Furman 2, Elon 1
ELON, N.C. - The Furman Paladins put two goals in the back of the net on set pieces, including a deflection on a corner in the 64th minute, to just edge the Elon women's soccer team, 2-1, on Friday night, Oct. 14, at Rudd Field.
Elon drops to 4-7-4 (2-3-2) with the loss, while Furman improves to 9-6-1 (4-2-1) with the win.
"There were several moments in the game tonight that could have gone our way but just did not," said Elon head women's soccer coach Chris Neal. "Furman is a dangerous team on set pieces and forced us to play from behind late. Going forward, we can't be down about tonight. We played well enough to win the game."
Chelsey Stark netted Elon's lone score against the Paladins, as the sophomore deflected an Olivia Mackey free kick into the back of the net in the 31st minute of the match for her first goal of the season.
Elon outshot Furman 14-10 in the setback, but the Paladins claimed a 9-7 advantage in corners.
Kate Murphy and Shannon Cosgrove split time between the posts for the Phoenix, as Murphy played the first 45 minutes and tallied one save. Cosgrove closed out the final 45 minutes of the match for Elon, totaling one save.
The Paladins got on the scoreboard in the third minute after a header by Hannah Stanifer off a well-placed corner kick landed in the back of the net to make it a 1-0 match.
But the Phoenix tied it in the 31st minute after a Mackey free kick from about 20 yards away on the right side landed in the box in front of Stark. Stark managed to deflect the ball off her shoulder and into the back of the net to make it a 1-1 game.
Elon out shot Furman 7-6 in the opening frame, but the Paladins held a 6-2 advantage in corners.
The Paladins took a 2-1 lead in the 64th minute after Alyssa Althoff managed to deflect a Laura White corner kick into the net near the left post to put the Phoenix behind.
Elon controlled possession for most of the match, but Furman goalie Jessica Smith made several great stops to stave off the Elon offense. Smith registered six saves in 90 minutes between the posts.
Elon returns to Rudd Field on Sunday afternoon when it hosts Wofford at 2 p.m.
Chattanooga 3, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (8-6-1, 3-4 Southern Conference) suffered its first home loss of the season, falling 3-0 to Chattanooga (6-7-1, 1-6 SoCon) Friday, at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
The Catamounts took a season-high 25 shots against the Mocs but couldn't seem to find the net. Western Carolina came out aggressive, logging two quick shots in the first minute of the contest. Junior Lindsay Carter sailed a shot from 25 yards out, and it just missed, skimming the top of the goal.
Although Chattanooga took just seven shots in the match, the Mocs made the most of the small window afforded to them.
Chattanooga scored first at the 9:18 mark when Kelsey Swann took a thru ball from Donna-Kay Henry and slipped it past Catamount goalie Katie Jacobs. Western Carolina continued its attack and was turned away time and time again.
The Mocs made coming back for Western Carolina a herculean effort when it scored a second goal at 30:50. Henry took a pass from Crystal Mackezyk and juked her way in the box and scored.
Chattanooga scored its final goal of the match at 75:39 with the credit going to Mackezyk from Becca Smith.
Western Carolina's Samantha Hodge and Lindsay Carter each had five shots. Freshman goalie Jennifer Lauer saw action in the match, entering the second period with 12:17 left. Lauer was held Chattanooga scoreless in her 12 plus minutes in goal.
The Catamounts will look to halt its three-game slide when it hosts Samford on Sunday. Match time is set for 2 p.m.
Samford 2, Appalachian State 1 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C. --- For the second straight match, the Samford University soccer team tallied a dramatic double-overtime victory in Southern Conference play Friday. After a nearly identical 2-1 triumph at Furman Sunday, the Bulldogs' true freshman Joy Grove scored a golden goal in the 106th minute to lift Samford to yet another sudden victory against Appalachian State in a thrilling SoCon showdown held at the Appalachian Soccer Complex.
"This was another great win, but I have to give full credit to Appalachian State," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "They played their socks off tonight and this is a very difficult place to play. I think it says a lot about our team, because we were able to overcome the early goal and bounce back and fight for the win. I think it shows the character of this team and how they never give up."
With Friday's 2-1 double-overtime victory, Samford (7-5-2, 5-0-2 SoCon) remained undefeated in conference play this season and improved its all-time record against Appalachian State (5-9-1, 1-5-1 SoCon) to 4-0. The Bulldogs also moved into sole possession of first place in the conference standings as UNCG played to a 1-1 draw at Wofford.
On Grove's game-winning goal, which was scored at 105:40 into the match, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Midlothian, Va., gathered a pass from Trine Taule and fired a shot from the left corner of the penalty box that was placed neatly to the side of Appalachian State's goalkeeper Amy Kolowsky.
Grove's goal was her third of the season and Taule's assist proved to be her third of the 2011 campaign.
On Sunday, Taule scored Samford's golden goal in the fifth minute of overtime to defeat Furman. Five of the Bulldogs' seven most recent matches have all gone into overtime with Samford winning three of them in the extra time.
"When we go to overtime now it's like we have the mindset that we're going to win," Yelton said. "We've already won three games in overtime this season and I think it's because of the strong non-conference schedule we played to open the year. Those matches really prepared us well for conference play and we are able to step up when it counts. Our players are courageous, they are fighters and they will do anything it takes to get a win."
Appalachian State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead Friday as Katy Todd scored her fourth goal of the season in the fifth minute. On the score, which was assisted by Sydney Hill, Todd headed home a crossing pass from the right flank.
Samford goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead tied her season-high with nine saves against the Mountaineers. Whitehead, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 All-SoCon performer, made a number of key stops and increased her season total in saves to 87. Heading into Friday's match, Whitehead was ranked No. 29 in the nation in saves this season.
"Alyssa was excellent for us tonight and she's been outstanding for us all season long," said Yelton. "She made a couple of great saves for us, but I also thought that our back three were fantastic as well. We had to change some things up a bit, because of the way Appalachian State was playing us, but they adjusted well and did an outstanding job for us tonight."
After Appalachian State's early goal, the teams played 24 minutes of scoreless soccer before redshirt freshman Brittany Hoffman rifled a shot from the top left corner of the penalty box all the way into the top right corner of the net in the 29th minute of play.
"Brittany's goal was one of the best I've ever seen," Yelton said. "It was a huge goal for our team and she just took a pass from Michelle and put a great strike on the ball. She has really done a great job for us this season, she's coming along better than we could have expected and she's been maturing well for us as the year has gone on. Brittany will be a key player for us down the stretch."
On Hoffman's equalizing goal, her first of the 2011 campaign, sophomore Michelle Moll earned the assist. Moll's helper was her second of the season.
The Samford University soccer team will conclude its arduous three-match road trip Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee for a showdown with the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at the Catamount Athletic Complex (1,000).
UNCG 1, Wofford 1 (2 OT)
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Halftime substitute Karina Rodriguez scored just moments into the second half, but Wofford scored the equalizer with just over 12 minutes to go and neither side could find the back of the net in overtime as UNCG played to a 1-1 draw with the Terriers in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Friday at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
"We're disappointed," UNCG coach Steve Nugent said. "Without question, a tie tonight was not in our plans. We created some great chances. Several, probably four or five good ones in the first half, four or five good ones in the second half. You've got to give Wofford a lot of credit. They worked their tails off for 110 minutes, and they got the result that was good for them. A tie doesn't help us. A tie was not what we were looking for tonight, so without question, we're disappointed."
The draw, coupled with Samford's overtime win at Appalachian State, drops UNCG (6-7-1, 5-1-1 SoCon) out of first place in the league standings. The Bulldogs leapfrog College of Charleston and the Spartans into first and now control their own destiny as they already own wins over CofC and UNCG.
After a scoreless first half, Nugent inserted Rodriguez into the starting lineup for the second stanza. The freshman rewarded the move almost instantly, following Nitang Jones' saved shot and nodding it home in the 48th minute for her second goal of the season.
UNCG, which had dominated possession in the game, seemed poised to pick up its sixth league win of the season before the Terriers (8-4-1, 2-4-1 SoCon) turned things around late in regulation.
In the 78th minute, Amanda Morris gathered a ball near the top left corner of the 18-yard box and dribbled in a bit to draw out UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney. Morris slipped the ball to Emily Bougas in the middle of the box, and Bougas tapped it home unimpeded to pull the Terriers level with her team-best 12th goal of the year.
The goal ended a streak of 15 straight shutouts for UNCG against Wofford and was the Terriers first goal in the series since 1998.
Despite combining for eight shots in the two overtime periods, neither team was able to get the golden goal. The Spartans held a 4-1 shot advantage in the first extra frame, with Kristin Player having a shot blocked and pushing two just wide left of the mark. Lauren Hein had her bending shot saved at the far post by Wofford keeper Erika Christensen with just 39 seconds remaining in the first bonus period.
Wofford got off the only three shots in the second overtime, with Morris having a pair blocked and Alex Kachulis missing high.
UNCG had several scoring chances on the evening, outshooting Wofford 19-9. The Spartans spent the majority of the first half and most of the second in Wofford's half of the field and often strung together several passes to get good looks on goal but struggled to finish their opportunities.
In a span of less than six minutes in the first half, UNCG had three wide-open, close-range looks saved by Christensen.
Christensen finished with nine saves, while Kearney had two.
The result snapped UNCG's 18-match winning streak over the Terriers, who improve to 0-18-1 all-time in the series.
UNCG returns to action Sunday when it hosts Furman at the UNCG Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m.