Appalachian State 0, Gardner-Webb 0 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C.- Appalachian State women's soccer (3-3-1) played Gardner-Webb (3-3-2) to a scoreless tie in double overtime in their final non-conference match on Friday night at the Appalachian Soccer Stadium.
This is the first tie of the season for the Mountaineers, who turned up the defensive pressure and only allowed the Runnin' Bulldogs to attempt seven shots, with five of those attempting to find the back of the net resulting in five saves for senior goalkeeper Caroline Clarke (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood Christian).
Clarke moves her season record to 3-3-1 with the tie.
ASU attempted a season-high 14 shots in their bid to pick up the victory. Sophomore Meggie Graham (Marietta, Ga./Walton) tallied a season-high five shots, with three of those close to becoming Mountaineer goals. Junior Sydney Hill (Alpharetta, Ga./Chattahoochee) and redshirt freshman Sam McVeigh (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Catholic) each attempted two shots in the effort, as well.
"I felt like we did a good job of getting into the final third of the match," said ASU head coach Sarah Strickland. "We were much more creative tonight, as far as finding ways to get in. We were more patient on the ball as far as when to serve. It is just finishing the delivery that we need to finalize. We will get after it and keep working on these things. Our back line looked better. Lindsay Jaffe (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay) was outstanding tonight and Jaclyn Coggins (Alpharetta, Ga./Alpharetta) really stepped up and stood out in the midfield, as far as playing well.
The Black and Gold return to action next Friday (Sept. 24), taking on College of Charleston in their first conference match of the 2010 slate, at the ASU Soccer Stadium. The SoCon matchup begins at 7 p.m.
Western Carolina 1, Francis Marion 1 (2 OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (2-4-1) battled to a 1-1 two overtime tie with Francis Marion (2-7-1) Friday at the Catamount Soccer Complex.
It was the first overtime match of the season for Western Carolina. Both teams connected on goals in the first 28 minutes of the match and battled the rest of the time for a chance at a goal.
Francis Marion got on the scoreboard first in the first four plus minutes of the match. The Patriots Jordan Allen punched in a score off a corner kick and assist by Kiley Williams.
Western Carolina knotted the match at one 19 minutes later, at 23:39, when Katie Salmons took a shot inside the box, off an assist by Christine Kazonowski, to dribble in the goal. It was Salmons second consecutive goal of the season, as she scored her first goal of against Xavier on September 12.
After the two quick goals, Western Carolina and Francis Marion each had two shots before the end of the first half.
The second half and overtime put the spotlight on goalkeeper Caitlin Williams who fended off Francis Marion multiple times. It all culminated in the final minute of the second overtime when Allen, who had scored the Patriots lone goal on Williams, looked for the late second heroics. She took the ball down to the Catamounts end of the field and took a shot on Williams who vaulted above the goal post to swat the ball away and avert Francis Marion.
Williams allowed one goal and posted five saves in the match. Francis Marion's keeper Casey Durham posted one save.
Western Carolina looked to take advantage of quality looks at the goal in the second half. Starting at the 60 minute mark, in a span of two minutes, the Catamounts had three straight shots by Brittany Gendron, Salmons and Katie Sedgeley. Salmons shot was just left of the goal and Sedgeley's attempt just skimmed to the right of the goal post.
Kaznowski had the best look at the goal in the first overtime but her shot attempt was blocked by Francis Marion five minutes into the overtime period. It was Kaznowski's only shot of the game.
Overall, Western Carolina had 13 shots in the match to Francis Marion's 10. There were four corner kicks a piece between the two teams. Salmons led the Catamounts with three shots.
Western Carolina hosts High Point at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Catamount Soccer Complex.
#21 Georgia 3, College of Charleston 1
ATHENS, Ga. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team fell, 3-1, to No. 21 Georgia at the UGA Soccer Stadium on Friday Night.
CofC falls to 3-5-0 on the year while Georgia improves to 5-2-1. The Bulldogs improve to 4-0 all-time against the Cougars, and are now 18-0-1 against Southern Conference foes.
UGA netted all three of its goals in the second half. CofC got onto the board with just 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
The first half was level in its entirety with the teams exchanging opportunities and playing end to end.
Georgia's offense came to life in the second half, however, and the Bulldogs managed 14 shot attempts in the second frame. They finally got one to go nearly 20 minutes into the second half when Nicole Locandro found the left side of the net with assists from Susannah Dennis and Carli Shultis.
Locandro picked up assists on both of Georgia's ensuing goals, giving her four points on the night. The goals were scored by Meghan Gibbons and Alex Hooker.
CofC finally found the net as time was about to expire in the 90th minute. The Cougars caught UGA's keeper out of position and Maryam Buazza (Katy, Texas) found Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) who capitalized on the miscue with 17 seconds of play remaining.
The Cougars continue the road stretch with the SoCon season opener at Appalachian State on Friday, Sept. 17.
Auburn 2, Samford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team had its four-match winning streak snapped Friday in a 2-0 road loss against the Auburn Tigers at the Auburn Soccer Complex. In the in-state duel, the teams were tied at 0-0 until the Tigers rallied for a pair of goals in the final five minutes of play.
"I thought our players battled hard tonight and showed great character," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "They played with courage, and in the last five minutes of the match I decided to go for it. I tried to go for the winner, and in the end, they ended up getting the goal. With five minutes to go, we decided to go for it, and maybe that wasn't the best decision on my part, but I'm extremely proud of my team."
With the loss, Samford (4-3-1) suffered its first defeat in nearly a month. Prior to Friday's setback, the Bulldogs' most recent loss was a 3-0 road decision against No. 18-ranked Memphis on Aug. 22. Samford tallied a 4-0-1 record between defeats and registered wins versus Southern Miss 4-0, UAB 1-0, Kennesaw State 2-0 and Tennessee Tech 2-0 during the stretch.
Auburn (6-2), the No. 21-ranked team in the nation a week ago, earned its second straight victory Friday. After falling on the road at USC on Sept. 10, the Tigers have picked up identical 2-0 wins against Cal State Fullerton and Samford.
"I think Auburn has an outstanding team this season," Yelton said. "Karen (Hoppa) does a brilliant job with her squad and I don't think there's a better player in the nation than Katy Frierson. I will say that I thought Michelle Moll did a phenomenal job of dealing with Katy, and it was pretty obvious that Katy was a bit miserable having to deal with Michelle."
Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered a career-high 13 saves against Auburn. Whitehead's record-setting performance topped her previous high of nine, which she tallied against College of Charleston on Sept. 27, 2009.
"Alyssa is just a fantastic goalkeeper," said Yelton. "She did a great job, but I also thought that our back four played phenomenal as well. I think that they've played maybe as well as they have all year. I thought Colette (Nammour) and Sabbath (McKiernan-Allen) had a lot to deal with and they really did a good job."
Both of Auburn's goals were scored in the final 5:13 of play Friday. The teams fought to a scoreless 0-0 tally nearly 85 minutes into the match when senior Gabi Rivera tallied the game-winning goal. On the decisive score, Rivera gained possession of the ball on the right-hand flank with the nearest Samford defender 20 yards away to her left.
The free time gave Rivera enough room to scoot only 15 yards away from goal where she snaked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net.
The score gave Auburn a 1-0 lead and proved to be the first goal that Samford allowed in 465:53 minutes, dating back to a 2-2 draw at home with Mercer on Aug. 27.
Less than two minutes later, the Tigers tacked on their second goal of the night at 86:46 as Mary Coffed took a Rivera pass and scored her second goal of the season in a similar fashion as Auburn's first goal. Both goals looked almost identical and Coffed's score also found the bottom of the net in the bottom-left corner.
Samford and Auburn fought to a scoreless first half Friday. The Tigers finished the opening 45 minutes of play with 12 shot attempts, while the Bulldogs' Leah Leppert recorded Samford's lone tally of the first half.
Whitehead, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 goalkeeper from Hattiesburg, Miss., registered six saves in the opening half, including a number of sky-flying punches to thwart goals on the top shelf. Samford's Preseason All-Southern Conference selection entered Friday's match with a season-record total of eight saves against Alabama on Aug. 20.
Auburn's first-half attack was paced by forward Jessica Rightmer. The Tigers' midfielder from Austin, Texas, led Auburn with three shot attempts in the opening period.
"One of the main things that I stressed with our players after the match was that if you look at our team tonight, compared with how we played on Aug. 20, we are a much better team now," Yelton said. "I think its tremendous how much we've grown and improved in the last month and I'm very encouraged by tonight as we head into our conference play."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the begin Southern Conference play with a home match against the Elon Phoenix to be held at Bulldog Field.
Longwood 6, Elon 0
FARMVILLE, Va. - The Elon University women's soccer team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night, as the Longwood University Lancers handed the Phoenix a 6-0 setback at the Athletics Complex.
Elon drops to 5-2 with the loss, while Longwood improves to 5-4 with the win.
The Phoenix never recovered from three first-half Lancer goals, as Longwood scored in the fourth minute of the game to take a 1-0 lead before landing two more strikes over the next 30 minutes to go into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.
Elon had limited chances in the opening frame, as freshman Jennifer McGorty missed on a header in the 31st minute that would have cut Longwood's lead in half. Senior Brittany Hallberg registered the game's first shot on goal in the second minute of the contest that would have given Elon a 1-0 lead, but Longwood's offensive attack proved to be too much for the Phoenix to overcome.
The Lancers kept their foot on the gas in the second half, as Mackenzie King scored from nine yards out seven minutes into the half to extend Longwood's lead to 4-0.
The Phoenix nearly scored its first goal of the game in the 54th minute, as a strike from junior Andrea Keller ricocheted off the crossbar to keep Elon scoreless.
The Lancers out-shot Elon by a thin margin, 12-11, but managed to take eight shots on-goal while limiting the Phoenix to four.
Longwood's Lindsey Ottavio finished with a hat trick for the Lancers.
Elon continues its trek across Virginia with a trip to Richmond, Va. on Sunday to take on Virginia Commonwealth at 1 p.m.