Western Carolina 4, UNC Asheville 0
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Western Carolina soccer improved to 2-0, to start the season, with a 4-0 shutout of mountain rival UNC Asheville (0-2) Friday at Greenwood Field
This is the fourth time in soccer's 11 year history the Catamounts have started the season 2-0.
It was the first shutout of the season for the Catamounts and senior goalkeeper Caitlin Williams. Overall, WCU has allowed one goal in two matches. Williams has a total of 15 shutouts in her career and needs five to break the career school record. Williams picked up two saves in the match against UNC Asheville.
The Catamounts continued the tradition of scoring early, striking the first blow at the 17:33 mark with an unassisted 25-yard shot from sophomore Lindsay Carter; her first of the season. Western Carolina added a second goal in the first half thanks to a goal by senior Erin Hamilton, at the 25:43 mark, off an assist by fellow senior Kellie Oberholtzer.
Asheville had a chance to get on the scoreboard in the final 10 minutes, of the first half, but Katy Beeler had a shot go just wide late in the half. The Bulldogs continued to apply the pressure early in the second half. Beeler just missed scoring 15 minutes into the half when her shot from 10 yards out hit the cross bar and bounced away.
it was again time for the Catamount youngsters to shine, putting the game away in the second half. Sophomore Laura Greb became the third Catamount player, in the match, to score her first goal of the season, hitting an unassisted shot from 15 yards out. Freshman Christine Kaznowski capped off the match with a shot, at the 73:33 mark, thanks to an assist by Erin Hamilton. It was Kaznowski's second goal of the season.
Western Carolina outshot UNC Asheville 15-10. The Catamounts took a balanced eight shots in the first half and seven in the second half. The Bulldogs took five shots in both halves.
The Catamounts complete their road swing next weekend playing at UAB September 3 at 8 p.m. and at Auburn September 5 at 3 p.m.
Elon 1, Campbell 0
ELON, N.C. - Elon rookie midfielder Kimmie Krauss knocked in the game-winning goal in the early part of the first half as the Phoenix women's soccer team shutout the visiting Campbell Fighting Camels at Rudd Field in front of over 200 fans on Friday night. Elon improved to 1-1 on the young season while Campbell dropped to 1-2 overall.
"This was an extremely tough battle tonight," commented Elon head coach Chris Neal. "Campbell put in an excellent performance. We became a tougher team and a more experienced team tonight. We will go back and watch the film, learn from it and get better."
Elon held much of the possession in the opening period, making some strong runs at the goal. In the 16th minute, Krauss tucked in her first goal while wearing the maroon and gold. Senior Alanna Winsper sent a corner kick to freshman Chelsey Stark who drilled a shot to the far post. A Campbell defender blocked the ball away from the net, but senior Brittany Hallberg touched the ball toward Krauss who was able to put away the short shot and give the Phoenix a 1-0 advantage.
Elon nearly took a two-goal lead a few minutes later when Krauss sent a nice ball into the box, but Hallberg's shot went just wide left.
Campbell's best opportunity of the opening half came with under a minute to go when Taylor Viniarski's shot sailed just high of the goal. At the break, Elon held a 6-2 advantage in shots.
In the first minute of the final period, a streaking Krauss took the ball down the field and drilled a shot on goal, straight into the hands of Campbell keeper Jamie Panfil. The Phoenix had another solid opportunity with about 17 minutes to play when Stark broke up a Campbell pass in the midfield and gave Elon numbers in its offensive third. Shelby Carroll's shot from the right side went wide of the far post.
The Phoenix held a 9-7 advantage in shots and each team took four corner kicks. Elon's goalie Kristen Haney earned her first career shutout, making one save in the contest.
Elon will make its first road trip of the season when it travels to the UNC Wilmington Tournament next weekend. The Phoenix will open competition against Gardner-Webb on Friday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.
Wofford 1, Presbyterian 0 (OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The women's soccer team improves to 2-1 on the season after defeating Presbyterian College 1-0 in the home opener. The game went into overtime after a 0-0 result in regulation. Emily Bougas fired in the game winner with 3:57 left in the first overtime.
The women's soccer team entered the match with sunny skies overhead and redemption in the back of their minds as they faced off against the PC Blue Hose. Early into the first half both teams were fighting to gain an advantage over ball control, but neither team were able to put pressure on until the 23rd minute when Anne Phillips floated a shot toward the net from the right wing, but it slipped just over the high crossbar. Soon after, Bougas sailed two shots of her own toward the net in a span of three minutes. The first one is grabbed off a fingertip save from PC's Sarah Beth Anderson. Her second shot was a low hard driven ball toward the side netting in the 24th minute, but it was saved as well.
With 20 minutes left in the first half Katie McChesney keeps the Blue Hose off the scoreboard as she gobbled up a cross hit from the right corner. McChesney and the Terrier defense were able to hold PC scoreless in the first half. The defense was able to hold PC to only four shots in the first, while Wofford was able to tally eight shots.
The second half showed to be a midfield combat as both teams fought to wear down the opposing defense. The Terrier defense fought off all attacks and regulation ended 0-0 sending the game into overtime. Rachael Blackburn was able to get off Wofford's only shot of the second half, but it was blocked by a PC defender.
The game was sent into sudden victory overtime, and the Terrier's Emily Bougas answered the call late in the first overtime off a through ball from Nikki Siebert. Siebert took control of the ball in the middle of the field and streamed it past the Blue Hose defense toward Bougas on the right side of the field. Bougas caught the ball on her foot, and dribbled it inside PC's 18'. She lined up the shot and pushed it past the Blue Hose keeper to end the game in dramatic fashion. The goal is Bougas's third goal in two matches.
The women's soccer team returns to action Sunday as they travel to Francis Marion to face off against the Patriots at 4:00 pm.
Samford 2, Mercer 2 (2 OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team played its first home match of the regular season Friday and fought to a 2-2 draw against the Mercer Bears at Bulldog Field. In the tie, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from freshmen Katie Proud and Brittany Hoffman, but Mercer rallied with two late scores to force overtime.
Neither team was able to tally a goal in overtime as the non-conference foes finished in a 2-2 draw.
"I know we tied a very good team tonight, but it definitely feels like a loss," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We had a number of chances to finish off the game, but we didn't convert on our opportunities and I have to give full credit to Mercer. They never quit and they found a way to score and tie the game. I just need to do a better job of coaching."
Samford (0-2-1) opened the match in quick fashion and eventually outshot Mercer (1-0-1) by a final count of 17-8. The Bears' goalkeeper Cristina Guilarte finished the contest with four key saves, while the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered two critical stops of her own.
Proud, Samford's true freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., tallied the first goal of the match during the 32nd minute of play. The score was assisted by both Colette Nammour and Shanika Thomas. On the goal, Nammour blasted a deep pass 40 yards downfield that the speedy Proud was able to run under.
Mercer's goalkeeper Guilarte gambled to pick off the pass, but Proud beat her to the ball and scatted by her to the left. Once she evaded Guilarte, Proud saw the open net in front of her and rifled the ball in from 15 yards out.
The goal was Proud's first of her collegiate career in her first home match at Bulldog Field.
Less than three minutes later, Samford extended its lead to 2-0 as Hoffman connected on a one-timer into the left corner of the net. On the goal, which was scored in the 35th minute, Proud beat a pair of Bear defenders and sent a pinpoint crossing pass ahead to Hoffman. Hoffman, another of Samford's highly-touted freshmen from Knoxville, Tenn., connected on Proud's pass and fired it into the corner.
The score was Hoffman's first of her collegiate career and Proud registered her first career assist on the goal.
"I don't think our team let up after being up 2-0 early, but I always say that 2-0 is a dangerous lead," Yelton said. "We have a very young squad, and maybe we lack some maturity, but I have to do a better job of coaching."
Midway through the second half of play, Mercer's Jessie Kupstas trimmed Samford's lead to 2-1 with a goal in the 69th minute. Her teammate, Olivia Tucker, then recorded the equalizing goal with only 1:06 remaining in regulation. The scores were the first for both players this season.
"Mercer's a really good team and (head coach) Grant (Serafy) has done a really good job with that program," said Yelton. "His players have a lot of character and they battled hard all night. They never gave up and they showed what can happen when you continue to fight and play your hearts out."
Late in Friday's match, Samford missed out on a couple of good game-winning opportunities. Seven minutes into the first overtime period, the Bulldogs' Leah Leppert rattled off a shot that was saved by Guilarte. Then, with 13 seconds remaining in the second overtime, Samford's true freshman Trine Taule found herself in position to head a shot that barely went over the crossbar.
"We had a very good first half, but then I thought we were poor in the second half," Yelton said. "In the overtime period, I thought we were very good, but we just couldn't find the back of the net. We need to build from this match and continue to get better as a team. Hopefully, we'll get a lot better and continue to grow before the conference season gets here."
Despite Friday's draw, Samford owns a 6-1-2 advantage in its all-time series with Mercer.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their five-match homestand against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Bulldog Field.
Charlotte 1, Davidson 0
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A Sam Huecker goal for the Charlotte 49ers less than a minute into the start of the game proved to be the difference as the Wildcats dropped a 1-0 decision on Friday night in a cross-county rivalry game at Transamerica Field in women¹s soccer action.
Davidson (1-1) and Charlotte played against each for the 14th time as the 49ers (1-0) won their second straight in the series. The Wildcats had won three of the last four meetings entering the game.
Things started off quickly as Charlotte struck for its first goal of the season in its season and home-opener less than a minute into the game. Macky Wingo sent a touch pass to Sam Huecker in the middle of the field near the 22-yard box, where Huecker gathered in the ball and took a few touches before firing off a shot that slid past a diving Jessie Baxa (Bloomfield, Mich.) in goal for the first score of the game.
Despite Charlotte controlling possession the majority of the half, Baxa did a great job of keeping the score at 1-0 the rest of the half as she made a couple of huge saves. She was credited with seven saves in the half and closed with 10 overall.
The junior goalkeeper came up with a big save in the 27th minute when she halted a point-blank shot by Wingo. A few minutes later, Baxa then had a kick save on a Sarah Ann Waugh shot on the far side of the six-yard box.
Coming out with a more aggressive approach in the second half, Davidson pushed against the 49er defense as it got off its first three shots of the game in the first 12 minutes of the new half.
The 'Cats nearly knotted the score up on its best chance of the evening in netting a goal. Earning a corner kick in the 87th minute, Allison Drutchas (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), from the near side of the field, kicked the ball into the six-yard box where Stephanie Gerow (Houston, Texas) and Lindsay Blum (Raleigh, N.C.) each got off quick shots, but only to have them blocked by the 49er defense and the ball was then gathered in by goalkeeper Alex Kubrick to halt the threat.
Charlotte outshot the 'Cats, 17-6, and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
The Wildcats return home to finish out the weekend with a 7 p.m. home contest against High Point. They have won the last six straight meetings with the Panthers.
GAME NOTES: Davidson saw its eight-match regular season win streak (7-0-1), which dated back to last Oct. 11, come to an end ... The 49ers now hold a
10-3-1 lead in the all-time series ... the last trip to Charlotte for the Wildcats was in 2005 in which they earned a 2-1 win.
Scoring Summary
0:54 CHAR Sam Huecker (1) (Macky Wingo)
Jacksonville 3, The Citadel 0
Charleston, S.C. - Bulldog fans filled the stands of WLI Field as The Citadel soccer opened the 2010 regular season Friday, Aug. 27 with a 3-0 loss to the Jacksonville Dolphins.
The match began with a slow start while it wasn't until the 9:45 mark when freshman Mariana Garcia took the first shot on goal for the Bulldogs. Jacksonville controlled most of the first half, taking seven shots. However, the Bulldogs' defensive effort was enough to hold the Dolphins to a scoreless first half.
Jacksonville opened the second half firing five shots before Liz Fink connected with Lisa Hensely at the 51:05 mark for the first score of the match to put the Dolphins up 1-0. The Bulldogs wouldn't give up as junior Amy Loughran and Garcia each made back-to-back attempts at the goal. Senior Dominic Snyder tried pulling the Bulldogs back into the match but the shot was too high. Jacksonville maintained control and extended their lead, 2-0, when Jelena Vrcelj scored on the assist from Courtney Conrad at the 86:36 mark. With 1:50 left in the match, Jacksonville's Emily Culbreth scored to seal a 3-0 victory for the Dolphins.
Jacksonville outshot The Citadel 19-5 in addition to a nine to two shots on goal advantage. Junior goalkeeper Laura Serafino played all 90 minutes for the Bulldogs, finishing with six saves, while the Dolphins' Alexa Rooney registered two saves. Fink paced the Dolphins' offense with six shots, two on goal and one assist. Garcia led the Bulldogs with two shots, one on goal.
"I thought we came out and played a solid first half," said head coach Bob Winch. "In the second half we lost our legs a bit and that was disappointing. I am confident in this group that we will get better."
The Bulldogs will continue in The Citadel Nike Invitational where they will next face off with Maine at WLI Field on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. For more information on Bulldog Soccer, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com
Liberty 4, Appalachian State 1
Rock Hill, S.C.- Appalachian State University's women's soccer (0-1) dropped their regular season opener, falling to Liberty(1-1-1), 4-1, Friday night in the tournament opener of the Winthrop Invitational at Eagle Field.
The Flames got on the board early, going up 2-0, before junior Katy Dodd nailed a header off the corner kick from sophomore Meggie Graham to push the game to a 2-1 score. Liberty took a 2-1 advantage into the intermission of the match.
LU edged the Mountaineers in shots and corner kicks, 14-9 and 4-2, respectively. The Apps were led in shots by Graham and sophomore Sam McVeigh, who notched two shots a piece.
Despite giving up four goals, senior goalkeeper Caroline Clarke registered seven saves to Liberty's senior goalkeeper Ashley Nyholt's five saves. Five of Clarke's saves came in the second half as ASU battled back, but came up short.
Appalachian returns to action on Sunday to take on host-Winthrop in a 3:30 contest.
Miami (Ohio) 2, Chattanooga 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team battled a strong Miami (Ohio) squad Friday night, falling 2-1 to the RedHawks at the Austin Peay Lady Govs Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn.
Miami (2-0) took an early advantage with a goal in the fifth minute as a Jess Kodiak pass found Kayla Zakrzewski to put the RedHawks up 1-0. From there it went back and forth as neither team was able to gain the upper hand for most of the game.
"I felt like we came out slow to start the game," senior Serena Allen said. "In the second half we were winning 50/50 balls and played with a lot of heart and determination. This game has made me even more excited about the rest of the season."
At the 74 minute mark, UTC junior Donna-Kay Henry (Queens Village, N.Y.) scored the equalizer off a pass from sophomore Anna Cusick, knotting the game at 1-1. That score would remain short-lived as the RedHawks bounced back with the game winning goal from Brooke Livingston who hit a header into the net off a corner from Kodiak.
Miami outshot the Lady Mocs 18-3 with just five shots in the second half by the RedHawks. Henry had two of UTC's three shots and newcomer Carrisa Sanchez had a shot on goal in her collegiate debut. Sophomore keeper Taylor Davidson (Ooltewah, Tenn.) tallied nine saves with seven coming in the first half.
Chattanooga will remain in Clarksville to take on host Austin Peay Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The Lady Govs posted a 1-0 win over Western Illinois in game one of the tournament Friday evening. Live stats will be available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, GoMocs.com.