UNCG 2, #10 Wake Forest 1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Lauren Hein and Jenn Partenheimer scored first-half goals, Kelsey Kearney turned in a fine effort in the net and UNCG weathered a late rally as the Spartans stunned No. 10 Wake Forest on Monday, 2-1.
The Spartans (2-0-0) knocked off their third ranked opponent in the last three seasons, and the second from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Last year, UNCG downed then-No. 11 Duke, 1-0, on Aug. 28. The year before that, the Spartans shocked then-No. 15 Santa Clara, 1-0, on Sept. 12, 2008.
The Demon Deacons (1-1-0) are the highest-ranked opponent UNCG has beaten since topping then-No. 9 Duke, 2-0, during the 2000 season.
"We were pleased with our first-half performance," coach Eddie Radwanski said. "And in the second half, our defensive group really did an outstanding job in staying together and staying organized against a talented Wake team. Our games with Wake are always close. They deserve their top-10 ranking, but our kids rose to the occasion and were able to put together a solid performance to get the win."
Hein put UNCG ahead in just the 11th minute, heading home a pass from Cat Barnekow off a Kory Spotts corner kick.
Partenheimer, who scored UNCG's lone goal in last year's 2-1 loss to Wake Forest, made it a 2-0 lead in the 29th minute on a free kick. Hein touched the ball to Partenheimer, who volleyed home the strike to put the visitors up by a pair.
The Spartans' early lead could have been three goals, but Tabitha Padgett's shot in the 24th minute was cleared off the line by a Wake Forest defender for the team save.
The Demon Deacons had a chance to cut their deficit in half in the 31st minute, but Bianca D'Agostino missed her penalty kick.
The Deacs would keep Kearney busy on the evening, drawing another penalty kick in the 83rd minute. Wake capitalized on its chance this time, however, as freshman Rachel Nuzzolese buried the free kick to make it a 2-1 contest with just minutes left to play.
Wake Forest would keep the pressure on, getting off three shots and earning a corner kick in the final four minutes, but UNCG survived for the win.
UNCG played aggressively, committing 17 fouls to Wake Forest's eight. Both sides drew a pair of yellow cards, as well.
Kearney made six stops on the evening. Her counterpart, freshman Aubrey Bledsoe, made three saves.
"Kelsey was outstanding in goal," Radwanski said. "To have her in the net just gives our team a tremendous amount of confidence. She's a great leader and a gifted athlete. Kelsey is slowly but surely proving that she is one of the top goalkeepers in the country. Having her in the back and then that front line of Lauren Hein and Tabitha, we were very dangerous today."
UNCG's win came with a new-look lineup, as redshirt sophomore Stephanie Partenheimer and true sophomore Katie Durst made their first career starts.
The Spartans, who have won their first two games for the first time since 2007, will look to make it three in a row when they take on Utah at the Georgia Nike Invitational in Athens, Ga., on Sunday, Aug. 29. Game time is set for 11 a.m.
AGATE
UNCG 2, Wake Forest 1
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
UNCG 2 0 2
Wake Forest 0 1 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1 10:58 UNCG Lauren Hein (1) (Kory Spotts;Cat Barnekow)
2 28:21 UNCG Jenn Partenheimer (1) (Lauren Hein)
3 82:53 WF Rachel Nuzzolese (2)
Shots: UNCG 8, Wake Forest 18
Saves: UNCG 6 (Kelsey Kearney 6), Wake Forest 4 (Aubrey Bledsoe 3; TEAM 1)
Corner kicks: UNCG 4, Wake Forest 5
Fouls: UNCG 17, Wake Forest 8
College of Charleston 3, Charleston Southern 2
DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. - College of Charleston women's soccer head coach Christian Michner earned his first victory of his head coaching career when his Cougars came back from behind twice to beat Charleston Southern, 3-2, on Monday afternoon.
The Cougars improved to 1-1-0 on the season while the Lady Buccaneers fell to 1-1-0.
"It's great to get your first win here at Charleston," said Michner. It was a real battle against a cross-town rival but we got a really good game out of our girls. We battled back from adversity and finally got the winner with just a few minutes left."
Maryam Buazza (Katy, Texas) tallied two goals and an assist while McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) added a goal and an assist.
Play was balanced in the opening ten minutes of the match until Caitlin Wesnesky took possession in the center for the Bucs. Wesnesky played a long ball down the left side of the field to a running Rebecca Hollstegge. Hollstegge received the pass in the corner and played the ball into the box where Marky Boyce one-touched it into the back of the net.
CofC had a quality opportunity to equalize moments later when Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) threaded a pass through the middle of the field to a streaking Emilie Huser (Fort Wayne, Ind.) but charging keeper Amy Arroyo stifled the attempt.
Schaidle created a similar opportunity for herself moments later with a brilliant move at midfield which freed her up all the way into the box but her run was met with the same result.
In the 40th minute, Buazza almost curled a corner kick into the net but the Bucs' defender at the far post deflected the attempt at the goal line.
The teams exchanged chances for the remainder of a well-balanced first half. CSU mustered one more shot than the Cougars in the opening frame with seven compared to CofC's six. Corners were balanced as well with five for the Bucs and four for the Cougars.
CofC controlled the pace in the second half until it finally equalized the match in the 59th minute. Jones dribbled the ball to the top right corner of the box before firing a shot off the crossbar. Buazza controlled the rebound and beat an out-of-place defender to level the score.
The Bucs regained the lead in the 75th minute when Allison Lewis received a precision pass at the top of the box from Morgann Wood and beat the keeper to the top left corner.
The Cougars again equalized just over a minute later on a set piece from the corner. Buazza played the corner kick into the box where Jones headed the ball into the net.
Buazza finally put the Cougars ahead in the 85th minute on a free kick from 27 yards out. Buazza took the piece herself and beat the keeper into the top left corner to put CofC up 3-2.
The Cougars kept the ball in their offensive half of the field for the remainder of the game to close out the victory.
"It's never easy to fall behind and storm back to level it and then have do it all over again," Michner said. "It says a lot about the leadership and mentality of this team."
CofC returns to action on Saturday, Aug. 28 with a home match against Coastal Carolina at Patriots Point at 7 p.m.