The Citadel 2, Chattanooga 0
Charleston, S.C. - Bulldog Soccer extends its winning streak to five consecutive matches following a 2-0 routing of Chattanooga, Friday afternoon. The victory over the Lady Mocs establishes a program best third Southern Conference win in a single season. The Citadel moves to 7-3-1 overall, 3-0 SoCon while Chattanooga falls to 3-8-0, 1-2 SoCon.
After going scoreless in the first half, the match picked up intensity in the second period with both teams coming off the bench firing early. UTC's Kelsey Swann took the first shot 33 seconds in but the ball sailed wide left. At the 48:59 mark, The Citadel's Mariana Garcia took a shot that ricocheted off the top post putting a loose ball into the air. Off the deflection, freshman Ruth Leiva shot the header over the goalie and into the net for the early 1-0 lead.
The Citadel maintained offensive control with three consecutive shots prior to Nicole Levermann's kick from the top right of the box. The ball rolled through traffic and into the net to expand the lead to 2-0. Chattanooga wouldn't surrender as they followed with five of the next seven shots. At the 70:13 mark, UTC's Lauren Wilson took a shot while in a crowded area but the Bulldogs came up with the stop. Chattanooga's Donna-Kay Henry aimed for the net at the 72:20 mark, but Laura Serafino's diving catch prevented the goal. The Lady Mocs remained on offense as Wilson took a corner kick that set up a header by Becca Smith, but the shot sailed wide.
The Bulldogs' defense held Chattanooga to 16 shots, three in the first half, while The Citadel finished with 26. Levermann led the Cadets with seven shots, two on goal to go along with her one goal. Garcia followed closely with six shots, two on goal. Lauren Wilson led Chattanooga's offense with four shots, one on goal and Henry followed with three shots, two on goal. Mangrum was full at work as she finished the match with 10 saves, while her counterpart Serafino finished with two while defending the Bulldogs' net.
"I am very proud of the way the team stepped up today," said assistant coach Jamie Stewart. "Although we need to work on our composure, it was great to see them create another solid performance and we hope to carry this momentum forward."
The Citadel returns to action Sunday, Oct. 3 when they face Samford at 2 p.m. at WLI Field.
#25 UNCG 5, Georgia Southern 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Cat Barnekow notched her first career multi-goal game and freshman Lauren Lover scored her first career goal as 25th-ranked UNCG topped Georgia Southern in a Southern Conference women's soccer tilt Friday, 5-1.
The Spartans, who are tied for 25th in this week's Soccer America poll, ran their record to 8-1-1 on the season and 3-0-0 in the SoCon. The Eagles fell to 4-6-0, 1-2-0 in the league.
Barnekow did her damage early, getting on the board with her first goal of the season in the 11th minute. Lauren Hein split a couple of GSU defenders with a beautiful through ball that found Barnekow in stride, and the junior buried it from about 15 yards out past drawn-out keeper Katie Merson. Kristen Schmidbauer also picked up an assist on the play.
Barnekow struck again in the 28th minute to make it a 2-0 game. Defender Stephanie Partenheimer sent a long ball from near the midline that Tabitha Padgett nodded on to Barnekow. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native collected the pass and deposited into the net for her second goal of the night and the season.
The Spartans would take a 2-0 lead into the half, but the bulge could have been bigger at the half if not for a pair of nice saves Merson. On a Jenn Partenheimer attempt in the 24th minute, Merson backpedalled and punched the shot just over the crossbar. A few minutes later, Merson made nice sliding grab on Hein's close-range attempt.
UNCG picked up where it left off after halftime, getting a Schmidbauer goal in the 58th minute. Padgett picked up another assist, sending a pass to Schmidbauer at the top of the box. The freshman knocked it home lower left from there for her third goal of the season and a 3-0 UNCG lead.
Greensboro native Lover made it a 4-0 game in the 79th minute, collecting a Katie Durst pass and banging it home from inside the 18-yard box.
Padgett scored UNCG's final goal in the 89th minute. Nicole Danford - playing for the first time since Aug. 23 - sent a nice ball from the defense that found Barnekow in stride in the midfield. Barnekow took the ball into the box and sent it across to Padgett, who merely had to run onto it and knock it home for her third goal of the season.
Georgia Southern avoided the shutout in dramatic fashion, getting a Lindsay Hammer goal as time expired. Alex Murphy sent a pass to Hammer, who just got her shot off before the horn, beating a drawn-out Alex Perry.
UNCG held a 19-4 shot advantage on the evening and an 8-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Kelsey Kearney made a pair of saves in 71 minutes of work to pick up the win in the net, while Perry worked the final 19. Merson made five saves in the complete game for the Eagles.
UNCG returns to action Sunday when it hosts Davidson at UNCG Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m.
Samford 2, College of Charleston 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team fell, 2-0, to Samford in Southern Conference action at Patriots Point on Friday night. The Cougars had opportunities and outshot the Bulldogs but couldn't capitalize and took the loss.
The loss was CofC's first and conference play and the Cougars fell to 5-6 (2-1 SoCon). Inversely, the Bulldogs picked up their first SoCon win and improved to 5-5-1 (1-2 SoCon).
"We played a strong game and spread the ball around well," said head coach Christian Michner. "In the end though, they capitalized on their chances and we didn't. All credit goes to Samford for coming here and getting the win."
Samford controlled the early flow of the game and had CofC in its defensive third in the early going. Roughly 15 minutes in, however, the Cougar offense sprung to life and the game flowed evenly from end to end.
Samford broke the scoreless draw in the 28th minute when Lauren Cook chased a ball deep into the right corner and sent it into the box along the six-yard mark. There, Sarah Wilkinson flicked a header into the far side of the net to put Samford up, 1-0.
The Cougars threatened several times but went into the locker room trailing by the same tally. The second half continued much like the first did but saw more stoppages and fouls.
Wilkinson padded the lead with her second goal of the night in the 71st minute when she capitalized on a Cougar turnover which sprung her on a breakaway.
The Cougars suffered the loss despite outshooting the Bulldogs, 11-9. Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) and Sloane Levin (Hamburg, Mich.) shouldered the offensive efforts with four shots apiece.
CofC will look to bounce back with another SoCon matchup against Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
Furman 1, Appalachian State 1 (2 OT)
Greenville, S.C. -- Martha Hall's second half goal helped Furman rally from a one goal deficit and earn a 1-1 draw with Appalachian State in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Friday evening at Stone Stadium.
The tie, Furman's second in three SoCon matches, moved the Paladins to 6-3-2 overall and 1-0-2 in league play. Appalachian moved to 3-5-2 overall and 0-2-1 in the SoCon.
The Mountaineers grabbed the first half lead less than two minutes from the break when Sam McVeigh rose above the Paladin defense to direct a Taylor Dunlap corner kick into the far left-hand corner at the 43:48. The header was McVeigh's first goal of the season and just the second for the Mountaineers in three SoCon matches.
Furman, who managed a 17-12 edge in total shots and commanding 10-5 advantage in shots on goal for the game, found the equalizer at the 71:32 mark. Caitlin Shelton passed to Colleen Lynch who delivered a pass to Hall in between defenders at the top of the 18-yard box and the junior blasted a shot into the right side for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.
Chances on goal were few and far between over two overtime periods, but freshman Irravadee Makris had the best opportunity just six minutes into overtime. She split two defenders to create a one versus one with the Appalachian State keeper only to have to ball poked away by a sliding Jordan Hatton as she attempted to round the ASU keeper and shoot to an empty net.
Hatton made two saves for the Mountaineers in relief of starter Carolina Clarke who had stopped seven shots in over 79 minutes of work. Furman's Jessica Smith tallied four saves and allowed one goal in the draw.
Furman continues its three-match SoCon homestand on Sunday when it entertains Western Carolina at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Wofford 0, Western Carolina 0 (2 OT
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford women's soccer team hosted their first home conference match Friday evening, taking on the Catamounts of Western Carolina. The two programs drew even at the end of the 90 minute regulation, sending the game into sudden victory overtime at 0-0. After battling out the last twenty minutes and having a few opportunities to put the game away, the double overtime ended with a 0-0 result. The Terriers grab their second tie in conference play, giving the team a 5-3-2 record, with a 0-1-2 Southern Conference on the season. The draw gives the Catamounts a 3-6-2 regular season record, taking them to 0-2-1 in the Southern Conference.
Nikki Siebert tallied the best production on the field, taking five shots total, with three being on frame. Siebert started putting heavy pressure on the Catamount goal early in the second half, attacking the net three times in a span of 15 minutes. She forced the keeper to save one of her attempts and had another shot barely blocked by the body of a WCU defender.
Wofford's offense had opportunities in the second half to put a score on the board, putting seven shots toward the goal. In the 15th minute of the second half, Anne Phillips took control of the ball near the right side of the 18' and streamed a shot just outside of the goalpost. A couple minutes later, the Terriers had two free shot opportunities about five yards off the top of the 18' arc. Siebert took advantage of the first awarded penalty, firing a shot toward the net, but WCU's Caitlin Williams saved the attempt.
The overtime periods proved to be thrilling, having both sides create goal-scoring chances, but falling just shy of putting one in. Rachael Blackburn grabbed a rebounded ball a couple yards outside of the box and forced a powerful shot toward the top of the goal, having it saved by William's fingertips as she punched it over the crossbar. Six minutes into the first overtime, Siebert almost ended the match with a strong shot toward the side of the net, but Williams kept the game scoreless with another save. Near the closing of the first overtime, Kimberly Cohn had a brilliant save, grabbing a hard low-driven shot to the left side netting taken by WCU's Laura Greb.
Sydney Reed took the lone shot of the second overtime, playing the last ten minutes at the forward position. The match ended 0-0 in the second overtime. The tie records the second draw of the past two games.
Coach Kiah's team returns to Snyder Field Sunday, October 3, to face Appalachian State. The Terriers will match up against the Mountaineers at 3:00 pm.
Elon 1, Davidson 0
ELON, N.C. - A goal in the 70th minute from Kimmie Krauss lifted the Elon University women's soccer team to victory on Friday night, as the Phoenix registered a 1-0 win over the Davidson Wildcats in Southern Conference action from Rudd Field.
Elon improves to 7-3-1 (2-1-0 SoCon) with the win, while Davidson drops to 4-5-2 (0-1-2 SoCon) with the loss.
"We put a lot of pressure on them in the first half, but our crossing was poor and we couldn't get the ball in the net," said Elon head women's soccer coach Chris Neal. "Their keeper made a huge save on Alanna [Winsper] in the second half, but Kimmie hit a great shot late to help us get the win tonight."
After little offense by either team in the first half of the contest, Winsper nearly put the Phoenix on top early in the final period. The senior midfielder just missed tallying her third goal in as many games when Wildcat goalie Ranae Carins made a fantastic stop on Winsper's shot from about 12 yards out.
Shortly after, Elon earned a corner kick. Olivia Mackey served the ball in the box, where it was cleared away from the goal. The ball bounced perfectly to the foot of Krauss who rocketed a shot to the top right corner of the far post from the corner of the 18-yard box. The rookie is now tied with senior Brittany Hallberg for the team lead in goals with four.
The Wildcats threatened late with shots in the 74th and 90th minute, but Elon keeper Kristen Haney held her ground to keep the shutout intact and lead the Phoenix to its second league victory. For Haney, the clean slate marks her fourth of the season.
The Phoenix tallied nine shots (five on goal) in the win, while limiting the Wildcats to eight shot (two on goal). Elon finished the game with seven corner kicks and held Davidson to three.
Elon is back in action on Sunday, Oct. 3, when it hosts Georgia Southern at 2 p.m. at Rudd Field.