The Citadel 4, South Carolina State 1
Charleston, S.C. - Bulldog Soccer coasted past South Carolina State Wednesday afternoon, claiming a 4-1 victory led by freshman Nicole Levermann's two-goal performance.
The Citadel capitalized on the first shot as junior Amy Loughran kicked the ball from the left side of the box. Bouncing off the goal post, the ball sailed into the top right side of the net giving the Cadets a 1-0 lead. At the 5:33 mark, SC State's Briana Lopez attempted to tie the match, but goalkeeper Laura Serafino made a leaping dive for the save. As SC State maintained control of the ball, a foul was committed by The Citadel inside the box setting up a penalty kick. Lopez shot straight center into the net to tie the game at 1-1. The Bulldogs went shot-for-shot without anyone being able to connect with the net leaving the scoreboard tied at the half. The Citadel outshot SC State 8-5 in the first half led by Loughran's four.
The Citadel didn't let up to start the second half, and came off the bench aiming for the net quickly. Just two minutes into period senior Nicole Martinoli passed the ball from the left side of the field to Levermann who from 20 yards shot a goal into the right side of the net. Down 2-1, SC State's Kaitlynn Penner took a shot at the 59:30 mark but the ball went wide. Gathering a loose ball at the top right side of the box, Levermann sent a kick to the top left corner of the net, curling just over the goalkeeper's head for the 3-1 lead. SC State followed with consecutive shots at the 64:16 and 64:27 mark but Lopez's and Alejandra Chirino's kicks were both blocked. Freshman Mariana Garcia sealed the Bulldogs 4-1 victory in the 80th minute of play on a goal assisted by classmate Vanessa Aponte.
As the Bulldogs' offensive leader, Levermann finished the match with two goals and four shots and Loughran ended the match with six shots and one goal. Lopez finished as SC State's leader with five shots, three on goal and one goal scored. In 90 minutes played, Serafino and Mariah Hebbe concluded the match with three saves.
"We worked together as a team from offense to defense, which really paid off for us," said key Bulldog defender Shanna Couch. "It goes to show that we can score when needed and it will only get better."
The Bulldogs will travel to low country native Charleston Southern to face off at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 18. Take note that today's match was recorded for video purposes and can now be viewed for free on Bulldog Insider. For more information on Bulldog Soccer or to watch video of today's match online, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Furman 4, UNC Asheville 1
Greenville, S.C. -- Juniors Martha Hall and Rachel Shelnutt each tallied a pair of goals to power Furman past UNC Asheville 4-1 in non-conference women's soccer action on Wednesday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The win, Furman's 100th all-time victory at Stone Stadium, improved the Paladins to 5-3-0 on the season. UNCA fell to 0-6-0.
The Bulldogs claimed the early lead just 3:54 into the match as Chloe McCleary-Small pounced on a deflected clearance attempt inside the 18-yard box and slid a pass across the face of goal to Katy Beeler who tapped in her first goal of the season.
Furman responded only 21 seconds later on Hall's first tally of the night. Shelnutt created space on the right side and played a cross to the near post where Hall volleyed a shot past UNCA keeper Megan Dent. In the 22nd minute, Megan Dougherty's cross from the left wing skipped through the box to Shelnutt and hammered a shot past Dent at 21:32 to give the Paladins a 2-1 lead.
The junior from St. Simons Island, Ga., made it two first half goals just past the half hour mark. Ellen Moore delivered a pass to Shelnutt on the right side and she bested the keeper for her league-leading fifth goal of the season at 30:35.
Hall equaled Shelnutt's league best five goals and capped the scoring at the 53-minute mark running onto a Caitlin Shelton pass and scoring from 12 yards out to provide the final 4-1 margin.
UNCA held a 21-20 edge in shots and an 11-9 advantage in shots on goal, but could not solve Paladin goalkeeper Jessica Smith who tallied 10 saves in the victory. Dent stopped five shots in the loss for the Bulldogs.
Furman will be idle for eight days before opening Southern Conference play at Davidson on September 24. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.