College of Charleston 2, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (3-6-1, 0-2 SoCon) battled a rain-soaked soccer field, and Southern Conference foe College of Charleston (5-5, 2-0 SoCon), falling 2-0 to the Cougars Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Soccer Complex.
A steady rain settled in hours before the match was set to start, and never relented. Playing through what could best be described as a torrential down-pour, both teams just looked for an opening on the slick playing field.
The Catamounts had their best look of the first half in the first three minutes. Freshman defender/forward Kayla Sedgley took a breakaway toward the goal, but her shot sailed wide left, just nicking the side of the goal.
Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Williams withstood a barrage of shots by College of Charleston in the first 10 minutes of the first half. Williams had three saves in that span including a close play at the goal when Maryzm Buzza had a header for a shot on goal.
College of Charleston finally found an opening at the 26:51 mark. The Cougars Haley Hutches took a shot from 10 yards out that sailed over Williams head and into the goal.
Western Carolina had a solid chance to tie the match late in the second half. With 10:21 left in the match, sophomore Laura Greb stole the ball from 25 yards out and passed it to Sedgley whose shot was wide to the left.
The Cougars added an insurance goal in the final two minutes of the match. Hope Atkinson scored off an assist by Morgan Benz.
College of Charleston had 17 shots in the match and Williams ended the contest with eight saves.
Western Carolina heads on the road next weekend facing Wofford on October 1 at 7 p.m. and Furman on October 3 at 2 p.m.
Furman 3, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - Sara Oland scored her league-leading seventh goal of the season against Furman, but it wasn't enough as the Georgia Southern Women's Soccer team fell 3-1 on Sunday (September 26) at Eagle Field.
After the loss, the Eagles fell to 4-5-0, 1-1-0 in Southern Conference play, while Furman improved to 6-3-1, 1-0-1 in league action.
Oland (Evans, Ga.) scored in 82nd minute to put the Eagles on the board. Courtney Collins (Mason, Ohio) got the ball on the end line from Carlee Storey (Medford, Ore.), and found Oland in the six-yard box for the goal.
The Eagles held the Paladins scoreless in the second half, with a save by goalkeeper Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) and defender Morgan Springer (Mandeville, La.) stopped a shot on the goal line, but the damage had been done.
Laura White gave Furman the early lead, getting the ball at the top of the box from Irravadee Makris, who headed it to her off a corner kick in the seventh minute. Less than 20 minutes later, Makris' pass to Martha Hall was mishandled on the wet turf by Merson, allowing Martha Hall to score what proved to be the game winner in the 28th minute.
Rachel Shelnutt gave Furman a 3-0 lead in the 30th minute, beating Merson to the far post from 18 yards out. Hall was credited with the assist.
Furman managed just one more shot than Georgia Southern, 10-9, but Jessica Smith made five saves for the Paladins on the Eagles' six shots on goal.
The Eagles next match is scheduled for October 1 at UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, Elon 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Junior Donna-Kay Henry scored twice in the second half to give the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team a 3-2 win over Elon Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Finley Stadium. The Lady Mocs improve to 3-7-0 overall and 1-1-0 in league play while the Phoenix move to 6-3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon.
Henry (Queens Village, N.Y.) score both goals in the second half streaking down the left side line and just missed a hat trick as she lofted her shot over the Elon keeper Kristen Haney a bit too high as it struck the cross bar.
"She a good player," UTC Head Coach J.D. Kyzer said. "When you have good players like that they can take advantage of the situation."
Elon got on the board first with a goal in the 38th minute. Olivia Mackey's corner kick in front of the goal was picked up by Alanna Winsper who headed it past UTC keeper Taylor Mangrum (Franklin, Tenn.) for the only goal scored by the Phoenix on the afternoon.
"Taylor's got really, really good hands," Kyzer said. "That first goal was something she'd never seen before. They lined up three people right in front of her. They just stopped her from coming forward. It was a good play by them."
Chattanooga evened it up at the 43:48 mark as Lauren Wilson put a corner kick in front of the net and junior Danielle Barr (Hixson, Tenn.) scored on a header.
In the second half, Henry gave Chattanooga its first lead of the game as she streaked down field and got past two Elon defenders before knocking the ball into the net from the left side for a 2-1 lead at the 47:58 mark of the game.
The Lady Mocs defense wavered a bit in the 55th minute as a Chattanooga, trying to clear the ball from the front of the net, put a funny spin on it and sent it into its own net. Mangrum made a dive for it, but it got past her for an own goal and the game was tied 2-2.
"Soccer's weird," Kyzer said. "You can be the better team and win; you can be the better team and lose. Everything can be going your way and you lose the game. Own goals are like that too. Everybody's trying to clear it out. That's why you put it in the box. It can hit off anybody."
Henry got on her horse a second time. She was chased down the field by the Phoenix defenders, but she streaked past and again got around the defense and sent the shot past the keeper from the left to give the Lady Mocs a 3-2 lead.
The Phoenix outshot Chattanooga 16-14, but the Lady Mocs held the advantage on shots on goal with eight to Elon's six. Mangrum recorded four saves on the day and Haney had five for Elon.
The Lady Mocs will return to action with a three-game road stretch starting in Charleston, S.C., on Friday, Oct. 1 at The Citadel.
UNCG 1, Samford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team was defeated by the first-place UNC Greensboro Spartans 1-0 on Sunday in a Southern Conference showdown held at Bulldog Field. UNC Greensboro's Jenn Partenheimer scored the game-winning goal during the fourth minute of the match. The goal was Partenheimer's team-leading fourth of the season.
With the loss, Samford (4-5-1, 0-2 SoCon) suffered its first defeat in school history against UNC Greensboro (7-1-1, 2-0 SoCon). The Bulldogs held a 1-0-1 all-time record in the series heading into Sunday's match.
At 3:47 into the contest, the Spartans' Partenheimer gave UNC Greensboro a quick 1-0 lead. The decisive score occurred off a corner kick. On the play, the Spartans' Jaimey Etten served a ball from the left corner high into the box. The ball caromed off a few players from both teams and eventually wound up near Partenheimer on the right flank.
Partenheimer, UNC Greensboro's senior midfielder from Apex, N.C., attempted a quick shot which was blocked by a Samford defender, but rebounded directly back to Partenheimer seven yards from the goal. She then gathered the deflected shot and fired another attempt on goal that snaked into the bottom left corner of the net. UNC Greensboro's Etten was awarded with an assist on the play.
"As the head coach, I take full responsibility for these losses," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "We lost two games this week and they were both on corners. Essentially, that's my job to make sure that we handle those and it's obviously something I need to focus on."
Friday, in Samford's first loss at home in over three years, Elon tallied its game-winning goal off a corner kick as well. The defeat proved to be the Bulldogs' first home setback since a 3-0 loss to Auburn on Sept. 21, 2007. It also 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.
Despite falling behind early, Samford fought back in the match and dictated a good portion of Sunday's contest. The Bulldogs started off a bit slow, but outshot the Spartans 7-4 in the second period, including a pair of attempts that ricocheted off the crossbar.
Samford finished the contest with 11 shot attempts and forced UNC Greensboro's Kelsey Kearney to make a game-high six saves. The Spartans rattled off 12 shot attempts Sunday, but only four were on goal.
"I thought we played very well in the second half against Elon and after the first 10 minutes of today's match I thought we were really good," Yelton said. "Our players put in a lot of effort and gave us workmanlike performances. We certainly had chances to get on the board, but I have to give full credit to Greensboro and the fact that they prevented us from scoring."
With the win, UNC Greensboro continued one of the best starts in school history. The Spartans' 2010 squad is now one of just two teams in school history to have just one loss through its first nine games. The other was the 1991 squad, which opened 9-1.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 6 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs begin a three-match road trip against the College of Charleston Cougars at Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
"I think that the positives we can take from this weekend are that even with the adversity that we've faced, our players are still a quality side," said Yelton. "We have a lot of players now logging 90 minutes on both Friday and Sunday with our limited roster, but I think that if we can sort out how we defend corners, and get a touch better on attacking the net, then I think we'll win a lot of games this season."
The Citadel 2, Appalachian State 1 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C. - Mariana Garcia of The Citadel (6-3-1) found the back of the net off a pass from Vanessa Aponte to put away a goal in a 2-1 overtime victory over Appalachian State women's soccer (3-5-1) on an overcast Sunday afternoon at the ASU Soccer Stadium.
In the first 45 minutes of play, the period was very defensive-minded. Sophomore Hannah Coad wasted no time trying to get on the board with a little over one minute into play, but the attempt was saved by Laura Serafino. Junior Katy Dodd tried to rebound the missed opportunity, but it was saved, as well.
Freshman Kara Buono raced down the field after a high shot attempt by Aponte and was denied her first goal of the season six minutes into play.
Dodd and redshirt freshman Sam McVeigh attempted to put the Mountaineers ahead on back-to-back shots before the end of the half, but both attempts were wide and the first period of play ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
With time ticking away in the second half of play, Coad attempted another shot at 65:20 mark, but it was converted into a save for Serafino. Nicole Martinoli marched down the field 10 minutes later and took a shot at the goal, only to have her shot blocked by a combination of senior Lindsay Jaffe and goalkeeper Caroline Clarke in the goal.
Jillian Meyer took a shot off the corner kick by Martinoli, but was denied the goal by Clarke.
The Bulldogs attempted two more shots by Amy Loughran and Garcia, but both were added to Clarke's saves list.
With a little under two minutes to play in regulation, ASU was awarded a penalty kick at the 89:20 mark and Coad put the Mountaineers up 1-0 on the goal.
After the kick, the Apps came down the field and fouled and The Citadel was awarded a penalty kick of their own. Martinoli sank the goal and sent the match into overtime.
Following regulation, neither team was able to get on the board in the first overtime and sent the match into the final stanza.
With time winding down for the Mountaineers, Coad tried to work her magic again, but her shot sailed wide at the 101:15 minute mark. After each team traded fouls, freshman Amy Werdine picked up a yellow card and the Bulldogs were able to set up a set piece on their half of the field.
Aponte attacked the defense and set up the goal for Garcia to seal the 2-1 victory over the Mountaineers.
With five saves on the afternoon, Clarke took the loss to move her record to 3-5-1. Serafino picked up the win and moved her record to 5-2-1.
"I think we really battled today," said ASU head coach Sarah Strickland. "I think there are things that you can and cannot control about the game. I think how you respond to adversity is what's important. I thought our girls did a great job of staying composed and staying to the game plan. Clarke (Caroline) made a great attempt on the penalty kick. We literally battled for 110 minutes. After the game we committed to things that we can control and one of those things is scoring goals. We have team goals that we set and they are processed based on how we are going to go through practice and games and we just added that to our list."
The Mountaineers are back in action on Friday, Oct. 1, taking on Furman in a Southern Conference showdown. Action from Eugene E. Stone, III Soccer Stadium in Greenville, S.C. is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m.
Davidson 2, Wofford 2 (2 OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson's Allison Drutchas scored early on a penalty kick, but Wofford's Anne Phillips recorded a goal and an assist as the Wildcats and Terriers played to a 2-2 draw in Southern Conference women's soccer action Saturday at Richardson Stadium.
Goalkeeper Christy Carry made nine saves in 110 minutes of action for the Wildcats (4-4-2, 0-0-2 SoCon), while Kimberly Cohn played all 110 minutes for Wofford (5-3-1, 0-1-1 SoCon) and stopped two shots.
The Wildcats led 2-1 late in regulation when Phillips beat her defender, drew Carry out of the net and slid a slower roller towards the goal. Sydney Reed beat a host of players to the ball and knocked it in the 87th minute to salvage the 2-2 tie.
Drutchas gave Davidson a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute on a penalty kick after Callan Elswick drew a foul in the penalty box. Phillips tucked in a rebound off a Lauren Cozzarelli shot on goal to tie the score for Wofford in the 63rd minute.
The Wildcats came right back and scored on an own goal in the 66th minute. Drutchas' free kick from the left corner glanced in off of a Wofford defender, who was trying to clear the ball.
Davidson returns to action in a conference match at Elon Friday, Oct. 1, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.