Georgia Southern 3, Wofford 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Soccer team opened Southern Conference play with a 3-0 victory over Wofford Friday at Eagle Field. With the win, the Eagles improved to 4-4-0, 1-0-0 SoCon, while the Terriers fell to 5-3-0, 0-1-0.
Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.) led the Eagles with two goals, while goalkeepers Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) and Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) combined for the shutout. Merson made one save in the first half, while Meyer stopped three shots in the second half.
Oland put the Eagles on the board first, chipping a shot over the head of Wofford goalkeeper Katie McChesney less than three minutes into the game. Carlee Storey (Medford, Ore.) won the ball and sent it to Oland inside the box for the assist.
Oland scored her second goal of the game in the 24th minute, pushing her season total to six. The junior stole the ball from a Wofford defender and blasted a shot into the upper-left corner from just outside the 18-yard box to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Paige Grant (Albuquerque, N.M.) scored her first goal of the season, sending a free kick into the back of the net from 35 yards away in the eighth minute. The ball was intended for Oland, who was blocked out on the play, but the shielded Wofford goalkeeper was unable to make the save, giving Georgia Southern a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.
Wofford out-shot Georgia Southern 11-7, but all seven of the Eagles' shots were on goal. Kimberly Cohn come in to relieve McChesney in the 28th minute and made four saves, but the damage was done.
The Eagles next match is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 26 against Furman at 1 p.m. at Eagle Field.
The Citadel 2, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (3-5-1, 0-1 SoCon) dropped its opening Southern Conference match of the season, 2-1, to The Citadel (5-3-1, 1-0 SoCon) Friday at the Catamount Soccer Complex.
"We never got going in the match," said Head Coach Chad Miller. "The Citadel brought the game to us tonight and we couldn't handle the surge."
The Catamounts withstood a steady salvo from The Citadel early, with the match remaining scoreless for over half the first 45 minutes.
It was the Catamounts who struck first in the dueling match, when junior Emily Lynn scored her first goal of the season at the 33:30 minute mark. With the Bulldogs goalie Laura Serafino being drawn away from the net at the front of the box, Lynn saw her opening, sending a scoring strike from 15 yards out.
Western Carolina wasn't afforded a chance to savor the goal, and 1-0 lead, as The Citadel struck quickly with a goal of its own. Just 14 seconds after the Catamounts took the lead, in the match, the Bulldogs' Jillian Meyer worked her way to the net and sent a shot past WCU goalie Caitlin Williams for the score.
"We broke the cardinal rule of soccer after a score," Miller said. "We let them come back down and score."
Early in the second half, The Citadel broke the 1-1 tie with its second goal of the match. At the 59:24 mark, Vanessa Aponte watched as Williams moved away from the goal leaving it vulnerable. A host of Catamount players attempted to back Williams as she was pulled up into the box but Aponte took advantage and scored from the left side, just to the corner of the goal.
Although Williams gave up two goals in the match, she withstood a barrage of Bulldog shots throughout the match. The Citadel had 26 shots in the match and Williams posted 12 saves against them.
"Caitlin Williams kept us in the match," Miller said. "She did what is expected from a senior goalkeeper."
Western Carolina ended the match with six shots. Lynn had two shots in the match and freshman Christine Kaznowski led with three. Kaznowski had two shots in the first 20 minutes of the first half that were two great looks at the goal. Both shots by Kaznowski were scrambles near the goal, but the Citadel managed to block both attempts.
The Catamounts return to action on Sunday hosting Southern Conference foe College of Charleston. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
Davidson 1, Furman 1 (2 OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Sophomore Rachel Barnett (Raleigh, N.C.) netted her second goal of the season in helping the Wildcats to a 1-1 draw in double-overtime on Friday night vs. Furman in both teams opening Southern Conference matches in women¹s soccer action at Alumni Stadium.
Barnett scored the equalizer for Davidson (4-4-1) in the 19th minute of the first half to knot things up at 1-apiece. The score remained that way for the next 91 minutes as the Wildcats played in their first overtime game of the season.
Furman¹s (5-3-1) Dee Makris netted the Paladins¹ goal in the 16th minute to give them an early 1-0 advantage.
Davidson wraps up its three-game homestand with a 2 p.m. contest against Wofford on Sunday, Sept. 26. The Terriers dropped a 3-0 contest at Georgia Southern earlier today in their conference opener.
College of Charleston 4, Appalachian State 0
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State women's soccer (3-4-1) dropped its Southern Conference opener, 4-0 to College of Charleston (4-5) on Friday night at the ASU Soccer Stadium.
College of Charleston got on the board first 14 minutes into the match on a goal by sophomore Sarah Schaidle off the assist from Maryam Buazza. The goal was her third of the season.
Minutes later, Schaidle received another opportunity to find the back of the net off the pass from sophomore Kelly Gautreaux and capitalized on it to bring the score to 2-0.
The Cougars took a 2-0 advantage into intermission.
The Mountaineers had many chances to score in the first half, edging the Cougars in shots, 10-8.
Both teams turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, only allowing four shots a piece.
Two of those shots were converted into CofC goals for senior Morgan Benz and junior Hannah Gmerek off passes from sophomore Sloane Levin to bring the final score of the match to 4-0.
The Apps ended the match outshooting CofC, 14-12 with junior Katy Dodd (Apex, N.C./Apex) taking three of those. Sophomore Hannah Coad (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) and junior Jordan Horvath (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Lahser) each had two apiece.
Senior goalkeeper Caroline Clarke (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood Christian), who had seven saves on the night, took the loss to run her record to 3-4-1. Sophomore Katie Tate (3-2) notched the win to record her third win of the season.
"I thought the College of Charleston did a great job, as far as creating opportunities and finishing in the final third," said ASU head coach Sarah Strickland. "They really battled and wanted to score goals more than we wanted to. I thought we both had good opportunities and created opportunities in the final third. It was just one of those things. Good teams are good teams and great teams are those that score on the opportunities they have. They finish the chances that they have."
The Mountaineers continue their conference battle on Sunday, Sept. 26 at 2:00 p.m., facing The Citadel at the ASU Soccer Stadium.
UNCG 5, Chattanooga 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- UNC Greensboro strung together three consecutive second half goals to put the game out of reach for Chattanooga as UTC fell 5-2 to the Spartans Friday night at Finley Stadium in Southern Conference women's soccer action.
The Spartans (6-1-1, 1-0-0 SoCon) tagged Chattanooga for two first half goals then put together back-to-back-to-back goals in a span of just less than five minutes late in the second half to put the game out of reach for Chattanooga who falls to 2-7 overall and 0-1-0 in SoCon play.
"It didn't seem like a 5-2 game to anyone," UTC Head Coach J.D. Kyzer said. "We played strong and hung with the best team in the conference. We had just one senior and two juniors tonight. All the rest were freshmen and sophomores. We're immature, but not in a bad way, but in a growth way."
UNCG's Kristen Schmidbauer sent a shot toward the Chattanooga goal that was blocked by the Lady Mocs, but managed to control the ricochet and evade the defenders for the first goal of the game at the 12:31 mark. Just over three minutes later teammate Jaimey Etten sent a direct kick through the outstretched hands of Chattanooga's keeper freshman Taylor Mangrum (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) to go up 2-0 with just 15:48 gone in the game.
That would be all theSpartans would muster in the first half as Chattanooga's defense stepped up to hold off any more scoring opportunities and go into halftime trailing 2-0.
In the second half, Chattanooga sophomore Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) delivered a shot to the back of the net to cut the Spartans' lead to 2-1 in the 61st minute. Despite opportunities to score, the game would remain at 2-1 until UNCG scored its final three goals to put the game away.
Stine Schoening scored unassisted in the 77th minute with the eventual game winner followed just over four minutes later on a shot from Jessi Gulledge off an assist from Tabitha Padgett to go up 4-1. Jenn Partenheimer found the net at the 81:25 mark for the Spartans' fifth goal of the game.
However, the Lady Mocs weren't out yet as freshman Andria Aurand (Hixson, Tenn.) scored her first collegiate goal in front of the home crowd. She headed in a shot off a corner from sophomore Lauren Wilson to make it 5-2, but that's all UTC would get before the game closed.
"I was really pleased with them tonight. I know that sounds crazy," Kyzer said. "but I believe we're getting better and better as a team. We're progressing. It may not show in the win-loss column, but we're definitely progressing."
Mangrum grabbed five saves in the first half and split time in goal with sophomore Taylor Davidson (Ooltewah, Tenn.) who had three saves in 45 minutes. UNCG outshot Chattanooga 24-11 with 13 shots on goal to UTC's three.
The Lady Mocs will return to Finley Sunday afternoon hosting Elon in a 2 p.m. matchup. Live stats and video will be available at the official website of Chattanooga athletics, www.GoMocs.com.
Elon 1, Samford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team suffered its first home loss in over three years Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a 1-0 decision to the Elon Phoenix in the Southern Conference opener for both teams held at Bulldog Field. The defeat was Samford's first at home since a 3-0 setback against Auburn on Sept. 21, 2007.
Friday's loss snapped Samford's 28-match home undefeated streak which was the fourth-longest in the nation. The Bulldogs compiled a 22-0-6 record at Bulldog Field during the stretch.
"I don't fault our players' effort tonight," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I thought they all gave it a pretty good effort. In the first half, Elon made it very hard for us to play by the way they played against us. I thought that (head coach) Chris (Neal) did a really good job with his team, because they slowed the pace of the game and everything took time to get started. I think that took a lot of the emotion out of the match."
Samford (4-4-1, 0-1-0 SoCon) suffered its second straight loss and dropped to 4-1-1 at home this season. In their previous outing, the Bulldogs had their four-match winning streak snapped in a 2-0 loss at No. 25-ranked Auburn.
At home this season, Samford played to a 2-2 draw with Mercer on Aug. 27, and then rattled off consecutive wins against Southern Miss 4-0, UAB 1-0, Kennesaw State 2-0 and Tennessee Tech 2-0.
Elon (6-2-1, 1-0-0 SoCon) earned its first win in school history versus Samford on Friday. Prior to the match, the Bulldogs held a 2-0 record in the all-time series between the teams.
The Phoenix tallied its game-winning goal in the 79th minute of play. Elon's Alanna Winsper scored the decisive goal in a massive scrum in front of the net. On the score, the Phoenix's Andrea Keller rifled a shot attempt in front of the goal that was deflected by a pair of Samford defenders and ricocheted directly to Winsper.
Winsper, Elon's junior from Richmond, Va., gathered the bounding ball and fired a shot into the far left corner of the net. The goal was Winsper's second of the season and the assist was Keller's first of the 2010 campaign.
The Phoenix's goalkeeper Kristen Haney registered her third shutout of the season and made a match-high five saves in the victory.
In Friday's hard-fought loss, Samford recorded a number of close chances for goals that were just barely missed. The Bulldogs had a couple of shot attempts carom off the crossbar and Kaley Blanton also had a possible match-tying header go barely over the crossbar.
"We had a lot of good opportunities to score tonight," Yelton said. "We hit the crossbar two or three times and we only gave up one corner kick all night. We knew that Elon is very dangerous on corners and we didn't handle it very well and thus we ended up getting beat on it."
Samford finished the match with 11 shot attempts, all of which were registered in the second half of play. Elon was outnumbered 4-1 in corner kicks, but the game-winning goal was a result of its lone corner kick.
"I thought we did much better in the second half, but the slow pace of play was something we've never had to deal with before," said Yelton. "We were good in the second half and we were certainly good enough to win the match, but soccer's a cruel game. Sometimes you play well, but you still feel like you deserve more out of it. Now, we just need to rest up, stay focused and work towards getting a win on Sunday."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the UNC Greensboro Spartans to Bulldog Field for a key early-season SoCon showdown.