College of Charleston 1, The Citadel 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team downed The Citadel, 1-0, in a crucial battle for positioning in the Southern Conference standings. The win gives the Cougars the potential to host the opening round of the SoCon Tournament, pending the outcome of Thursday's match between Elon and UNCG.
The Cougars improve to 9-9-1 (6-4-1 SoCon) and will host the afore mentioned tournament opener with a UNCG win over Elon. The Citadel falls to 11-7-1 (7-4-0 SoCon).
"This is exactly what you'd expect from two cross-town rivals," said head coach Christian Michner. "Both teams were playing with a lot of emotion and the game was extremely hard-fought as a result. Our defense was impeccable to pick up our fourth clean slate in a row which is huge going into the tournament."
The game was very free flowing with the teams exchanging periods of time with their opponent pinned defensively. The Cougars ended the night with a 13-8 shot advantage with an even, 5-5 corner-kick tally.
The Cougars scored the lone goal of the match in the 33rd minute when Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) took control of a bouncing ball in the right-hand side of the box. She flicked the ball over the defenders to an open Sloane Levin (Hamburg, Mich.) who scored inside the left post.
The Citadel threatened several times but the Cougars' defense was able to thwart every pass. Katie Tate (Piedmont, S.C.) was called upon to make two big diving saves with roughly five minutes left in the game to preserve her fourth consecutive shutout.
The Cougars will now await the outcome of the UNCG/Elon game to determine their location for the opening round of the SoCon Tournament. The game will be played on Sunday, Oct. 31.
The Citadel, which finished third in the regular season standings, will host Furman Sunday at 2 p.m. in the program's first-ever SoCon Tournament match.
Wofford 1, Furman 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford women's soccer team pushed past Furman, 1-0, in a must-win match for Coach Kiah's program. The Terriers celebrated senior night before the match, and rejoiced after the game when the final word was given that the team earned a spot in the conference tournament.
Wofford's Nikki Siebert helped give the Terriers the win, scoring in the 24th minute. Wofford was able to hold strong throughout the rest of the match, giving the team a 1-0 win. The Terriers improve to 7-7-4 on the year and post a 2-5-4 standing in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to a 9-7-3 regular season record, with a 4-4-3 record in the Southern Conference.
Before the match started, the 2010 seniors were honored at center field for their contributions to the women's soccer program. Lauren Cozzarelli, Daniella Fatti, Katie McChesney, Nikki Siebert, and Megan Wellborn took to Snyder Field for the last time in their career.
Kickoff began in a downpour, with players and fans being soaked alike. The field was drenched in minutes, forcing the ball to skip and skid and making it hard for both teams to gain a steady control of possession. Nikki Siebert was able to take advantage of an offensive attack despite the tricky conditions in the 24th minute. Anne Phillips squared a ball to Siebert, who took the ball on the foot near the top of the 18 yard box. Siebert lined up a shot and skipped the ball past Furman goalkeeper, Jessica Smith, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead.
Siebert's score gives the senior forward her fourth goal and Phillip's assist gives the midfielder her fifth assist of the season.
The Paladins had two threatening attempts during the match, with their closest shot coming in the 11th minute as Furman's Chelsea McKie's shot banged the right post and skidded wide. Casey McKeon nearly tied the game in the 67th minute for the Paladins, knocking a header toward the Wofford net. Kimberly Cohn was able to grab the shot, keeping Furman blank on the board.
Furman was able to get off 11 shots throughout the match, but Wofford's defense and Cohn were able to hold strong for the 1-0 win at the end of regulation. Cohn totaled three saves in the match and earned her second shutout.
Wofford had 13 shots in the match, with seven of the attempts being on frame. Siebert led the team in shots with three and tied with Rachael Blackburn and Fatti with shots on goal with two. Siebert commented on the teams win after the match, saying, "It was really great to get another conference win on senior night. The bond between the seniors and underclassmen has grown so much this past season and I think tonight's game really showed that. Now we just have to bring that same energy and intensity we had tonight to the tournament and pull an upset on Sunday."
Tonight's match marks the end of the regular season for the Terriers, but after the victory the women's soccer team earns a spot in the conference tournament. Wofford will travel to Greensboro, N.C. to face the No. 16 team in the nation, UNC Greensboro, for the first round on Sunday, October 31st. Furman finishes the regular season at sixth place in the Southern Conference and will travel to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament on Sunday.
Appalachian State 0, Western Carolina 0 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State University women's soccer (5-8-5, 2-5-4 SoCon) ended its season after playing Western Carolina (5-10-4, 2-6-3 SoCon) into a scoreless tie on Wednesday as part of Senior Night activities at ASU Soccer Stadium.
Senior Shannon Healy (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) tried to get the Mountaineers on the board two minutes into the match, but her shot was wide. After both teams traded possession of the ball, Western Carolina was awarded a corner kick at 8:06, which was taken by Laura Greb. Brittany Gendron went in for the header, but it was saved by senior Caroline Clarke (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood Christian).
After WCU's momentum was stopped by an offsides call, junior Sydney Hill (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahooche) took a corner for Appalachian. Senior Lindsay Jaffe (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) went in the header, but it was caught by WCU goalkeeper Caitlin Williams.
The Catamounts rebounded the miss and pushed the ball back down the field. After setting up the offense, Christine Kaznowski took a shot at the goal, but it sailed wide.
Sophomore Meggie Graham (Marietta, Ga./Walton) took ASU's next corner at 21:43, but freshman Amy Werdine's (Tampa, Fla./H.B. Plant) header fell into the hands of Williams. After gaining possession of the ball again at 22:15, sophomore Michelle Jewell (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) took a chance on a header, but it was high.
After shots by sophomore Hannah Coad (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) and sophomore Taylor Dunlap (Limen, Mich./Fenton) failed to find the back of the net, both teams took a scoreless draw into the half.
Western Carolina fouled to begin the second half of play and the Mountaineers used the possession to allow Dunlap to get another shot off, but it was converted into a save for Williams. Appalachian got the ball back at 48:13 and a Coad header was wide.
Following another WCU foul at 52:05, Hill took her second shot of the contest, but it was saved by Williams. Both teams exchanged fouls on their next possessions and ASU took the ball back down to its end of the field to allow redshirt freshman Sam McVeigh (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) to get her only shot attempt of the contest, but it was wide.
The next best look of the match for the Apps came off a corner delivered by Hill at 73:25 to Coad, but Coad's strike was caught by Williams head on.
The Catamounts delivered two more shots to try to seal a victory at the end of the match, but neither was successful so the two squads prepared for overtime.
The Mountaineers got more aggressive with their shots in overtime and worked hard to create good scoring opportunities, but none were able to find their way into the net ending the match at 0-0.
The best shot of the overtime for the Apps was taken by Graham at 102:06, but it was saved by a diving Sabrina Temple.
The match was Appalachian's eighth overtime contest of the season and with the scoreless tie, ASU moved its extra period record to 0-2-6.
Clarke (5-8-3) and Williams (5-11-4) who shared SoCon Player of the Week two weeks ago, finished the match with six and seven saves, respectively. Temple, who subbed in for Williams at the beginning of the first overtime, while Williams moved to the field, finished with four saves.
The Mountaineers were led in shooting by Coad and Graham, who both attempted four shots a piece. The Catamounts were led by Greb and Kaznowski, who struck three times a piece. Appalachian held the advantage in shots, 19-12.
Samford 3, Chattanooga 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team bid farewell to its three seniors Wednesday night in the season finale at Finley Stadium. The Lady Mocs fell 3-0 to Samford in Southern Conference action and ended its season.
The Bulldogs (12-5-2, 8-2-1 SoCon) got their first score in the 12th minute. Michelle Moll sent a pass from the left side to Trine Taule in front of the net. Taule then sent a shot to the right just out of reach of Chattanooga keeper Taylor Mangrum (Franklin, Tenn.) to put Samford up 1-0.
The Lady Mocs held off the Samford offense the remainder of the half to keep the score to one goal at halftime.
However, the Bulldogs put two more tallies on the board at the start of the second half for a 3-0 lead. With 46:34 on the clock Paige Lanter scored off a turnover in the box to put Samford up 2-0. Just 3:22 later, Lauren Cook took a pass from Lanter for the third and final score.
Chattanooga ends its season at 4-13-2 and 2-7-2 in SoCon play. Junior Donna-Kay Henry (Queens Village, N.Y.) ends her third season with nine goals and two assists. Sophomore Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) was second on the team in scoring with three goals and three assists for nine points. Sophomore Lauren Wilson (Columbia, Tenn.) was the team's assists leader with six on the year and freshman Kerbi Towry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) had two goals and one assist. Mangrum closed out her rookie season with 118 saves, most in the Southern Conference and had a 2.09 goals against average.
Seniors Serena Allen (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Kelly Downs (Hixson, Tenn.) played their final collegiate games Wednesday night and manager Whitney Lowe taped her last game.
Samford will host Davidson Sunday evening at 7 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Women's Soccer Championship.
Elon Women's Soccer Game Versus UNCG Postponed
ELON, N.C. - Due to impending weather conditions, the Elon University women's soccer team's game scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. versus No. 16 ranked UNC Greensboro has been postponed. The two teams will now play tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at Rudd Field.
For additional information and schedule updates, check ElonPhoenix.com.