UNCG 2, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - Redshirt sophomore Nitang Jones scored her first career goal in the 88th minute Friday, lifting UNCG's women's soccer team to a dramatic 2-1 road win over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference action at Eagle Field.
The Spartans (3-7-0, 2-1-0 SoCon), who trailed 1-0 as late as the 76th minute, were just minutes from heading to overtime before Jones' decisive strike. The Raleigh, N.C., native made sure that wasn't necessary, taking a Lauren Lover pass and blasting a rocket from 35 yards out for the game-winner.
With her goal, Jones became the eighth different player to score for UNCG this season.
GSU (2-7-1, 0-3-0 SoCon) took a 1-0 lead on Courtney Collins' strike just after halftime, converting a saved shot by Sara Oland to break up the shutout in the 48th minute.
Redshirt senior Kristin Player pulled the Spartans level in the 76th, however, collecting a loose ball in the 6-yard box and pounding it home for her team-leading third goal of the season. The score was the 27th of her career, moving her into sole possession of seventh on UNCG's career list. The forward from Placentia, Calif., also moved into seventh in school history in career points (74).
Junior midfielder Karin Sendel nearly put UNCG on top in the first half, but her shot smacked off the crossbar in the 38th minute to keep the game scoreless at the time.
The Spartans dominated the contest statistically, outshooting the Eagles 18-7, including a 9-2 advantage in the first half. Player and freshman Ashley Stokes led UNCG with three shots each, while Paige Grant paced the GSU offense with two.
UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney made five saves in the game, pushing her career total to 234 and moving her into sole possession of fourth place in school history in that category.
Georgia Southern keeper Kailey Kiefus made six stops for the Eagles.
Davidson 1, Elon 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Elon University women's soccer team dropped its first Southern Conference match of the season on Friday night, Sept. 30, at Alumni Stadium, as the Davidson Wildcats handed the Phoenix a 1-0 setback.
Elon falls to 3-5-3 (1-1-1) with the loss, while Davidson improves to 4-5-2 (2-1-0) with the win.
The Wildcats scored the match's only goal in the 22nd minute after Becca Fisher blasted in a shot from about eight yards out following a miss by Stephanie Piperno that ricocheted off the crossbar.
Davidson took a one-goal advantage into the locker room at intermission, outshooting the Phoenix 6-2 in the opening frame and claiming a 1-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Sophomore Catherine Brinkman nearly provided the equalizer for the Phoenix in the 50th minute, but her shot from about nine yards in on the left side landed in the hands of Davidson goalie Rachel Locke.
Piperno nearly made it a 2-0 match in the 81st minute, but her shot from 35 yards out knocked off the top of the crossbar to keep it a 1-0 game.
Brinkman gave Elon its first corner of the match in the 82nd minute, but her cross sailed just a bit long and out of bounds to give the Wildcats possession late.
The Phoenix managed to maintain possession with everyone on Davidson's end of the field in the 88th minute but could not even the match.
Davidson finished the match with a 12-7 advantage in the shot column and a 2-1 edge in corner kicks. Elon put two shots on goal to Davidson's four.
Freshman Kate Murphy and junior Shannon Cosgrove split time between the posts for the Phoenix, as Murphy finished with one save and Cosgrove with two.
The Citadel 2, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Sophomore Mariana Garcia netted one goal in each half on Saturday night at Finley Stadium as the Bulldogs topped Chattanooga, 2-1, to earn their second consecutive conference win. The win improves the Bulldogs' record to 4-6-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
It took only nine minutes for the Bulldogs to net the first score of the game as Garcia tapped in a goal at the near post that was passed off the foot of Vanessa Aponte. The Citadel would continue the attack on Chattanooga's defense, spraying the next three shots at the net but to no avail.
The Mocs (5-4-1, 0-3) would answer back quickly as Becca Smith, the co-leader in goals for the SoCon, railed in her ninth goal of the season from 10 yards out in the 17th minute to even the game at one goal apiece.
The Citadel defense would hold strong for the remainder of the first half as senior keeper Whitney Nave would keep the Mocs from scoring for the final 28 minutes. The first 45 minutes ended with an even 1-1 score.
The second half started much like the first as the Bulldogs found their way through the Chattanooga defense just five minutes in when senior defender Hannah Warne fired a shot at Mocs keeper Taylor Mangum that was knocked down.
It wasn't until the 61st minute that the Bulldogs would find the net for the second time on a pass from Ruth Leiva that that found the foot of Garcia to give The Citadel a 2-1 lead. Garcia's goal proved to be the game-winner as it was her second consecutive match-decider and fifth goal of the season.
Senior goalie Laura Serafino would play lights out for the remaining 20 minutes of play, tacking on another two saves to give her a team-leading 43 on the season en route to the Bulldogs 2-1 victory.
Samford 2, College of Charleston 1 (OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- Samford's Sarah Wilkinson entered the 2011 season ranked second on the Southern Conference's all-time records list in game-winning goals with nine. On Friday, she tallied the 10th of her storied career as she registered the match's golden goal in the seventh minute of overtime to defeat the College of Charleston Cougars, 2-1, at the Samford Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, Samford (4-5-1, 2-0-1 SoCon) remained undefeated in conference play and moved into a tie for first place in the SoCon standings. Both Samford and Furman sit atop the league with identical 2-0-1 records.
With the loss, College of Charleston (6-4, 2-0 SoCon) had its two-match winning streak snapped and fell to 1-3-1 in its all-time series against Samford. Last week, the Cougars opened SoCon play with home victories over Appalachian State, 2-1, and Western Carolina, 3-2.
Samford's game-winning goal Friday was scored in the 97th minute of play. On the decisive score, the Bulldogs' Shanika Thomas stole the ball from a College of Charleston midfielder and drove up the right flank where she found Kaley Blanton just outside the box on the right wing.
Blanton, Samford's junior forward from Mandeville, La., then sped past a pair of Cougar defenders and rifled a crossing pass perfectly into the goalkeeping box. As the ball was touched in from Blanton, Wilkinson made her run from the left flank and perfectly timed her shot into the back of the net.
Wilkinson's game-winning goal was the 10th of her career, which set a Samford record in the category. With Friday's tally, she surpassed former Bulldog-greats Heather Birdsell and Marian Wagner, whom each finished their careers with nine.
On the golden goal, both Blanton and Thomas were awarded with assists.
Samford jumped out to an early 1-0 lead Friday as true freshman Joy Grove notched her second goal of the season in the 18th minute. Grove, the Bulldogs' speedy midfielder from Midlothian, Va., tallied her score as she dribbled one-v-one on the goalkeeper's right side and then fired a shot into the left corner of the net. The goal was set up by redshirt freshman Brittany Hoffman who sent in a perfectly-placed pass.
The assist was Hoffman's team-leading third of the 2011 campaign.
The momentum of the match seemed to shift a bit towards College of Charleston in the 58th minute as Ali Brashear tallied her first goal of the season. On the scoring play, she rifled a shot from the left wing that caromed off the left post and directly back to her feet. Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead dove out to her right on the first shot attempt, which left the net open for Brashear's second shot and the Cougars' lone goal of the match.
Whitehead, Samford's All-SoCon performer, pulled down a season-high nine saves Friday, including a pair in which College of Charleston would have scored against any other team in the nation. Whitehead, who is arguably one of the top goalkeepers in the SoCon, used her athletic 6-foot-3 frame to jump high and to the corner twice to make near impossible saves against the Cougars.
On the season, Whitehead has accumulated 62 saves and is already Samford's all-time record-holder with 28 career shutouts.
Midway through the second half, Samford's Amanda Abbott was driving towards the goal and was blatantly pulled down in the box by a College of Charleston defender. The Cougars' foul prompted a Bulldog penalty kick, but Samford's Thomas fired the attempt high over the crossbar to keep the score tied at 1-1.
College of Charleston outshot Samford 18-9 on Friday, but the Bulldogs won the corner kick battle, 7-6.
Furman 0, Appalachian State 0
BOONE, N.C. -- The Furman women's soccer team remained unbeaten in Southern Conference play but saw its three-match winning streak halted with a 0-0 draw at Appalachian State on Friday evening at ASU Soccer Stadium.
ASU's Amy Kolowsky saved 10 Furman shots and the Paladins' Jessica Smith notched two saves in the draw. Furman moved to 7-4-1 overall and 2-0-1 in the SoCon with Appalachian State moving to 4-6-1 overall and 0-2-1 in league play.
Autumn made its presence known as temperatures dropped rapidly throughout the game and into the early evening. Sustained winds in excess of 20 mph and gusts to 30 mph made conditions extra brisk and tricky for the players.
Furman nearly got on the scoreboard early, sending its first two shots high and notching six of the first seven shots in the game. Appalachian State picked up five shots in the opening period including its only two shots on goal.
In the second half, Furman's offensive pressure earned the Paladins six corner kicks, but again the ASU defense shut down the attack. Appalachian keeper Amy Kolowsky earned five saves in regulation and another five in extra time.
ASU had an opportunity in the final minutes of regulation as Sydney Hill fired a shot off the crossbar, narrowly missing a game-winning score. As the second period ended, a light rain began to fall on the field, adding to the frigid late-September conditions.
Furman's best scoring chance came in overtime as Hannah Stanifer headed a crossing pass into the crossbar and recovered the rebound for another strike. Kolowsky successfully handled the second strike and kept the Mountaineers alive in the game.
In the end, Furman built a 26-10 advantage in shots and a 10-3 lead in corner kicks, but it was Kolowsky's 10 saves in net that made the difference, as both teams came away with the scoreless tie.
Western Carolina 2, Wofford 1 (OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Freshman defender Tara Budnick's golden goal, at the 101:57 mark in double overtime, lifted Western Carolina women's soccer (7-3-1, 2-1 Southern Conference) to a 2-1 win over Wofford (7-2-0, 1-2 Socon) Friday night at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
After playing a scoreless first overtime, it took less then two minutes for the Catamounts to find the back of the net in the second OT. A corner kick by Samantha Hodge set up the header by Budnick. Hodge kicked a beauty into the middle of the box and Budnick's header went past the Terrier's goalie, Erika Christensen, for the score. It was Budnick's second goal of the season.
The assist by Hodge was her second of the match. In the middle of the second period, Hodge's corner kick led to Western Carolina tying the match at one. At the 64:16 mark Hodge got the call for the corner kick and placed it perfectly to Laura Greb whose header into the net tied the game.
Greb is now tied with Hodge for most goals in the season with four.
Wofford took the early lead 20 minutes into the match, in the first period. Emily Bougas scored from 10 yards out off an assist by Ann Phillips.
Wofford outshot Western Carolina by one, 11-10.