#16 UNCG 2, Elon 1
ELON, N.C. - Despite holding a 1-0 halftime lead, the Elon University women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker in its regular season finale to the No. 16 ranked UNC Greensboro Spartans, as the Phoenix fell, 2-1, on Thursday night at Rudd Field.
With the loss, Elon (11-7-1, 6-5 Southern Conference) earns the No. 5 seed in the 2010 SoCon Tournament and will take on No. 4 seeded College of Charleston on Sunday, Oct. 31, at 1 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.
Senior Brittany Hallberg registered Elon's lone goal of the contest, netting her team-best seventh goal of the season in the first minute of the game to give the Phoenix a 1-0 advantage.
Elon held its 1-0 lead at the half, but the Spartans (16-1-1, 11-0 SoCon) scored goals in the 54th and 63rd minutes of the second half to down the Phoenix and finish the regular season unbeaten in SoCon play.
"There's no doubt that UNC Greensboro is a very good team, but we had several chances tonight and just couldn't make the most of it," said Elon head women's soccer coach Chris Neal. "Their goalkeeper made three saves and ours made two and that made the difference in the game tonight."
Hallberg put Elon on top in the first minute of the match, as her tap-in inside the box on the far side from Chelsey Stark gave the Phoenix a 1-0 edge. Hallberg's score marked Elon's first goal against UNCG since the 2004 season.
The Phoenix held on to its 1-0 edge at intermission, marking the first time this season the Spartans have trailed at the half.
But the Spartans tied it in the 54th minute, as a strike by Jenn Partenheimer from inside the box landed in the top left corner of the net past keeper Kristen Haney to make it a 1-1 match.
UNCG claimed its first lead of the match in the 63rd minute after Lauren Hein's strike from the middle of the box rolled past Haney to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead, one they would not relinquish down the stretch.
Elon nearly tied it in the 85th with a booming strike from Stark from just outside of the box, but UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney made a jumping save to knock the ball over the top of the crossbar to allow UNCG to keep the lead.
Elon was outshot, 8-4, in the loss, marking the first time since Sept. 24 that the Phoenix registered less shots than its opponent.
Following the first round of the SoCon Tournament, the final four teams will head to Cullowhee, N.C. on Friday, Nov. 5, to play the semifinals and championship (Nov. 7).
A the top seed in the tournament, UNCG hosts Wofford Sunday at 2 p.m.
Georgia Southern 1, Davidson 1 (2 OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Soccer team wrapped up the 2010 season playing to a 1-1 double-overtime draw against Southern Conference foe Davidson Thursday (October 28) afternoon at Eagle Field. Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) recorded her ninth goal of the season in the contest.
"I'm really proud of the team today," stated Head Coach Ashley Hart. "We really stepped out and played well as a team. It was a good way to end the season and I think it was a good way to build things for next season. I thought we attacked well today, we played as a group, created a lot of opportunities and got a good result against a good team. I was proud of the way our team stepped out and fought for 110 minutes today."
The conference foes played a scoreless first half with Davidson (6-8-5, 2-4-5) holding a 6-3 advantage in shots. Each team took three shots on goal with the Eagles (5-12-1, 2-8-1) striking first two and a half minutes into the contest. Danae Kaimuloa (Escondido, Calif.) threatened forcing Wildcat goalkeeper Jessie Baxa into a save early in the contest. Davidson took its first of two corner kicks at 7:10 and Allison Drutchas got a shot off the corner, but Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) picked up her first of three saves in the half. Jenny Anderson (Birmingham, Ala.) took the Eagles' final shot in the half, but was unable to put the Eagles in the lead.
Georgia Southern scored in the seventh minute of the second half to take the early lead. Courtney Collins (Mason, Ohio) set up a pass that Oland capitalized on getting past the keeper to put the Eagles in front 1-0.
Davidson took three shots and a corner before equalizing the score at 1-1 in the 65th minute. Allison Drutchas delivered a cross pass to the left side of the box and Rachel Barnett was able to put a header into the back of the net for her second goal of the season. Each team tried to break through in the final minutes with the Eagles taking two shots in the 87th minute and the Wildcats garnering a corner in the 90th minute, but the game was sent into overtime as neither team could break through.
Georgia Southern outshot Davidson 2-0 in the two overtime periods, but was unable to find the back of the net as the Eagles posted their first tie of the season.
Merson finished with three saves, while Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) had four stops in 65 minutes of action. Anderson, Kaimuloa and Oland each posted two shots to lead the Eagles, while Drutchas tallied three for the Wildcats.