Furman 3, Alabama 0
Tuscaloosa, Ala. -- Rachel Shelnutt tallied two goals and goalkeeper Jessica Smith stopped 11 shots to help Furman rout Southeastern Conference member Alabama 3-0 in women's soccer action Saturday evening at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
The Crimson Tide (2-1) outshot Furman 29-5 overall and held an 11-4 edge in shots on goal, but the Paladins made the most of their chances to improve to 2-1 on the season and 2-0 all-time against Alabama.
"The team showed patience and discipline tonight," said Furman head coach Andrew Burr. "Martha and Rachel took their chances well. This team really played with passion and heart tonight and I am proud of their effort."
Shelnutt, a junior from St. Simons Island, Ga., opened the scoring at the 15:02 mark with her first goal of the season. The forward chested down a pass at the top of the 18-yard box and spun by two defenders into the right side of the box before ripping a shot past Crimson Tide goalkeeper Laura Nicholls.
After the Paladins led 1-0 at intermission, the teams were sent back to the locker room seconds before the start of the second half due to severe storms in the area. Following a delay of almost an hour and a half, Alabama continued to pour on the shots, but could not best Smith who delivered several sliding saves coming off of her line to notch her second consecutive shutout.
At the 62:02 mark, Shelnutt set junior Martha Hall free behind the Crimson Tide defense with a long ball over the top and Hall chipped the keeper from 25 yards out for her first goal of the 2010 campaign as Furman upped its lead to 2-0.
Shelnutt finished off the game at 77:05 as she ran onto a Kitty Tryon pass, dribbled around a charging Laura Nicholls and slotted a shot into the net for the final 3-0 margin.
The win marked Furman's first over an SEC opponent since a 1-0 triumph at South Carolina on September 2, 2003.
The Paladins return home on Friday when they host rival Clemson in a 7 p.m. contest at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Georgia Southern 3, USC Upstate 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Georgia Southern Women's Soccer Team scored a pair of goals to defeat USC Upstate 3-0 Saturday (August 28). With the win, the Eagles evened their record at 1-1-0, while the Spartans fell to 0-3-0 on the season.
Freshman Alex Murphy (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored the Eagles first goal of the season on a header inside the box in the 34th minute for what proved to be the game winner. Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) put the Eagles up 2-0 just under three minutes into the second half. The junior found the ball at her feet on a pass from Danae Kaimuloa (Escondido, Calif.), and buried the ball in the back of the net from the right side of the goal.
Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) started the game in goal for Georgia Southern, making a save in the first half. Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) played in goal for the second half, making three crucial saves to keep the shutout.
The Eagles gained their third goal of the game on an own goal by USC Upstate in the 65th minute when the ball bounced off a defender's legs and into the net. Rachel Collins played all but 19 minutes and 41 seconds in goal for the Spartans, making five saves while allowing three goals.
Georgia Southern out-shot USC Upstate 15-6, putting eight on the goal, while the Spartans managed just four shots on goal.
The Eagles return home for their next match against Georgia State on Friday, September 3. The contest is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Coastal Carolina 4, College of Charleston 2
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team allowed four unanswered goals in falling to the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. CofC struck early with a pair of quick goals but allowed the Chants to battle back and eventually come away with the 4-2 win.
The loss drops CofC to 1-2-0. The win was Coastal's first of the season and the Chants also sit at 1-2-0.
"It was a good start with two excellent goals," said head coach Christian Michner. "All credit goes to Coastal for coming in with the right mentality, playing hard and getting the win."
The opening minutes of the game were played mostly in the center third of the field with the teams exchanging runs toward the opposing team's box.
The Chanticleers saw the first quality chance of the game with a shot from the top of the box from the boot of Ashley Day but a charging Cricket Wise (Walhalla, S.C.) was able to stifle the attempt. Alyssa Clark controlled the rebound but the Cougar defense was able to take away her angle.
CofC countered the attack and forced the ball deep into the other end of the field. The Chanticleers regained control of the ball but Morgan Benz (Clifton, Va.) intercepted their clearing attempt out of midair. Benz made a simple move and ripped a shot from 20 yards out which found the upper right corner of the net for the 13th minute goal, her first of the season.
The Cougars padded their lead roughly 15 minutes later when McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) made a run into the attacking third and served a ball into the box for Buazza. Buazza corralled the ball and chipped over the keeper on her second touch. The goal was Jones' third assist and Buazza's third goal, both of which are team highs.
CofC looked to go into the locker room with the two-goal advantage but the Chanticleers stormed back with a pair of goals separated by just 2:18 of game time. The first came when Wise did well to punch a crossing attempt away from the net but unfortunately it went to an unchallenged Anna Tupy who had a clean look at a gaping net.
Coastal then equalized moments later when Hannah Brown also controlled a rebound in the box and capitalized on an equally clean opportunity to score.
At halftime, the Chants controlled a 10-8 shot advantage but seven of their shots were on target, compared to just three for the Cougars.
Coastal continued its charge in the second half and finally gained the lead in the 58th minute of the match. Ashley Day gained control in the box and fired a shot through traffic which somehow trickled off the back post and into the net.
The Chants then extended the lead to 4-2 in the 73rd minute when Sara Niles fired what looked to be a cross into the box but the ball was never played by either team and ultimately crossed the goal line.
"We were outshot on our home field which should not happen," said Michner. "We need to get tougher defensively. When that starts to happen, we will be a very tough team."
The Cougars will now embark on their longest road trip of the season with a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Cincinnati and Xavier on Sept. 3 and Sept 5, respectively.