Western Carolina 2, Jacksonville State 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - The Catamount women's soccer team kept its home unbeaten streak alive with a 2-0 shutout of Jacksonville State despite rainy conditions in day one of the Catamount Classic.
A pair of goals by senior's Shanna Schmoker and Shannon Fowkes secured the Catamounts third victory at the Catamount Athletic Complex in front of 413 fans. Junior Caitlin Williams recorded her third shutout of the season and her 17th of her career.
"We definitely came out with intensity," noted Catamounts head coach Tammy DeCesare. "I am proud of the way that the girls came out and set the tone. Now, it's just a matter of keeping it."
Western Carolina (3-3-1) controlled possession throughout the match and a golden opportunity sparked at the 23rd minute in the first half. Schmoker fended away the ball from a Jacksonville State defender, kicked it over another defender and then sliced in the goal for her first of the
The offensive intensity continued in the second half as WCU added its second goal at the 83-minute mark. Fowkes scored from a cross from Rachael Shomper three feet in front of the net to give the Catamounts a 2-0 edge. The goal was Fowkes' first tally since a goal against Belmont in 2008. Shomper recorded her first assist of the season.
Jacksonville State made a pair of shots in each half, but was stonewalled by Williams. At the midway point in the second half, a diving Williams sprawled to the ground to stop a JSU goal. Williams, a Liberty, S.C. native, collected three saves for a career total of 185. The shutout marked Williams' 17th of her career, which is just one shy of Mandi Tinsley's second-place total of 18 on the WCU all-time career shutouts list.
Friday evening's win extended WCU's unbeaten streak at home to three games this season and to a total of five games dating back to Nov. 2, 2008. The win also evened up the series with Jacksonville State to 1-1.
Western Carolina will conclude the Catamount Classic on Sunday with a 2:30 p.m. kick off against UNC Asheville. Elon will play Jacksonville State at 12:00 p.m. before the Catamounts and Bulldogs square off in the tournament finale.
Elon 2, UNC Asheville 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Elon freshman Shannon Foley knocked in the go-ahead goal in the final minutes of regulation to give the Phoenix women’s soccer team a 2-1 victory over UNC Asheville in the first game of the Western Carolina Invitational on Friday evening. Rookie Elizabeth Palmer served a corner kick through a pack of defenders and Foley managed to touch the game-winner into the back of the net in the 88th minute of play.
“This was an extremely hard-fought game in the rain against a well-coached UNC Asheville team,” said Elon head coach Chris Neal. “More so than any other team we have faced this year, UNCA created difficult and hard-to-solve defending problems for us. We got down a goal and I couldn’t be prouder of how our team rolled up its sleeves, got back in it and refused to lose.”
With the victory, Elon improved to 3-2-1 on the season while UNCA dropped to 3-3-0.
After a slow first half that featured no goals and only a combined five shots, the teams picked up the attack in the final 45 minutes. The Bulldogs got on the board first, scoring from 20 yards out on a Meagan Bradham strike in the 53rd minute of action.
Elon evened the score after being awarded a penalty kick for a foul in the box on junior Brittany Hallberg at 63:36. Senior Lauren Griffith converted on the penalty kick to tie the game.
With restored momentum, the Phoenix pressured the net, earning three corner kicks in the final eight minutes of regulation. With time waning, the freshmen teamed up and converted on the final corner to give Elon the win.
Phoenix freshman Kristen Haney played her first collegiate game in the goal, making four saves in the winning effort. Elon finished the game outshooting the Bulldogs, 10-6, and holding a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Elon will be back on the field to challenge Jacksonville State for the first time in program history on Sunday, September 20 at noon.
Mercer 2, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern women's soccer team exhibited a strong second half performance but fell to Mercer, 2-0 Friday in the home opener at Eagle Field.
The Eagles (0-7) edged the Bears in corner kicks 3-1. Morgan Springer took the first corner kick in the 47th minute. Danae Kaimuloa recorded the Eagles' second corner in the 65th minute. Springer's second corner kick led to a shot by Courtney Collins.
Springer led the Eagles with three shots. Her first shot came in the 26th minute but sailed wide of the net. Springer's second came after a foul by Mercer in the 55th minute. Her third missed high in the 67th minute.
Mercer (3-3-1) scored both goals in the first half. Kaelyn Horton headed in the first goal off a long free kick pass from Ali Meek in the 16th minute. Meek scored the second goal off of a deflection in the 35th minute.
The Eagles went on the attack minutes later. Collins notched one of her two shots in the 39th minute but missed wide of the net. Kyrstin Smith put a shot on target in the 41st minute, but Jean Worts came up with the save.
Georgia Southern came out of halftime and continued to stay on the attack. They developed a number of interesting chances attempting to get their forwards an open shot on goal. Michelle Carlson helped in getting the offense flowing by moving the ball to the front. Carlson and Caroline Scales both played all 90 minutes of the match.
Smith took a high arcing shot late in the second half that looked to be a tricky save for the goalkeeper, but it was a bit too high landing on top of the net.
Friday's match also saw the return of Lauren Santos in net. Santos started the second half and blanked the Bears while recording one save.
The Eagles open conference play next weekend with road matches against Appalachian State (Sep 25) and Western Carolina (Sep 27).
Gardner-Webb 2, Appalachian State 1
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Megan Reimer scored two second half goals to lead Gardner-Webb to a 2-1 victory Friday evening in Boiling Springs.
Reimer, the leading goal scorer for the Bulldogs coming into the match with five goals, tied the score at one when she took a shot from 25 yards out beating ASU goalkeeper to the left post.
Reimer scored the game-winner with eight minutes remaining when she kicked in a rebound off of a Stephanie Benshoof shot.
ASU grabbed the 1-0 lead in the 27th minute when Sydney Hill scored off of a deflected Meggie Graham shot. Graham's shot deflected off a Bulldog defender and bounced to Hill who was in front of the goal.
After an even first half where shots were tied at six, Gardner-Webb held an 11-6 shot advantage in the second half.
Caroline Clarke made six saves in goal for ASU while Samantha Rupert made four saves for Gardner-Webb.
The Mountaineers return to action on Sunday when they travel to Francis Marion for a 2 p.m. match.
Florida Gulf Coast 2, The Citadel 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ? The Citadel soccer team opened the UNF Hampton Inn Ponte Vedra Showcase with a 2-1 loss to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Friday at Hodges Stadium.
The Bulldogs’ Nikki Mares sent a pass to Nikkita Persaud who shot right over FGC’s Stephanie Powers’ head for the goal. Mares earned an assist and Persaud earned her second goal of the season.
The Eagles’ Kelli Haemmelmann scored with 15 minutes left to play in the first have to even the score. Florida Gulf Coast then took the lead, scoring two minutes later to take a 2-1 lead into halftime.
Whitney Nave finished the game with four saves for the Citadel. Florida Gulf Coast improves to 5-2-1 while the Bulldogs fall to 3-4.
“The girls worked hard to go forward to try and win the game in the last 10 minutes,” said head coach Bob Winch. “We had a lapse for a few minutes but a good Florida Gulf Coast team finished with an opportunity.”
The Bulldogs will face North Florida on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. to close out the tournament.
Richmond 3, Davidson 2
RICHMOND, Va. - Coming back from 2-0 deficit behind goals from senior Blakely Low and freshman Julia Calhoun, Davidson fell short in completing the comeback as Richmond?s Kelsey Rdzanek hit the game-winner on a penalty kick to lead the Spiders to a 3-2 win on Friday evening at Ukrop Park in women?s soccer action.
Davidson dropped to 3-5-0 on the year, while Richmond picked up its third win to improve to 3-4-1 overall. The two schools played to a 1-1 tie last year at the Davidson Tournament.
Falling behind 2-0 through the first 22 minutes, Davidson started its comeback at the 34:57 mark when Low drilled a shot from 20 yards out for her team-leading third goal of the season.
The Wildcats put plenty of pressure on the Richmond goalkeeper, getting off 10 first half shots, but were not able net the tying goal the remainder of the half as they headed into locker room down 2-1.
Davidson?s continued pressure on the Spiders? defense in the second half paid off in the 70th minute as it netted the tying goal thanks to Calhoun?s first collegiate score as she headed in the equalizer off a pass from junior Callan Elswick.
The score remained tied for just seven minutes until Richmond picked up the final goal on a penalty kick from Rdzanek, her second score of the game, to the lower right side of the net and the Spiders held on for the 3-2 win.
Goalkeepers Loring Ward and Jessie Baxa split time between the pipes, each playing a half and combining for two saves. Richmond?s Melissa Pachelo was credited with six saves to earn the win.
The Wildcats dominated the stat sheet, winning in shots (19-8), shots on goal (8-5) and corners (5-1).
Davidson turns around and heads to Blacksburg, Va. to take on Virginia Tech this Sunday at 5 p.m. The Cats opened the 2008 season with a 2-1 win over the Hokies at Alumni Stadium and hold a 4-2-1 record in the all-time series.