropped the Paladins to 3-2-1 while Kennesaw State improved to
4-2-1 on the season.
The Owls took an early lead at the 4:23 mark when Brittany Vining’s header at the near post off of Austin’s corner found the top corner of the goal out of the reach of Paladin goalkeeper Briana da Mota.
Kennesaw State doubled the lead in the 55th minute. Bridget Gaughn’s shot off of Austin’s corner kick rebounded to Jessica Kalonji who buried her second goal of the year to open a 2-0 lead. In the 71st minute, Beth Meadors redirected Austin’s corner past da Mota to extend the KSU lead to 3-0.
Martha Hall notched a consolation goal for the Paladins in the 88th minute lining a low shot into the corner for her third goal of the season.
Furman outshot the Owls 15-6, including an 8-6 edge in shots on goal, but keeper Staci Pugh recorded seven saves to lead Kennesaw State to the victory. Da Mota stopped two shots for Furman in 71 minutes of work.
The Paladins return to action Sunday at the Academy Sports Shootout battling Presbyterian at 2 p.m. Kennesaw State faces the host Terriers on Sunday.
Alabama 1, Samford 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team dropped a second-straight hard-fought matchup to a Southeastern Conference opponent Friday as the Bulldogs suffered a 1-0 loss against the Alabama Crimson Tide at the UA Softball Complex. The meeting was the first all-time between Samford and Alabama.
Last week, in the championship match of the 2008 adidas Gamecock Classic, the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaking double-overtime contest to Arkansas, 1-0.
“This was a tough one for us, because I thought that the second half was the best that we’ve played all season long,” said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. “It’s frustrating because we looked really good at times. We won balls in the midfield, we combined really well and we created a lot of opportunities, but right now we’re struggling with finishing.”
In Friday’s loss, Samford (1-5) led a late charge in the second half and outshot Alabama (2-2-1) in the final 45 minutes of play. The Bulldogs’ offensive attack was led by junior Amber Cress and sophomores Colette Nammour, Melissa Miller and Kelly Shaffer.
All four of the aforementioned players rattled off two shot attempts apiece.
Samford and Alabama both finished the game with 13 shot attempts. Seven of the Bulldogs’ 13 shots were on-goal, while four of the Crimson Tide’s attempts were on target.
“I thought that in the second half, we had some players that really battled and fought hard,” Yelton said. “We brought a lot of character late in the game and we fought like crazy, but it just didn’t work out in the end. I feel like we’re getting better as the season goes on. We just need to score some key goals.”
The Crimson Tide scored the lone goal of Friday’s match during the 29th minute of play as senior midfielder Jessica Deegan tallied her first goal of the season.
After the teams fought back-and-forth and traded possessions to start the game, Alabama earned a throw-in deep in Samford’s territory. On the game-winning play, the Crimson Tide’s Rosaly Petriello gathered the throw-in and drove to her right down the left flank of the field.
Petriello, a sophomore midfielder from Ontario, Canada, then slipped past a Samford defender and sent a pass to the center of the field for Deegan.
Petriello’s pass led Deegan directly in front of Samford’s goal where she one-timed the ball into the top-left corner of the net from 16 yards out. On the play, Alabama took its decisive 1-0 lead in the contest and Petriello notched her second assist of the 2008 season.
“I don’t think we really played that well in the first half, but I have to give Alabama credit,” Yelton said. “This was their home game and they came out and played energized soccer early on. The frustrating thing for us is that I kind of think that we might have let one slip away. In the end, Alabama was able to find the back of the net and we weren’t.”
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 4 p.m., as the Bulldogs continue their tour of in-state opponents with a non-conference matchup against the UAB Blazers at West Campus Field.
Yale 3, Western Carolina 1
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University used three first half goals, downing Western Carolina, 3-1, Friday evening at the Yale Soccer Classic.
The Yale Bulldogs improve to 2-2, while the Catamounts fall to 1-4 on the young season.
Eleven minutes into the first half of play the Yale Bulldogs took the early advantage scoring first. Team captain, Yale senior Emma Whitfield beat Catamount keeper, Katie Jacobs after receiving a cross from teammates, Becky Brown and Maggie Westfal. Whitfield took the pass and fired a shot into the center of the net for her first goal of the season, giving Yale the 1-0 lead.
Nine minutes later the Bulldogs struck again this time sophomore Becky Brown took a pass from Whitfield to score the goal. Brown beat Catamount keeper, Jacobs one on one after receiving the pass from teammate, Whitfield to increase Yale's lead to 2-0.
One minute and seven seconds later Yale answered again after Catamount keeper Jacobs made the initial save, and then Yale forward Brown followed up the first shot with a rebound shot that went into the net giving the Bulldogs a 3-1 advantage early in the first half.
Brown finished the contest with two goals and an assist giving her four goals on the season.
The Catamounts got one back two minutes into the second half of play cutting the Yale advantage to 3-1. Junior forward Nikki Collins dribbled down the right side made a cut into the middle and scored. Collins beat Bulldogs keeper, Adelaide Gay after receiving a pass from teammate, Nikki Lombardo, for her first goal of the season.
Western Carolina had some opportunities in the contest when at the 14 minute mark in the first half junior Shannon Fowkes had a great chance to tie the score at 1-1 but Yale keeper Ayana Sumiyasu made the save on the shot.
The Catamounts out shot the Bulldogs 7-to-3 in the second half of play, junior Nikki Collins led the way with the goal and two shots on net.
Western Carolina finishes the Yale Soccer Classic on Sunday against Sacred Heart starting at 11:30 a.m.