Western Carolina 1, South Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? The Western Carolina women’s soccer team was aggressive all afternoon and it paid off with a 1-0 upset win against No. 20 South Carolina Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Soccer Complex. It is the first victory over a ranked opponent in the program’s 10-year history, as the Catamounts improve to 3-5, while the Gamecocks suffer their first loss of the season falling to 6-1-2.
The Catamounts scored off a corner kick from senior Arlan Whittle, which went past Gamecocks goal keeper Mollie Patton to give Western Carolina the 1-0 lead. The goal at the 64:00 minute mark gave Whittle her first of the season and proved to be the game-winner.
“We knew we had to be aggressive coming in, I knew I had the corner kick and it was dangerous,” said senior Arlan Whittle.” “We are all really excited, and this is a great win for the program,” Whittle said.
The first half was very physical from the start of the game with both teams attacking down the pitch. One minute into the game South Carolina nearly scored off a shot from Lindsay Small that hit the left side of the post after Catamounts goal keeper Caitlin Williams got a piece of the ball to deflect it.
Western Carolina had an opportunity in the first half when Whittle fired a shot on net but Gamecocks goal keeper Patton made the save.
The first half ended with South Carolina leading 3-to-1 in shots but Western Carolina had great intensity from the start. The physical nature of the first half lead to 12 first half fouls with eight coming from the Catamounts.
The second half continued the emotionally play by the Catamounts when four minutes into the half junior Shannon Fowkes had a shot on goal but Gamecocks goal keeper Patton made the stop.
“We had to come out and put some pressure on their players to be successful,” said head coach Tammy DeCesare. “This is the biggest win for our program to date by far.”
After the Catamounts took the 1-0 lead South Carolina had some opportunities to even the match. With seven minutes remaining a shot by Gamecocks midfielder Lolly Holland was blocked. Seconds later teammate Kim Miller’s shot went high over the net.
Catamounts goal keeper Williams finished the game with four saves and recorded her second shutout of the season.
Georgia Southern 4, High Point 4
Statesboro, Ga. - Georgia Southern rallied from a 4-1 deficit to tie the game with just seven minutes left in the match. The match headed to overtime, but ended up in a tie, 4-4.
Niki Lepper scored the game-tying goal in the 84th minute. The goal was the first of the season for Lepper and came after her first shot attempt was blocked. The ball rebounded to her and Lepper drilled it into the right side of the net for the goal.
The Lady Eagles are now 2-3-2 on the season.
Lauren Santos played the whole game in the net for the Lady Eagles and picked up three saves. Santos passed her former teammate Laura-Ashley Harris to become the all-time leader in saves for the Lady Eagles.
High Point scored the first two goals of the match for either team. The first goal came in the sixth minute of play, when Karra Damascus scored off a deflected shot from Sara Rager.
Ashley Toussaint scored the Lady Eagles first two goals of the match. Toussaint also moved past Katy Znosko and Rachel Tolliver for fifth place all-time on the Georgia Southern career goals scored list.
Elissa Botts scored the third goal of the game off a pass from Jenny Anderson in the 75th minute of play. Danae Kaimuloa picked up a shot on goal.
The Lady Eagles return to action on the 26th at Wofford. The match will be the first SoCon match of the season and is set to start at 6 pm.
Jacksonville 3, Chattanooga 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. --- The Chattanooga women’s soccer team fell 3-0 to Jacksonville in the conclusion of the Crimson Tide Classic Sunday afternoon at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
The Dolphins took a 1-0 lead at the 13:58 mark on an unassisted goal by Keri Zwikker who beat a defender one-on-one and scored from eight yards out. That score would hold throughout the remainder of the first half with UTC keeper Preston grabbing four of her seven saves in the first half.
Jacksonville would add two insurance goals in the second half with Zwikker striking again in the 69th minute up the middle on an assist from Sissel Rawn. JU’s final goal came on a header from a corner kick by Devin Dowell with an assist credited to Kelli Brougham.
Jacksonville outshot UTC 17-10 with 10 shots on goal to four for the Lady Mocs. JU keeper Alexa Rooney made four saves in 90 minutes in goal.
Chattanooga will return to the North River Soccer Complex this weekend to open the Southern Conference portion of its schedule. The Lady Mocs will host UNC Greensboro Friday at 7 p.m. and Elon Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is free all year.
UNC Wilmington 2, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? An early first-period goal by the UNC Wilmington Seahawks proved to be the game-winning score as the Seahawks took a 2-0 decision on the road over the Davidson women's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.
Davidson dropped its second straight, after starting the year unbeaten in its first five contests, falling to 2-2-3. UNC Wilmington, which opened the season 1-3-1, earned its third straight victory to move over .500 at 4-3-1.
The Wildcats, off since last Friday, Sept. 12, after rain cancelled their game on the 14th at Providence, did not come out as sharp as they had hoped to and the Seahawks took advantage.
UNC Wilmington got on the board quickly with a score seven minutes into the game. Sarah Matthews of UNCW worked the ball down the right sideline on the near side and attempted a cross into the box. Two Davidson defenders were there to cut the pass off, but in trying to clear the ball, they hit it to Sydney Rigsbee, who was in the middle of the field just outside the 18-yard box. Rigsbee squared up and fired off a shot to the top-right corner of the goal for her first score of the season and a 1-0 Seahawk lead.
Davidson tried to put pressure on the Wilmington defense the rest of the half, firing off five shots, but were not able to punch one in before the end of the first period.
Kelly Renkin of the Seahawks added an insurance goal in the 60th minute when she drew a penalty kick in the box off of a corner kick.
Both teams got off nine shots apiece, while UNCW had a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Goalkeeper Loring Ward (Charleston, S.C.) started her second straight contest and registered two saves, while Chandler Follett of the Seahawks came up with four saves.
The Wildcats look to get back on the winning track when they open Southern Conference play this coming week with trips to Greenville, S.C. and Spartanburg, S.C. to play Furman and Wofford. Davidson will battle Furman, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. and then take on Wofford, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. Last year's trip to Furman saw the 'Cats take a 1-0 decision.