Chattanooga 8, USC Upstate 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. --- Chattanooga sophomore forward Donna-Kay Henry netted a school-record four goals and tied the Southern Conference mark as the Lady Mocs shutout USC Upstate 8-0 Sunday afternoon to win the Border Classic hosted by Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Henry scored the game winner just 5:14 in putting back a shot that bounced off the Spartan keeper’s hands. The Lady Mocs would score five more goals in the half to carry a 6-0 lead into the halftime break including a team-leading fifth season goal by Border Classic MVP Becca Smith. Smith also assisted on Henry’s second goal.
“Becca was named MVP and rightly so,” Lady Mocs Head Coach J.D. Kyzer said. “She scored in both games and has been a powerful rep for us the entire time. D.K. gets covered by so many players. The two of them together make a very strong and unselfish combo.”
Joining Smith on the all-classic team was Henry, Chelsea Hurst and Lauren Wilson.
Hurst took both penalty kicks for the Lady Mocs and scored on both for her first goals of the year. Wilson netted her first collegiate goal at the 39:54 mark of the first half by faking a shot and getting past the USCU keeper.
Sydney Dewberry made her collegiate debut Sunday afternoon starting the second half in goal for the Lady Mocs. An injury had her sidelined at the beginning of the year and fellow freshman Taylor Davidson filled the starting role. Dewberry made four of the Lady Mocs’ six saves Sunday.
Davidson, who exited the game at halftime with a 6-0 lead, was credited with the win and moves to 4-0-0 on the year with two more saves.
“This was a great test for us,” Kyzer said. “They weren’t the strongest opponent we’ve played this year. Friday’s opponent (Gardner-Webb) was very good. This was a chance for us to play in a different environment. I was proud of the way we kept our composure and played smart and deliberate.”
UNC Greensboro 2, Duquesne 1 (OT)
BLACKSBURG, Va. ? Kristin Player notched the tying goal in the 85th minute to force overtime, then netted the golden goal just over three minutes into the extra frame as UNC Greensboro topped Duquesne 2-1 at the Hilton Garden Hokie Classic on Sunday.
Player’s goal with just 5:11 left in regulation rallied the Spartans (3-4) from a 1-0 deficit, forcing the extra period. The junior from Placentia, Calif., took a pass from Cat Barnekow and deposited it into the left corner for her second goal of the season. Casey Godwin also picked up an assist on the play.
Player wasn’t done with the late-game heroics. Just 3:06 into the sudden-death overtime, Katie Evans played a ball up to Jen Rincon, who flicked the ball on to Player. Player finished it, giving UNCG the win in its first overtime game of the season.
Duquesne (3-4) got its lone goal in the 65th minute, when leading scorer Samantha Kaiser converted a Gia Marino pass to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead.
Kaiser nearly had her second goal in the 69th minute, but her shot hit the crossbar, keeping it a one-score contest.
UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney picked up the win in the net, making eight saves, one off her season high. Duquesne’s Gabby Morrin, who had posted two straight shutouts entering the game, made two saves in the losing effort.
The Dukes outshot UNCG 6-2 in the first half, but the Spartans stepped up their offensive presence in the second, holding a 9-6 edge in shots after intermission. Shots were tied at 12 for the contest, with Player’s goal accounting for the only shot in overtime for either team.
Kearney had a busy opening period, making saves on all six Duquesne shots in the first half.
Freshman Tabitha Padgett forced Morrin’s lone save in the first half, while Jen Bronson forced another in the 66th minute, just after Kaiser’s goal. Bronson had a busy 10-minute span, getting off a pair of corner kicks and three shots from the 56th-66th minutes.
The Spartans host High Point on Thursday in their final non-conference game of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Samford 1, Belmont 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. --- The Samford University soccer team improved its overall record on the season to 4-0-1 Sunday as the Bulldogs registered a hard-fought 1-0 road victory against the Belmont Bruins. Samford's Sarah Wilkinson scored the game-winning goal during the 51st minute of play.
Samford (4-0-1) extended its winning streak to four-consecutive matches and improved its shutout streak to five-straight contests. In 470 minutes of play this season, the Bulldogs have not allowed a goal. Samford has outscored its opponents by a total of 8-0.
The Bulldogs' goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead picked up her fourth shutout of the 2009 campaign Sunday. Samford's talented 6-foot-3 sophomore from Hattiesburg, Miss., has not allowed a goal in 460 minutes of action this season. Whitehead made four saves in Sunday's victory.
"We didn't play well at all in the first half, but we were able to regroup and play a lot better in the second half," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "It was a tough week for our team and we didn't look sharp at all in the beginning of the match. I'm proud of our players for coming together and fighting for a good win that we can dedicate to Jim (Griffin)."
With the loss, Belmont (1-4-1) had its winless streak extended to four-consecutive matches. The Bruins have not been victorious since a 2-1 victory against UT Martin on Aug. 30. On Friday, Belmont played to a scoreless draw versus Tennessee Tech.
Samford scored the game-winning goal of Sunday's match during the 51st minute of play. Wilkinson, the Bulldogs' shifty forward from Euless, Texas, tallied the score off an assist from junior Kelly Shaffer. The goal was already Wilkinson's third of the young season. The assist was Shaffer's second of the 2009 campaign.
On the game-winning goal, Shaffer moved the ball up field and eluded a pair of Belmont defenders. The Bulldogs' midfielder from Auburn, Ala., then skipped a pass forward to Wilkinson in the box. Wilkinson, despite heavy traffic, then gathered the ball, turned and fired a shot into the back of the net. The goal was scored at exactly 50:48 into the match.
"That was a huge goal for us," said Yelton. "It really shifted the momentum of the game and anytime you can score early in the second half, it bodes well for your team's chances. I felt that we were able to get a lot more scoring opportunities in the final period and it was good that our team was able to improve throughout the match."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m., as the Bulldogs continue their two-match road swing against the Kennesaw State Owls in Kennesaw, Ga. The nonconference matchup will be held at the KSU Soccer Complex.
Furman 2, Clemson 1 (OT)
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Sophomore Katya Gokhman tallied a pair of goals, including a 25-yard strike in the 93rd minute, to lift Furman to a 2-1 victory over Clemson in women’s soccer action Sunday afternoon at the Carolinas’ Cup at Historic Riggs Field.
The win improved Furman to 6-1 on the season and gave the Paladins their second straight victory over the Tigers. Clemson slipped to 2-4 on the campaign.
“This was a great victory for our team and a great way to bounce back after the loss on Friday night,” said Paladin head coach Andrew Burr. “Katya had two excellent goals and we got solid performances from a couple of freshmen, Paige Pickert and Claire Hodge. It was a great team win.”
Less than three minutes into the first overtime period, Gokhman raced past her defender and rifled a 25-yard shot past Tiger goalkeeper Paula Pritzen at 92:31 for the game-winner and her third tally of the season. The Alpharetta, Ga., product and Russia U-19 National Team member had given Furman an early 1-0 lead at 4:19 when she buried a long range effort on an assist from defender Ashley Creavalle before Clemson’s Stefanie Schroeder pulled the Tigers even in the 44th minute.
Clemson outshot the Paladins 13-12, but Furman held a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Smith stopped three shots to record her second victory over Clemson in as many tries. Pritzen saved seven shots for the Tigers.
Following the match, Gokhman, Lucy Martin and Pickert were named to the all-tournament team.
Furman will take a 12-day break before opening Southern Conference play on September 25, when it travels to Greensboro, N.C., to face preseason league favorite UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m.
Davidson 1, High Point 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Senior Kyri Bye-Nagel’s 23rd career goal proved to be the game-winner as she led the Davidson women?s soccer team to a 1-0 shutout win over High Point on the road Sunday afternoon to kick off a five-game road trip for the Wildcats.
Davidson got back on the winning side to improve to 3-4-0 overall and evened its road record at 2-2. High Point fell to 1-7 on the year.
The senior, who has been named to the first-team All-SoCon the past two years, found the back of the net for the second time this year as she took a corner kick from Allison Drutchas and headed it in for the game-winner in the 15th minute of play.
The game-winner was the sixth of her career and is now just seven goals away from reaching the top-five in the Wildcat record books.
The Wildcat defense took care of the rest, holding the Panthers scoreless for the seventh time this year, while they picked up their second shutout of the season.
Senior Loring Ward registered her second shutout win of the season, fourth of her career, by playing all 90 minutes and coming up with five saves between the pipes.
Despite having scored just one goal on the year, High Point never backed down, outshooting the Wildcats’ 8-4 in the second half. But the Cats defense held strong and picked up the shutout win.
Overall, Davidson took the shot count, 15-13, while earning five corners compared to High Point?s one.
The Cats take some time off before heading back out on the road when they travel to Richmond, Sept. 18, and Virginia Tech, Sept. 20.
Winthrop 2, Wofford 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford women’s soccer team fell to Winthrop, 2-1, Sunday afternoon. Wofford’s Nikki Siebert had the only goal for Terriers during the first half.
The Terriers got on the board first when Nikki Seibert took a shot from 10 yards out and placed it in the left corner of the net at 17:09. The Eagles answered the goal at 26:05 when Rachel Webster took the ball up the middle and found Jessica Hausfeld alone on the left side. She put a shot on net that went over goalie Erika Christensen’s head for the goal. With six minutes left in the half, Erika Bishop had a shot that was saved by Kelsy Weavil.
In the second half, the Eagles had control of the ball early and took three shots in the first six minutes of play. Overall in the half, Winthrop had a nine to two led on shots, however regulation ended with the game tied at 1-1.
Wofford had two shots in the first overtime, but neither was on net. In the second ten minute period, the Eagles scored when Allie Vandewater took a shot from ten yards out on a rebound and the ball went into the lower left corner of the net at 105:19 to end the game.
Wofford Women’s Soccer will play away September 17 against Presbyterian at 7 p.m.
Georgia State 1, Georgia Southern 0
ATLANTA, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women's soccer team (0-6) falls to Georgia State (5-1) 1-0 Sunday.
Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) set a new career high with nine saves in her third start of the season. Meyer made two saves in the first five minutes of the match to keep the Panthers off the scoreboard.
Jenny Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.) recorded two shots in the first five minutes. Her first shot attempt sailed high in the third minute, and her second was blocked by a Panther defender in the fifth minute.
Georgia State went on the offensive in the 12th minute and recorded the game-winner in the 14th minute. Lindsay Mortellaro recorded the lone goal of the match off of a rebound.
The Eagles controlled the ball and went on the attack in the 24th minute. Danae Kaimuloa (Escondido, Calif.) took Georgia Southern's first corner kick which led to a header by Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) that was blocked. Oland took another shot a minute later and was on target, forcing Georgia State's goalkeeper to make a save.
Krystin Smith (Acworth, Ga.) put a shot on target in the 84th minute, but Heidi Blankenship stepped in to make the save.
The Eagles return home for their home opener Friday against Mercer at 4 p.m.
Virginia Tech 3, College of Charleston 0
BLACKSBURG, VA. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2009 Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational.
With the loss, Charleston fell to 2-3-1 on the year, while Virginia Tech improved to 5-2 with the win. The Cougars host their 2009 home opener in their next match on Wednesday, Sept. 16 against USC Upstate. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
In the first half, the Hokies scored their first goal in the 18th minute, as Jennifer Harvey scored her second goal of the season unassisted. The score remained 1-0 going into the half, as Charleston goalie Sarah Wiggers (Cincinnati, Ohio) kept the Cougars in it by making four saves.
In the second half, Harvey added her second goal of the match in the 51st minute off a Julian Johnson assist. In the 81st minute, Harvey scored again to record a hat trick.
Overall, Virginia Tech outshot the Cougars 28-7 for the match. Wiggers ended the day with nine total saves, five of which came in the second half.
Tennessee 2, Western Carolina 1
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Catamount women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker to regionally-ranked Tennessee as the Lady Vols edged WCU 2-1 at Regal Soccer Stadium in front of 769 fans on Sunday afternoon.
WCU (2-3-1) battled in the loss, holding a lead over the defending SEC tournament champion Lady Vols for 26 minutes in the first half. Tennessee was the fourth consecutive regionally-ranked opponent the Catamounts have faced. Coming into Sunday's match, Tennessee (4-2-1) was ranked eighth in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) South regional poll.
Western Carolina jumped out to an early lead in the first half as senior Rachael Shomper tallied her second goal of the year. Shomper scored the goal after a shot from Shannon Fowkes skipped away from Tennessee goalkeeper Molly Baird. Shomper, a senior from Millersburg, Pa., then buried the shot at 4:14.
The goal by Shomper was her ninth of her career and her second of the season after tallying her first on Aug. 28 in a 2-1 victory over East Tennessee State. With the pass, Fowkes earned her second assist of the season.
"We made some changes on how we handle the kickoff to begin the game and we caught Tennessee off guard," said fifth year Catamount coach Tammy DeCesare. "We put in a nice goal. I do think we got the attention of a very good Tennessee team."
Junior Caitlin Williams made a couple of spectacular saves defending the ball away from the aggressive Tennessee offense. Williams made a diving save in the 56th minute to thwart the Lady Vols' attack. The Liberty, S.C., native earned five saves in the match.
Tennessee tied the contest when a pass from Ali Hall went in front of Chelsea Hatcher, who scored her first goal of the season. Senior Mick Imgram footed the game winner with a cross from Emily Dowd at the 83rd minute. The goal was team-leading Dowd's fourth of the season.
Western Carolina returns to the Catamount Athletic Complex on Friday, Sept. 18 for the Catamount Classic.
The Catamounts will face Ohio Valley Conference foe Jacksonville State on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
NC State 2, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon women's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision to Atlantic Coast Conference foe North Carolina State on Sunday afternoon at Rudd Field. The Phoenix falls to 2-2-1 on the young season while the Wolfpack improve to 5-1-1 overall.
"We got off to a poor start giving up an early goal," Elon head coach Chris Neal said. "We had a matchup problem in the middle of the field and I should have solved it sooner. After giving up the goal, we created great chances to score and in the second half we were urgent and desperate to get the equalizer, but NC State scored a great second goal."
NC State got on the board in the 18th minute of play off freshman Kara Blosser's sixth goal of the season. Blosser dribbled the ball in from the top of the box and took a short shot that bounced off the chest of Elon keeper Sydney Little. Little was unable to corral the loose ball and Blosser took advantage with a shot off the rebound that landed in the back of the net and gave the Wolfpack the early advantage.
Elon had one of its best chances to score in the 28th minute of action. Junior Brittany Hallberg took a through ball from freshman Ceci Jensen to the right of the goal box. Hallberg drilled a shot that went just wide of the far post and NC State held onto the one-goal lead at the half.
The Wolfpack continued to pressure the Elon back line in the final period. Little made a diving save early in the half on a header by Blosser to keep the Phoenix within a strike. In the 62nd minute, NC State's Gia Cipollini served a long ball from the right side and found Paige Dugal in the middle of the box. Dugal sent a shot from about 10 yards out past a sprawling Little to give the Wolfpack a two-goal cushion.
With time ticking down, Elon pushed forward. In the 70th minute Jensen served a great ball to senior Molly Calpin whose shot rolled just wide of the net. Hallberg had another opportunity in the final minutes, but her shot sailed high and NC State earned the 2-0 result.
NC State held a slight 8-7 shot advantage and each team attempted only one corner kick. Little made four saves in the effort while Wolfpack goalie Kim Kern posted one stop.
The Phoenix will head on the road for the Western Carolina Tournament in Cullowhee, N.C. Elon battles UNC Asheville in the first game on Friday, Sept. 18 at 5 p.m.
Longwood 2, Appalachian State 0
FARMVILLE, Va. - Longwood scored twice in the first half and it was enough to beat Appalachian State University women's soccer 2-0 Sunday afternoon in Farmville.
Longwood (4-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Lindsey Ottavio scored from six yards out.
The Lancers added to the lead in the 29th minute when Kacie Oliver scored on a shot from 13 yards out.
Appalachian (3-3) had the first opportunity of the game in the fifth minute, but Hannah Coad's shot was saved by Kyra Byron. In the 34th minute, a shot by Kaitlin Baker hit the post.
Longwood held a 10-6 lead in shots while the Mountaineers held a slight 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
Caroline Clarke made two saves in goal for ASU while Byron made for saves for Longwood.