Samford 1, Texas State 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team extended its winning streak to three-consecutive matches Friday as the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Texas State Bobcats. In the shutout win, Samford's Amber Cress scored the game-winning goal during the 28th minute of play.
The score was Cress's third of the season and the 19th of her collegiate career. With the goal, she moved into a tie for fourth place on Samford's all-time goals-scored list. Cress is currently tied with former Bulldog-great Hayley Kolb for fourth place, while Marian Wagner holds the record with 26 career goals.
The Bulldogs' Melissa Miller tallied the assist on the goal as she dropped in a picture-perfect centering pass for Cress.
Samford (3-0-1) remained undefeated on the season and kept its shutout streak intact at four matches. The Bulldogs have not allowed a goal in 380 minutes this year.
Sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead tallied four saves Friday and picked up her third complete-game shutout of the season. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 native of Hattiesburg, Miss., has not allowed a goal in 369 minutes this year.
With the loss, Texas State moved to 1-3 on the season.
Chattanooga 2, Lipscomb 0
CHATTANOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga women’s soccer team scored it’s second shutout in as many games this season defeating Lipscomb 2-0 Friday evening in front of a crowd of more than 250 at the North River Soccer Complex.
The Lady Mocs improve to 2-0-0 on the year while Lipscomb evens out its record at 2-2-0.
“This is great for us with so many new kids, but the two wins are two totally different wins,” Lady Mocs Head Coach J.D. Kzyer said. “Our win at Tennessee Tech was a great one, but we were a little off kilter in the first half tonight. We were panicky.
“The beautiful thing, and I told the team this after the game, is that we were able to settle down in the second half and correct it.”
Junior Kelly Downs battled at the top of the box for the ball in the 67th minute, beating out the defender to slip the ball past the Lady Bisons’ keeper Ally Marler into the bottom left corner for the eventual game-winner.
“Kelly works so hard during a game,” Kzyer said. “She gets herself into situations that are advantageous for her.”
Chattanooga’s second goal came much later as freshman Kelsey Swann found the back of the net at the 88:05 mark to give the Lady Mocs breathing room as time was running out.
“Kelsey is doing really well at the outside mid position and she’s getting more playing time,” Kyzer said. “She’s a very calm, confident player. She saw the ball, stepped into the hole and took the pass and put it where she wanted it.”
Swann’s goal came off a pass from freshman Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.).
Keeper Taylor Davidson netted was in goal for the Lady Mocs to collect her second shutout.
“Taylor’s a great keeper and I don’t want to take anything away from her, but a shutout is a team effort,” Kyzer said. “She is playing confident and relaxed. The team is confident with her back there and that makes a difference.”
The Lady Mocs will return to action Sept. 11 at the Gardner-Webb Border Classic. Chattanooga will take on the host Bulldogs Friday evening at 7 p.m. the take on USC Upstate Sunday afternoon.
College of Charleston 2, High Point 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. - Hope Atkinson and freshman Maryam Buazza scored goals, as the College of Charleston women's soccer team knocked off High Point, 2-0 on Friday evening in the High Point Invitational.
With the victory, the Cougars improved to 2-1 on the season, while High Point fell to 0-5 with the loss. Charleston returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 4th when they take on Temple beginning at 1 p.m. to close the High Point Invitational.
Charleston got on the board in the 11th minute, as Atkinson scored her first goal of the 2009 season from 25 yards out, unassisted. The Cougars carried the 1-0 lead into the half, as they outshot the Panthers 10-7 in the period.
In the second half, Charleston extended the lead to 2-0 when Buazza scored the first goal of her collegiate career on a header in the box. Hannah Gmerek recorded an assist on the play to pick up her second assist in as many games.
From there, the Charleston defense took control, as goalies Sarah Wiggers and Katie Tate combined to shutout the Panthers (Wiggers made two saves, Tate three).
Overall, Charleston outshot High Pont 14-13 and held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Furman 2, Jacksonville 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Meagan Zusi and Martha Hall each netted goals in the opening three minutes to push Furman past the host Jacksonville Dolphins 2-1 in women’s soccer action Friday evening at the JU Invitational at the Ashley Sports Complex in Jacksonville, Fla.
The win improved Furman to 3-0 on the season and extended the Paladins’ overall unbeaten streak to eight matches, dating back to last October. Jacksonville fell to 0-4 on the season.
Just 38 seconds into the match, Zusi headed Furman into the lead scoring on an assist from Sara El-Shami off of a corner kick. At the 2:54 mark, sophomore Martha Hall collected a pass from Chelsea McKie and hammered a low shot into the righthand corner to double the Paladin advantage.
The Dolphins, outshot 7-2 before intermission, upped the pressure in the second half and pulled a goal back at the 69:19 mark as Emily Culbreth gained control of a loose ball in the box and beat Paladin keeper Jessica Smith to cut the lead to 2-1.
Smith, who notched two saves to earn the win in goal, and the Furman defense held JU over the final 20 minutes to preserve the victory while the offense managed a 13-9 edge in shot attempts and held the Dolphins to just three shots on goal.
Furman returns to action Sunday at noon when it faces the University of North Florida in the JU Invitational final round. UNF downed Georgia Southern 4-1 in the opening game of the tournament on Friday afternoon.
High Point 1, Elon 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. ? The Elon women’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to the Temple Owls in the first game of the High Point Invitational on Friday evening. A defensive battle, Temple finally found the back of the net in the 86th minute of action to earn the victory in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Elon drops to 0-1-1 on the season while Temple improves to 2-1-0.
Both teams played stifling defense for the majority of the game. Elon managed five shots in the first half while holding Temple to one attempt. Just as it began to look like the game was heading for extra minutes, the Owls caught the Phoenix unorganized on a corner kick. Temple’s Stephanie Ferretti served a pass in the box for Sara Schied to head home, ultimately giving the Owls the 1-0 victory.
Elon tallied 11 shots in the contest compared to nine by Temple. The Owls held a slight 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Phoenix goalie Sydney Little collected three saves on the evening.
Elon will challenge the host High Point Panthers in the final game of the HPU Invitational on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Villanova 4, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Playing at home for the first time in the 2009 campaign, the Davidson women?s soccer team came up short in their bid to win their fourth straight home opener, falling by the count of 4-1 to visiting Villanova on Friday evening at Alumni Stadium.
Davidson dropped to 1-3-0 on the season, and fell for the first time in a home opener since taking a 5-1 loss to Wake Forest back in 2005. Villanova kept its unbeaten streak alive at 3-0-1 and earned the inaugural win in the first meeting in the all-time series between the two schools.
In a battle of Wildcats on the field, Villanova came away unscathed by scoring three early goals over a five-minute stretch in the first half after Davidson had earned the early momentum to start the game.
The Wildcats’ lone goal came off the foot of senior Kyri Bye-Nagel in the 87th minute to break up the shutout. She had gathered in a loose ball on the right side of the 18-yard box, turned and drilled a shot to the far post that found the back of the net for her first score of the season.
Prior to that, it was all Villanova with scores coming in the 21st, 24th and 26th minutes of the first half and then one more insurance goal at the 60:53 mark of the second half. Megan Verdeur knocked in the first goal off a scramble for the ball in the six-yard box off a corner kick.
Erin Byrnes, who had kicked that corner kick, hooked up with Megan Verdeur at the 24:05 mark by getting a cross from Verdeur on the far side of the box and then hitting a direct shot past Jessie Baxa.
The third score for Villanova was set up when Heidi Sabatura set a long through ball to Katie Ryan on the near side of the field. Ryan then dribbled the ball to the corner of the 18-yard box where she kicked a high shot that nicked the cross bar and glanced in on the near post.
Sabatura then finished off the scoring for Villanova by being in the right place at the right time. A direct shot by a Villanova player was blocked nicely by Baxa with her foot, but the ball went straight up and the Wildcat defense missed the clearing the ball out. Sabatura raced into the box and chipped home the wide open goal to the near post.
Baxa was credited with four saves out of the 11 Villanova shots. The Wildcats got off eight shots, but only two of them in the second half and only two of the eight were on goal as Molly Williams recorded the lone save for Villanova.
Davidson looks to regroup and halt a three-game skid when it hosts Francis Marion on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 4 p.m.
No. 4/2 Samford 1, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? For the third time in as many games, UNC Greensboro’s women’s soccer team played a 1-0 contest with a ranked opponent, but the Spartans came out on the wrong end of this one, falling to No. 4/2 Stanford at the UNCG Spartan Classic on Friday.
Virginia Tech beat VCU 4-3 in overtime in the first game of the Classic.
After beating No. 11 Duke and falling to No. 1 North Carolina at the Carolina Nike Classic last weekend, the Spartans (1-3) gave another top-flight opponent fits Friday night, holding the Cardinal ? ranked No. 4 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and No. 2 by Soccer America ? off the board until the 52nd minute.
But with 51:35 gone in the game, sophomore Lindsay Taylor pounced on a loose ball inside the 6-yard box and pounded it home for the only goal Stanford (4-0) would need. Mariah Noguiera picked up the assist on the play, as her initial shot was punched away by UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney.
Now trailing the fourth-ranked team in the country, the Spartans’ challenge got even bigger seven minutes later when senior Lauren Lopez was sent off. Lopez and the Cardinal’s Kelley O’Hara got tangled up deep in UNCG territory, and Lopez was given a red card with 58:05 gone, forcing the Spartans to play a man down for the final 31:55.
The contest was a defensive struggle on both sides. UNCG’s best scoring chances came early in the game, as Katie Evans and Heather Mitrisin both had close-range shots blocked off a UNCG free kick in the sixth minute.
The Cardinal had a couple of narrow misses in the first half, as well. In the 15th minute, Allison McCann got free on a breakaway, but her shot rolled just inches wide of the left post. Christen Press had a nearly identical opportunity in the 28th minute, but her shot went begging, as well.
UNCG found itself with numbers in the 31st minute, but senior Jen Bronson’s shot from the top of the 18-yard box was too high.
The Spartans had an outstanding opportunity to tie it in the 63rd minute, with Kristin Player slipping behind the Stanford defense and drawing out keeper Kira Maker. Maker was able to corral the ball, but the play was waved off when Player was called for offsides.
Stanford continued to press on offense, getting off three corner kicks and four shots in the final 10 minutes. The shorthanded Spartans stood their ground, however, keeping the Cardinal from adding on.
Kearney made five stops and allowed just one goal in taking the tough-luck loss in the net.
The Spartans return to action on Sunday when they close out the UNCG Spartan Classic at 2:30 p.m. against Virginia Commonwealth, which features former UNCG assistant Siri Mullinix and former UNCG player Jamie Corti on its coaching staff.
Virginia Tech and Stanford will play at noon on Sunday.
No. 22 Miami 1, Western Carolina 0
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team was shut out 1-0 to No. 22 Miami in their opening match at the Hurricane Cup on Friday evening, after an initial two and a half hour thunderstorm delay.
Severe weather in the Miami area delayed the first match between Dayton and Navy, forcing the WCU-Miami game to start two-plus hours later than scheduled. Consequently, the first match went into a double-overtime draw, forcing the Catamounts' match to begin at 10:00 p.m.
"We stayed in our hotel (during the delay) and had plenty of time to warm up and get focused," said Catamount coach Tammy DeCesare. "The girl's adjusted to it well. This is why we do Midnight Madness, so when you have adversity like we did tonight, you don't blink."
WCU made the game interesting in the latter minutes. Miami goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo was backed in her net after deflecting a WCU shot at the 87th minute. The Catamounts then forced a corner kick with less than forty seconds remaining in regulation, but it was cleared away, sealing the victory for the Hurricanes.
"We had our opportunities, but it was a little bit too heavy or too shy," noted DeCesare. "I was impressed and excited about the way were able to generate some opportunities tonight."
Miami's Paulette Ricks-Chambers knocked in the game-winning goal with a header from a cross by Brittney Steinbruch at the 34th minute in the first half. With the victory, Miami, ranked No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer National Tournament Poll, improves to 3-1-0, while the Catamounts drop to 2-2-0.
Western Carolina flung nine shots at the Hurricanes, including six in the first half. Senior Nikki Collins placed a shot on goal that was deflected away.
Jenny Matteson put the second shot on goal with a stinger at Alonzo, who again stopped the Catamount surge. Alonzo, a sophomore for Miami, finished with three saves in the match.
Goalkeeper Caitlin Williams played stout defense, shunning away 12 Miami. Williams made three saves in the contest. Miami held the distinct advantage in corners, 7-3. Two players from both sides received yellow cards in the match. Catamount Renee Anderson was shown a card at the 62-minute mark and then the Hurricanes' Brittney Macdonald was cautioned 11 minutes later.
Coach DeCesare said she was impressed with the Catamount's ability to bounce back after a 2-0 loss to South Carolina last week.
"We learned a lot against South Carolina," said DeCesare. "They were able to expose a lot of what we weren't doing well. The girls took it to heart and got up for this game tonight. They brought a level of focus and determination that we need to see from them in every game."
WCU wraps up Hurricane Cup play on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with a match up with the regionally-ranked Dayton Flyers.
North Florida 2, Georgia Southern 0
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Georgia Southern women's soccer team (0-4) fell to North Florida (2-2) 4-1 in the first match of the JU Tournament. Georgia Southern held the Dolphins to only one goal in the first half but were unable to keep them off the board in the second half. The Eagles will continue tournament play Sunday against Jacksonville.
The Eagles got a second half goal from Jenny Anderson to break up the shutout bid. Anderson received a pass from Holly Dyer and dribbled past several defenders before knocking in her first goal of the season.
Kate Boardman and Chelsea Kephart both recorded multi-shot games. Boardman also added a shot on goal.
Missy Meyer made her first career start in goal and recorded five saves.
Elena Luzins scored Jackonville's lone first half goal at the 22nd minute mark.
Michele Larrinaga scored the second and fourth goals for the Dolphins. Katelin Swift added the third off of a pass from Kristin Rhodes.
The Eagles will continue play in the JU Tournament Sunday against Jacksonville at 2 p.m.