Samford 4, Southern Miss 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team used an offensive outburst from three underclassmen and a senior Friday to register a 4-0 victory against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at Bulldog Field. In the win, true freshmen Shanika Thomas and Trine Taule tallied their first career goals, while sophomore Kaley Blanton and senior Hilary Samuels added second-half scores for the Bulldogs.
"Tonight was a great win for us, especially with all of the injuries we've suffered lately," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "Today was a weird day, because I was at the hospital with two of our players who had surgeries, so I think it really showed the resolve of our players as they came out tonight to get this big win. I'm really proud of them."
Samford (1-2-1) remained undefeated at home this season and moved to 2-3 all-time against Southern Miss (1-2). The Bulldogs' junior goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered her first shutout of the season as she tallied four key stops in the match.
With only 1:47 left to play in the first half, Samford's Thomas tallied the game-winning goal of the match as she fired a left-footed slice neatly into the top left corner of the goal. Thomas, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Ontario, Canada, scored the opening goal of the match from 30 yards out on the right side of the field.
Samford took a 1-0 advantage into the half and quickly increased their advantage to 2-0 at 55:19 when Kaley Blanton scored her first career goal for the Bulldogs. On the score, Hilary Samuels gained possession of the ball near the left corner of the field and sent a pinpoint pass across to the other side of the box where Blanton slammed it home.
Blanton, Samford's sophomore from Mandeville, La., scored a goal in her first match after she was recently moved from defender to forward.
"I thought that we really got off to a great start in the second half and when we got that second goal it was great for us," Yelton said. "I loved seeing KB (Kaley Blanton) get that goal, because I thought she was excellent tonight. I'm obviously the one who had it wrong; we should have been playing her at forward all along."
Southern Miss held possession for a good portion of the second half and finished the match with 10 shots, five of which were on goal. The Golden Eagles' offensive attack was paced by Chanel Elgin, Samantha Polley and Chelsea Cruthirds who all registered a pair of shot attempts.
"After we scored that second goal, I thought we really hit a bad patch there for awhile," said Yelton. "For about 10 minutes or so, Southern Miss was all over us and we really couldn't get anything going. Alyssa made two phenomenal saves for us that kept Southern Miss off the board at a really key time. If they score those goals, then were tied at 2-2 again just like last week."
Whitehead, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 All-Southern Conference performer from Hattiesburg, Miss., made a pair of diving saves on Southern Miss attempts from point-blank range. With the shutout victory, Samford's starting goalkeeper tallied the 15th complete-game shutout of her career.
The Golden Eagles' goalkeeper Hanna Vanderboegh finished the match with two saves, but allowed four Samford goals.
Samuels, Samford's talented senior from Carrollton, Texas, extended the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0 during the 73rd minute of play as she sent a 25-yard laser into the far left corner of the net from the right flank. The goal was Samuels' first of the season. The Bulldogs' midfielder also registered two assists in Friday's victory.
Later in Samford's win, Taule gave the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead with her first career goal in the 79th minute of play. Blanton earned an assist on Taule's score.
"The difference between today and last week was that tonight we were able to capitalize on our scoring chances," Yelton said. "Last week when we tied Mercer, we had plenty of opportunities to score, but we just couldn't find the back of the net. We have a young squad, the players are growing up a bit, and it was fantastic seeing our younger players do such a wonderful job out there tonight."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs square off against their cross-town foe UAB Blazers in an early-season rivalry match to be held at Bulldog Field.
Appalachian State 1, Iona 0
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - Freshman Sam Neill (New Lenox, Ill./Lincoln-Way Central) netted her first collegiate goal and it was all Appalachian State (2-1) women's soccer needed to tally their second straight win of the young season against Iona (1-5) on Friday night in the first game of the Best Western Huntington Mall Invitational being held on the campus of Marshall University.
Iona defenders collided, allowing freshman Kara Buono (Valrico, Fla./Bloomingdale) to pass and cross the ball into the front of the net. Sophomore Michelle Jewell (Raleigh, N.C./Leesville Road) arrived just in time to tip the ball to the right for Neill who put it just inside the post for the goal.
"We were fortunate to come away with a win today," said head coach Sarah Strickland. "Iona worked hard and really pressured us the last 20 minutes. Sam Neill was very courageous on our goal in the first half off a great service from Kara Buono after a great effort from Michelle Jewell to keep the ball in play. Caroline Clarke came up big on several saves and truly earned her first shutout for the season."
ASU returns to action on Sunday, Sept. 5, to take on Marshall as part of the finale of the invitational. Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. from Sam Hood Field. Follow www.GoASU.com for live stats from the match.
Elon 2, Gardner-Webb 1 (2 OT)
WILMINGTON, N.C. - Senior Brittany Hallberg's overtime goal in the 116th minute lifted the Elon women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs in the first game of the UNCW Hilton Garden Inn Invitational on Friday evening. Hallberg slid a shot past Bulldog goalkeeper Erika Lenns from about 10 yards out into the far corner of the net to secure the win for the Phoenix (2-1). Gardner-Webb dropped to 2-1-1 on the young season.
"At times, we played really well and we continue to do things with movement that we haven't done before so that is a positive," commented Elon head coach Chris Neal. "We are just not finishing enough opportunities off the possession we are getting. If you let teams hang around, anything can happen. We are a very young team and we can take lessons from this game."
Elon held a 1-0 advantage after an early score by midfielder Alanna Winsper in the 16th minute of action. Rookie Kimmie Krauss gained possession of the ball at the far post where she touched it back to Winsper in the middle of the box. Winsper one-touched a left-footed shot inside the right corner of the net to put the Phoenix on top.
It looked as though Elon would take the victory in regulation, before an own goal at 88:07 tied the game and forced extra time. Late in the second overtime, a service from the right side of the field found Winsper in the box. The senior played the ball back to Hallberg who sprinted on it and drilled the shot into the left corner of the goal. The score was Hallberg's second of the season.
Gardner-Webb held a 6-5 edge in shots and Elon took three corner kicks compared to two by the Bulldogs. Phoenix sophomore goalie Kristen Haney made three saves in the victory.
Elon will be back in action against Coastal Carolina on Sunday, September 5 for the teams' second game of the UNCW Invitational. The game is set to kick at 11 a.m.
#18 UNCG 0, Southern California 0
FULLERTON, Calif. - The No. 18 UNCG women's soccer team remained undefeated and extended the best start in school history Friday, playing to a scoreless draw with Southern Cal at the Under Armour Invitational hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
The Spartans move to 3-0-1 on the season, while USC goes to 1-1-2. The Trojans were ranked in all three of the major preseason polls (NSCAA, Soccer America, Soccer Times).
"It was the type of game that I was expecting," UNCG coach Eddie Radwanski said. "They're a good Pac-10 team; they play with a lot of energy and aggressiveness. We were expecting that type of effort. We kind of had a flat first half. I felt we were capable of more. Credit to our kids in the second half, they gave a great effort and created chances to score. It was a tight match. Both teams had opportunities all throughout, even in the overtime. I think it's probably a fair statement to say both teams left it all on the field."
USC outshot UNCG 17-6, but put just three of those shots on frame. UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, made three saves for the 22nd shutout of her career and third in four games this season.
Kearney's first save came in the 18th minute, when she stopped a point-blank shot off the foot of Megan Ohai. Kearney made another save in the 51st minute, corralling Carly Butcher's shot. Her final save came in the second overtime, as she stonewalled Elizabeth Eddy's attempt in the 103rd minute.
UNCG put just two shots on frame, but both were saved by USC freshman Shelby Church. Church was able to stop Jen Rincon's shot in the 37th minute and denied Lauren Hein's header in the 75th minute.
USC got off three corner kicks in the first overtime and three shots in the second one, but UNCG's defense was up to the challenge.
Freshman defender Kory Spotts led UNCG with two shots on the evening. Eddy had four to pace the Trojans.
Kearney's 22nd career shutout moves her into sole possession of second place on UNCG's career list, leaving her just three back of school record-holder Jennifer Stillman, who posted 25 shutouts from 2002-05.
The Spartans return to action Sunday against tournament host Cal State Fullerton. Opening kick is set for 4:30 p.m. Eastern time.
The Citadel 1, Air Force 1
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Colorado Springs, Colo. - The Citadel Soccer team picked up their first draw of the season with a 1-1 tie against the Air Force Academy on Friday in the opening round of the Air Force Academy Fall Classic.
The first half was played closely as the Falcons barely outshot The Citadel 8-7. The Air Force's Prittany White took the first shot of the match at the 14:49 mark, however, junior Laura Serafino was in position for the Bulldog save. At the 23: 53 mark, senior Nicole Martinoli tried putting the Cadets on the board with the first shot attempt but the Falcons Kelly Stambaugh defended the goal with a save. The team went shot-for-shot until the 35:47 mark when, at the top of the box, Stephanie Patterson hit the header over Serafino to connect with the net for the first goal of the match to take a 1-0 lead. Martinoli took another stab at the net seconds before half time, but the shot was wide.
Both teams entered the second half immediately firing at their opponent's goal. Bridgett Murphy took the first shot but the kick came up empty as it went wide. Patterson and Kaleigh Moses each made attempts at the net and each resulted in a save by Serafino. The Citadel took possession of the ball and freshman Nicole Levermann took the first shot attempt at the 54:46 mark of the second half with Stambaugh there for the stop. Just seconds later, freshman Mariana Garcia evened the score at 1-1 as she rebounded a deflection five yards into the net.
Both teams were unsuccessful at kicking the winning goal as Bulldog freshman Vanessa Aponte and Falcon Krystin Shanklin each took at shot at the end of regulation with both going wide sending the match into overtime. In two overtime periods played The Citadel went without a shot, although defended well as the Air Force took four shots.
The Air Force outshot The Citadel by a total of 22-13. Garcia led the Bulldogs with four shots, which included the lone goal for the Cadets. Patterson, also with the only goal for the Falcons, finished the match with five shots. Serafino concluded the match with 10 saves for The Citadel and Stambaugh with five saves for the Air Force.
"We did some good things throughout the game," said Martinoli. "We came back hard and got the equalizer. Now we need to start thinking about Sunday's match and how to come out with a win."
The Bulldogs will next face Northern Colorado to complete the Air Force Academy Fall Classic on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. (ET). For more information on The Citadel Soccer, visit the official website of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
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#19 Cincinnati 2, College of Charleston 0
CINCINNATI, OHIO - The College of Charleston women's soccer team fell to the No. 19 Cincinnati Bearcats in Gettler Stadium on the first leg of its road trip to Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday night. The Cougars allowed two goals early in the second half and were unable to get back into the match before ultimately falling 2-0.
The loss drops the Cougars to 1-3-0 on the year while the Bearcats remain unbeaten and improve to 4-0-1.
"Our kids gave a really good effort on both sides of the ball," said head coach Christian Michner. "We had something special and were really dangerous creating chances on offense. We were just unlucky enough to be kept out of the net."
Both teams were kept off the scoreboard in an opening half in which the Cougars controlled the play. CofC took a 6-2 shot advantage into the locker room.
The Bearcat offense came alive in the second half, however, with 12 total second-half shot attempts. The Bearcats finally converted when Emily Hebbeler scored in the 51st minute with assists from Kendall Loggins and Katie Buczek. The Bearcats countered on a Cougar attack and CofC was unable to get numbers back in time to stop the rush.
Cincinnati then padded its lead ten minutes later on one of its 10 corner-kick opportunities when Sydney Barker headed the ball into the net. Hebbeler picked up her third point of the match with an assist on the play.
The Cougars kept the shot margin close but were barely edged out by a 14-13 Bearcat shot advantage. Sloane Levin (Hamburg, Mich.) led the offensive efforts for CofC with three shots.
Eight Cougars registered shot attempts in the contest.
Sophomore goalkepper Katie Tate (Piedmont, S.C.) saw her first action of the season after battling injuries over the team's first three matches.
The Cougars will remain in Cincinnati, Ohio, to face Xavier at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 5 at the Xavier University Soccer Complex.
"Xavier will be tough on the road but tonight will push us forward into Sunday's match," said Michner.
Clemson 1, Furman 0
Greenville, S.C. -- Hailey Karg powered a shot into the top netting at 79:24 to lift Clemson to a 1-0 victory over Furman in non-conference women's soccer action before a crowd of 1,806 on Friday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The win improved the Tigers to a perfect 4-0 on the season while Furman slipped to 2-2.
With under 11 minutes to play, Furman attempted to clear a loose ball out of its own 18-yard box, but Clemson's Katie Uyenishi struck a shot that was blocked by a pair of Paladin defenders inside six yards. The rebound bounced to Karg in front of the net and the freshman finished into the top netting for the lone goal of the night.
"We played hard tonight against an ACC opponent and had several chances to get a goal , but hit the cross bar and had a couple of other shots that we were unlucky not to do better with,' said Furman head coach Andrew Burr. "We'll put this match behind us and look to bounce back on Sunday at Presbyterian."
Furman held a 15-13 edge in total shots and saw several dangerous chances narrowly miss, including a volley by Chelsea McKie that struck the bar in the 78th minute and a one-timer by Dee Makris from near the penalty spot that slipped wide of the right post midway through the second half.
The Paladins kept the pressure on Clemson thanks to seven saves from goalkeeper Jessica Smith. The junior from Franklin, Tenn., denied Clemson on two one-versus-one situations and made a pair of diving saves. She also tipped a Tiger shot over the bar in the final two minutes to preserve the 1-0 score line. Clemson's 80th minute goal snapped Smith's shutout streak in goal at 259:24.
Clemson returns to action on Sunday afternoon when it hosts the University of North Florida at Historic Riggs Field. Furman travels to face Presbyterian in a 2 p.m. match on Sunday in Clinton, S.C.
#7 Texas A&M 5, Davidson 1
COLLEGE STATION, Texas < Senior Amanda Flink (Richardson, Texas) scored her first goal of the season to keep Davidson close in the first half, but Merritt Mathias¹ hat trick proved to be too much as No. 7 Texas A&M pulled away in the second half for a 5-1 win over the Davidson Wildcats in women¹s soccer action on Friday night.
Davidson fell to 2-2 on the season, while the Aggies ran their record to 4-1 with their fourth straight win, all coming at home.
Despite falling behind 2-0 through the first 18 minutes of play, Davidson never backed down as its defense held strong and the OCats offense responded by cutting the deficit to one in the 32nd minute.
In the 31st minute, the Wildcats started their charge down the field as they worked the ball into the Aggie backfield and earned their first corner kick of the game. The OCats made it count as senior co-captain Allison Drutchas (Bloomfield, Mich.) lined up for the kick on the near side of the field, hit a low-liner into the six-yard box where fellow senior and Texas native Flink drove the ball with her head to the near post for her first score of the season and bring the OCats to within one at 2-1.
The assist for Drutchas was her second of the season, both coming off of corner kicks.
Texas A&M picked up their two goals off the foot of Mathias in the sixth and 18th minutes. Mathias struck from 15 yards out for her first goal of the season and then hit her second goal from 25 yards out to the top-shelf.
Coming out of halftime down just one goal, 2-1, Davidson put pressure on the Aggie defense by getting two Julie Calhoun (Palos Vados, Calif.) shots in the first two minutes of the new half.
Mathias countered Davidson¹s attack by adding her third goal of the game just 25 seconds into the 57th minute to push the Aggies lead out to 3-1.
They would tack on two more goals in the half for the final score of 5-1.
Goalkeeper Jessie Baxa (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) finished with seven saves, while Christy Carry (Dallas, Texas) came in for the last 15 minutes and registered a save in her return trip back to her home state.
Kristin Arnold of Texas A&M was credited with a pair of saves.
Davidson finishes out its trip to Texas with a 1 p.m. contest against Southern Methodist on Sunday.
UAB 3, Western Carolina 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -Laura Greb score a goal in the 83rd minute to bring the Catamount within one goal of Alabama-Birmingham, but the late rally fell short as Western Carolina was handed its first loss of the year, 3-2.
The Catamounts (2-1) gave up an early goal to the Blazers (3-2) at the 13-minute mark when Allison Belsterling scored on a header six-yards out off a corner kick by teammate Carolyn Polcari.
Catamount midfielder Christine Kaznowski scored her third goal of the season to tie the match at one in the 30th minute, scoring from eight-yards out on a misplayed ball by UAB goalkeeper Kate Blankenship.
The Blazers took a 2-1 lead into the locker room as they scored in the 38th minute on a Laura McCalla goal off an assist from Marie Yempuku.
Belsterling scored her second goal of the match and of the season in the 75th minute on assists from Kirsten Ebert and Polcari. WCU rallied back with Greb's goal in the 83rd minute, but could not find the back of the net before time expired.
Caitlin Williams (2-1) made five saves and allowed three goals in 90 minutes of action for the Catamounts in the net. Greb and Kayla Sedgeley paced the WCU offense with two shots each while Lindsay Carter and Kaznowski both added a shot in the loss.
UAB recorded three more (8-5) shots on goal than the Catamounts and took four more corner kicks (6-2). WCU committed 10 fouls in the match to the Blazers' four.
The Catamounts are back in action against Southeastern Conference foe Aubrun on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 3 p.m.
Georgia State 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Women's Soccer team fell 3-0 to Georgia State Friday (September 3) at Eagle Field. The Eagles took seven shots in the contest, putting three on goal, but couldn't find the back of the net against the Panthers.
Kyrstin Smith (Acworth, Ga.), Alex Murphy (Cincinnati, Ohio) and McKenna Storey (Medford, Ore.) all had good looks, but Georgia State goalkeeper Heidi Blankenship was able to make the save each time. With the loss, the Eagles fell to 1-2-0 on the season, while Georgia State improved to 3-0-0.
Erinique Owens put the Panthers on the board first, stealing the ball in the attacking third. She dribbled into the six-yard box and chipped the ball over Georgia Southern goalkeeper Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) who was diving to take the ball off Owens' feet in the 13th minute.
Georgia State put the game away with a second goal in the 79th minute by Jewel Evans. Alyssia Feronti started the play, sending a through ball into the box. Evans out-raced two defenders to reach the ball first and send it into the right side of the net. The Panthers netted a third goal on a free-kick from Stephanie Cuccia from 25 yards out in the 83rd minute.
Merson started the game in goal, allowing one goal, and was replaced at halftime by Missy Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.). Meyer made the Eagles' lone save, but gave up two goals.
Blankenship played 63 minutes and 50 seconds in goal for the Panthers, making three saves.
Georgia Southern will face Charleston Southern Sunday (Sept. 5) at 2 p.m. at Eagle Field before traveling to Birmingham, Ala., for a pair of games. The Eagles will face Tennessee Tech on Friday, Sept. 10, and Kennesaw State on Sunday, Sept. 12.