The Citadel 2, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Citadel soccer team defeated Georgia Southern, 2-1, at Eagle Field in Statesboro, Ga. on Thursday afternoon. This victory marks the first Southern Conference road win in program history and second conference win this season.
Amy Loughran led the Bulldogs with two goals while Leah Hawkins and Nikkita Persaud tallied one assist each. Whitney Nave finished with two saves in goal for the Bulldogs. The Citadel outshot the Eagles, 13-11 and both teams tied with three corners each.
Persaud took the first shot on goal of the match four minutes in but Georgia Southern's Lauren Santos picked up her first save of the game. The Eagles had an opportunity to score in the 39th minute from a goal kick but it was blocked by a wall of Bulldog defenders. Whitney Nave earned her first save of the game when Georgia Southern took their first shot on goal with 34:30 on the clock.
Loughran then dribbled the ball a few feet and scored for The Citadel with 28:55 remaining in the first half.
The Bulldogs moved ahead 2-0 on Loughran's second goal. Persaud picked up the assist as The Citadel took the 2-0 lead with 15:03 left in the first half. The Bulldogs finished the first half outshooting Georgia Southern 10-7.
In the second half, the Eagles started off strong when Georgia Southern's Candace Marshall almost slipped the ball in right pass Nave but it fell wide four minutes in. GSU's Sara Oland took a shot that slipped past Nave to cut The Citadel's lead to 2-1.
The Eagles tried to capitalize on several chances but were unsuccessful. The Bulldogs improve to 5-8 (2-3 SoCon) while Georgia Southern falls to 0-12 (0-5) SoCon. This is also the second time in program history that the Bulldogs have recorded five wins with the first dating back to the 2002 season.
Wofford 3, Chattanooga 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford women's soccer defeated Chattanooga 3-2, Thursday evening at Snyder Field. The Terriers scored the game-winning goal with 54 seconds left in the contest to beat the Mocs.
Wofford is now 3-10-0 overall and 2-3-0 in Southern Conference play while Chattanooga moves to 6-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in Southern Conference.
Wofford began the game with two shots by Cassie Rex and Sydney Reed and three corner kicks. Chattanooga had four shots with the first goal of the game being scored at 12:35 by Becca Smith off an assist by Chelsea Hurst. Less than three minutes later, Wofford's Nikki Siebert took a shot from the right side, 20 yards out, and scored the Terriers' first goal with an assist by Anne Phillips. The Mocs rounded out the first half with 7 shots, 6 saves, and 1 corner kick. The Terriers had 11 shots, 3 saves, and 5 corner kicks.
With the game tied, 1-1, Wofford took the lead in the 51st minute as Cassie Rex fired a shot from 15 yards out with an assist by Nikki Siebert to score the Terriers second goal of the game. At 65:25 Chattanooga's Becca Smith took a shot that was blocked. As the ball was loose in the box, the Mocs' Donna-Kay Henry scored from 10 yards out at with an assist by Kelly Downs at 65:38. With less than one minute remaining in the half, at 89:06, Wofford's Nikki Siebert took an unassisted shot from 25 yards out to secure the victory.
The Terriers had 16 shots to the Mocs' 15 and led the game in corner kicks 7 to 3. Chattanooga's goalkeeper, Taylor Davidson had 7 saves for the match while Wofford's goalkeepers Erika Christensen and Katie McChesney each had 3 saves individually. Nikki Siebert scored 2 out of the 3 goals for Wofford.
UNC Greensboro 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - In a rematch of last season's Southern Conference Championship title game, UNC Greensboro exacted a measure of revenge with a 3-0 win over Western Carolina on Thursday.
The Spartans improved to 8-5-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the league to remain tied atop the conference standings. Western Carolina saw its six-match unbeaten streak end in falling to 5-4-4 overall and 2-1-2 in the SoCon.
UNCG and Western Carolina - who were picked 1-2 in the preseason SoCon poll - met in last season's title match, playing to a scoreless draw before the Catamounts took the crown in penalty kicks, earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and denying the Spartans a spot in postseason play.
UNCG picked up goals from Tabitha Padgett, Kristin Player and Nicole Danford for its sixth win in its last seven matches.
Padgett got the scoring started in the 23rd minute, scoring her team-leading sixth goal of the season off a Jen Bronson pass on a breakaway to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. Kelly Attayek was also credited with an assist on the play.
Player matched Padgett with her sixth goal of the season just 11 minutes later, scoring from about 10 yards out off passes from Cat Barnekow and Casey Godwin to make it a 2-0 game in the 34th minute.
That was where the score would stay going into halftime, with the Spartans holding a 7-1 edge in shots in the opening frame. WCU's Jenny Matteson had the Catamounts' lone attempt in the first half, and didn't get it off until the 41st minute.
The Spartans continued to control the run of play in the second half, rattling off another seven shots to just four for Western Carolina. UNCG finished with a 14-5 shot advantage for the game, while the Catamounts held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Danford got in on the scoring in the 66th minute, notching an unassisted goal from 10 yards out after a breakaway.
Western Carolina put its first shot on frame in the 51st minute, as Shanna Schmoker forced UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney's first save of the evening. Schmoker would finish with two of WCU's five shots in the contest.
In all, Kearney - last season's first-team All-Southern Conference keeper - made two saves on the evening in picking up her fifth shutout of the season.
Her counterpart, Caitlin Williams - last season's SoCon tournament MVP and this season's preseason all-conference keeper - made five saves and allowed three goals.
Samford 2, Furman 1 (2OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Melissa Miller's looping shot found the far left corner of the net at the 105:25 mark to lift Samford over Furman 2-1 in double overtime in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Thursday night at Stone Stadium.
With less than five minutes remaining in the second overtime period, a chipped ball into the box was headed by a defender into the path of Miller on the right side of the box. The junior shielded her defender and lofted a shot over Paladin goalkeeper Jessica Smith and into the left side netting for her second goal of the season.
The victory improved Samford to 8-1-2 overall and 3-1-1 in the SoCon play while Furman slipped to 8-4-0 overall and 2-3-0 inside the league.
Samford grabbed a first half lead in the 13th minute when Amber Cress took a Leah Leppert pass on the right side of the 18-yard box and laced a shot into the left corner for her fifth goal of the season. Furman delivered an equalizer before half as Martha Hall scored her league-leading ninth goal of the season. Katya Gokhman served a curling long ball to the top of the box and Hall settled the pass before firing a shot below a charging Alyssa Whitehead at 37:21.
The Paladins had several chances to break the deadlock during regulation. Hall forced Whitehead into a dive effort midway through the half and senior Sara El-Shami had an unmarked shot at the far post on a cross, but was unable to direct her effort on frame.
Furman managed an 8-7 edge in shots while corner kicks were even at 4-4. Whitehead, despite allowing just her third goal of the season, stopped three shots to earn the victory in goal for Samford. Smith notched two saves for the Paladins.
Elon 0, Appalachian State 0
BOONE, N.C. - The Elon women's soccer team played the host Appalachian State Mountaineers to a scoreless tie in Southern Conference action at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex on Thursday night. The Phoenix moved to 7-3-2 on the season and 3-1-1 in league action. Appalachian State advanced to 5-6-2 overall and 2-2-1 in the SoCon.
Elon tallied 15 shots, forcing Appalachian keeper Emma White to record eight saves in the effort. ASU attempted 13 shots, but only three were on goal. The Phoenix took 11 corner kicks, including six in the second period, compared to only three by the home team.
In the final 45 minutes of regulation, the momentum shifted several times. Elon opened as the more aggressive team, gaining much of the possession early in the second period. Freshman Caroline McKinley had a solid look at the net in the 55th minute, but her shot sailed just wide of the post.
Several minutes later, Appalachian State's Caroline Lowe drilled a shot on goal from the right side, forcing Elon goalie Sydney Little to make a diving save. The Phoenix defense cleared the ball to keep the Mountaineers off the board.
Elon gained possession and junior Brittany Hallberg had two of her team-high five shots blocked and the Phoenix was unable to convert on back-to-back corner kicks.
Midway through the half, ASU was granted a free kick due to one of the 33 fouls called in the contest. Mountaineer defender Katy Dodd fired a shot from about 20 yards out over the Elon wall, but Little was there again to corral the ball as the game remained scoreless through regulation.
Elon headed to overtime for the fourth time this season - the Phoenix is 2-0-2 in extra minute contests this year. In the first sudden death period, neither team was able to put much pressure on the goal. The Phoenix had a late corner kick, but Appalachian cleared away any Elon threat.
In the last 10 minutes, Elon managed to get off several shots, including one by Hallberg that was drilled at the center of the net. Unfortunately, White was there to make the save. The Phoenix defense would continue its strong play and earn its fifth clean sheet of the season.
College of Charleston 2, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team earned its fourth conference victory with a 2-0 win over the Davidson Wildcats on Thursday evening at Alumni Stadium.
The win gives the Cougars a 4-1 record in the Southern Conference to remain tied for first place alongside UNC Greensboro, who defeated Western Carolina earlier in the evening. Charleston increases its overall record to 8-4-1.
Senior defender Brittany Schneider put the Cougars on the board with a shot to the far post at the 33:44 mark in the first half. Freshman midfielder Katie Kerr registered her third assist of the season on the play. Davison attempted to even the score with a pair of shots, but time ran out and the Cougars entered halftime with a 1-0 advantage.
The Cougars struck again less than five minutes into the second half when sophomore midfielder Hope Atkinson redirected a pass by Amanda Raymond and netted her second goal of the season off a header.
Davidson held the edge in shots (21-5) and corner kicks (5-1) but were stifled by College of Charleston's defense. Senior goalkeeper Sarah Wiggers recorded a career-high 11 saves over 90 minutes of action. Wiggers was aided by a stong defensive core that included Raymond, Emily Morgan and Annie Pease.