UNC Greensboro 3, Appalachian State 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNC Greensboro sophomore Jaimey Etten scored a pair of first-half goals and freshman Lauren Hein added an insurance strike late in the second half as the Spartans beat Appalachian State on Sunday, 3-1.
Etten's first career multi-goal game doubled her career goals total and helped UNCG stay in first place in the Southern Conference standings. With the victory, the Spartans (9-5, 5-1 SoCon) kept pace with College of Charleston, which beat Georgia Southern 1-0 on Sunday to run its record to 5-1 in league play.
The Spartans got the scoring started in the 15th minute, with Kelly Attayek sending in a cross from the left wing. Freshman Tabitha Padgett corralled the ball and sent it to Etten in front of the goal, and Etten turned and poked it into the lower right corner for the early advantage. The assist was the first of Padgett's career and the goal was Etten's first of the season.
Appalachian State (5-7-2, 2-3-1 SoCon) nearly found the equalizer in the 20th minute, when a defensive gaffe nearly cost the Spartans a goal. With keeper Kelsey Kearney and defender Lauren Lopez playing keep-away with App's Caroline Lowe, Kearney whiffed on her attempt to clear the ball. Lowe was there to pounce on the miscue, but couldn't put her shot on frame, sending it wide left.
The Spartans quickly regrouped, and Padgett and Etten connected again in the 27th minute. This time, Padgett found a wide-open Etten at the top of the box and Etten easily put the shot away for the 2-0 lead.
The Mountaineers came out with renewed focus in the second half, threatening again in the 51st minute with Paige Morrow getting free on a breakaway. Kearney came well off her line and made an outstanding save to snuff out the shot, keeping the Mountaineers scoreless for the time being.
Appalachian State finally broke through in the 70th minute off a set play, with Hannah Coad nodding home a Lowe corner kick to cut the Spartans' lead in half.
About 12 minutes later, Hein headed home a Jen Bronson cross for her third goal of the season, restoring UNCG's two-goal lead and giving the Spartans a little breathing room.
UNCG finished with a 25-9 shot advantage, and took five corner kicks to just two for App.
Kearney finished with three saves and one goal allowed, while Alex Perry worked the final 7:19 to close out the win.
Appalachian State keeper Caroline Clarke allowed three goals and made eight stops.
Davidson 1, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Thanks to an early first-half goal off the foot of senior Blakely Low, the Davidson women¹s soccer team scored their third win in the past four games, taking a 1-0 Southern Conference road decision over The Citadel on Sunday afternoon.
Low's game-winner was her second of the season, both coming in two of the last three games. She has a team-best five goals on the year to push her career total to 16.
After dropping four straight from mid-September to the end of the month, the Wildcats have turned things around and won three of their last four contests with all three wins coming against SoCon-foes. With the win, they improved to 6-9 overall and evened their SoCon mark at 3-3.
The Citadel, which earned its first road league win ever on Friday at Georgia Southern, fell to 5-9 and 2-4 in league action.
The lone score of the game came in the 14th minute when Low fired off her second shot of the contest that found the back of the net at the 14:55 mark for a Wildcat 1-0 advantage.
Davidson¹s defense and goalkeeper, Jessie Baxa took care of the rest, shutting out the Bulldogs the rest of the way for the 1-0 win. The shutout win was Baxa's second of the year as she finished with three saves between the pipes.
For the second game in a row, Davidson tallied at least 20 shots, closing with 24 for the game and putting 10 of them on goal. The Citadel had six shots in the contest, and were held to just one corner kick compared to the Wildcats' six.
College of Charleston 1, Georgia Southern 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston women's soccer kept its perfect record at Patriots Point intact when the team bested Georgia Southern, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars held on to the top-ranked status in the Southern Conference, improving to 5-1 in the league and 9-4-1 overall. The loss dropped the Eagles to 0-13-0 and 0-6 in the conference.
Freshman midfielder Alyssa Bearden scored the lone goal of the match at the 27:26 mark, scoring on a breakaway and drawing Eagles' goalkeeper Lauren Santos before shooting 10 yards away. The score is Bearden's fourth of the season and third against a Southern Conference opponent.
Sophomore midfielder Lindsay Frey led the Cougars with six shots and earned an assist off Bearden's goal.
Freshman Katie Tate served as Charleston's goalkeeper, making one save in her third start of the season. Tate is now 2-1 on the season.
Georgia Southern recorded three shots against CofC, with Michelle Carlson leading the Eagles with two shots. Santos made five saves to keep the game close for the final 62 minutes.
Furman 1, Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Senior Sara El-Shami netted her first goal of the season and Jessica Smith recorded her fourth shutout as the Furman women's soccer team topped Chattanooga 1-0 in Southern Conference action Sunday afternoon in Chattanooga, Tenn.
The victory helped Furman improve to 9-4-0 overall and even its SoCon mark at 3-3-0. Chattanooga slipped to 6-4-1 overall and fell to 1-4-1 in league play.
In the 26th minute, Martha Hall dribbled down the left side and sent a pass across the box to El-Shami who beat Chattanooga goalkeeper Taylor Davidson with a 10-yard shot from the right side at 25:53 for the lone goal of the match. It marked El-Shami's first goal of the season and the first assist of the campaign for Hall who entered the match with a league leading nine goals.
Smith stopped seven shots in net to tally her third shutout in her last four outings as Furman held off the Mocs. The Paladins held a 13-11 advantage in shot attempts, but were having to defend several attacks from Chattanooga until the Mocs were reduced to 10 players when Donna-Kay Henry was issued her second yellow card in the 81st minute.
Elon 1, Western Carolina 0
ELON, N.C. -- Freshman Lindsey Nusdeo's header in the 37th minute propelled the Elon women's soccer team to a 1-0 victory against the Western Carolina Catamounts in Southern Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Rudd Field. The victory was Elon's first-ever over Western Carolina. Elon improved to 8-3-2 overall, matching its total number of wins from all of last year. The Phoenix is 4-1-1 in the league and in second place in the standings. Western Carolina dropped to 5-5-4 on the season and 2-2-2 in the SoCon.
In a physical contest, each team battled for possession throughout the contest. Elon had a chance midway through the first half to get on the board when Alanna Winsper served a perfect ball in the box. Molly Calpin headed an attempt at the net, but goalie Caitlin Williams was in position to make the save. Williams posted two saves in the game.
Elon earned its lone corner kick of the half in the 37th minute. Freshman Liz Palmer notched her fifth assist of the season as her service found the head of Nusdeo who punched her first career strike into the far post at 36:59.
The Phoenix defense snuffed out the Western attack, securing its sixth shutout of the season. Elon goalkeeper Sydney Little secured four saves in the effort.
The shot tally was slightly in Elon's favor at 7-6 and the Phoenix attempted three corner kicks compared to two by the Catamounts.
Samford 0, Wofford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- For the third time in four meetings, the Samford soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against the Wofford Terriers. The scoreless tie was the third in the all-time series between the teams. The Bulldogs' Alyssa Whitehead made a pair of saves to earn her Southern Conference-leading seventh shutout of the season.
Samford (8-1-3, 3-1-2 Socon) dictated the play in Sunday's match, but failed to score a goal for only the third time this season. The Bulldogs outshot the Terriers 17-2 and led the corner kick tally by a count of 11-1.
With Sunday's scoreless draw, both Samford and Wofford (3-10-1, 2-3-1 SoCon) extended their undefeated streaks. The Bulldogs have not been defeated in four-consecutive matches, while the Terriers improved their streak to three straight contests.
In a sluggish first half of play, the teams combined to record two shot attempts; one for each side. The first-half total was Samford's lowest of the 2009 campaign.
The Bulldogs exploded for 10 shots in the second half, five of which were on-goal. Samford's Amber Cress led the way with six shot attempts, while Lauren Cook followed with three. Both players nearly tallied goals in the second half, but were thwarted by excellent saves from Wofford's goalkeeper Katie McChesney.
McChesney, who made her first start of the year Sunday, finished the match with a season-high six saves.
In the four all-time meetings between Samford and Wofford, three have finished in a 0-0 draw. The Bulldogs' lone victory in the series occurred Aug. 26, 2005, as they streaked to a 3-0 victory.