UNCG 1, Furman 0 (2 OT)
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Lauren Hein's golden goal in the 106th minute lifted UNCG's women's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Furman in a key Southern Conference match Sunday at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
"I'm really proud of our team," UNCG coach Steve Nugent said. "You've got to give Furman a lot of credit. This is a tough place to come into and win. A lot of teams have tried and not too many have succeeded over the years. They have given us everything we can handle over the years. It's a rivalry, it's a game that we circle on our calendar, and what it comes down to in the end is who wants it more. We got a chance. We made the best of it. This is typically going to be the balance of the game when we play a team like Furman, who brings their best every time."
Playing in its second straight double overtime contest, UNCG (7-7-1, 6-1-1 SoCon) got the thrilling finish neither side could find in Friday's 1-1 draw with Wofford.
This time, the Spartans put together a fantastic string of passes to get Hein free in front of the net for the game-winner. Karin Sendel got things going in the midfield with a pass over the top of the Furman defense to Kristin Player near the corner of the 6-yard box. Player lifted a pass to the oncoming Hein far post and Hein headed it home to give UNCG the walk-off win.
The goal was her third of the season.
"Lauren Hein's been injured for a long time," Nugent said. "I feel terrible for her, because there's no one more passionate about UNCG soccer. She wants to play. Right now, she's limited in her minutes, but she made the best of her minutes today."
UNCG outshot Furman (9-7-1-, 4-3-1 SoCon) 14-9 on the afternoon, but solid scoring opportunities were few and far between for the two sides.
Furman's best chances came within moments of each other in the second half. In the 58th minute, the Paladins' India Robinson unleashed a long-range shot from the right wing that smacked off the near post. Less than a minute later, Rachel Shelnutt got off a shot in a scrum in front of UNCG's net that Spartan defender Stephanie Partenheimer was able to head over the crossbar for the team save. UNCG was able to clear the ensuing corner kick to keep the Paladins off the board.
UNCG's best chance in regulation came with about 11 minutes left, when Partenheimer connected with Hein on a long switch pass that got Hein behind the Furman defense. Furman keeper Jessica Smith made a sprawling save to her left and Player was ruled offside as her follow shot hit the post.
The Spartans also had a good look in the 74th minute, when freshman Casey McCavitt got a boot on classmate Ashley Stokes' corner kick. McCavitt's close-range attempt was blocked by a Furman defender to keep the game scoreless.
Smith came up with a big play just moments before Hein's strike in double overtime. After Sendel found Kaytee O'Brien with a pass in the offensive third of the field, O'Brien took the ball down to the touchline and fired a cross into the middle. Smith came off her line and punched the ball straight up to herself, then wrapped it up to prevent the Spartans from even getting a shot off on the play.
UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney made four saves for UNCG, while Smith had two for the Paladins.
UNCG, which entered the game second in the SoCon standings, kept pace with the rest of the SoCon leaders with the win, as Samford (first place) and College of Charleston (third place) also picked up victories Sunday. Furman came into the game in fourth place in the league. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will host first-round games for the Southern Conference tournament, while the semifinals and final will be played at UNCG.
The Spartans will play their final road match of the regular season Friday at Western Carolina. Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.
Davidson 2, The Citadel 1 (2 OT)
DAVIDSON, N.C. - With just under two minutes left in overtime, freshman Becca Fisher struck for her fourth game-winning goal of the season when she scored to send Davidson to a 2-1 overtime win over The Citadel on Sunday at Alumni Stadium for Senior Day in Southern Conference women's soccer action.
Fisher sent a ball into the box from the near sideline that hit off the far post and bounced in for her team-leading seventh goal of the year with 98:35 on the clock in overtime.
Down 1-0 in the first half, Stephanie Piperno knotted things up in the 23rd minute with a header off a cross from Rachel Barnett that was deflected by the defense to Piperno, who rose up and knocked in her fifth goal on the year. It was Barnett's first career assist.
The defense led by senior Sophie Newsom and freshman goalkeeper Rachel Locke took care of the rest in holding the score at 1-all. The defense held the Bulldogs' two leading scorers, Mariana Garcia and Vanessa Aponte (15 points each), scoreless on the afternoon.
Prior to the game, Davidson honored its six seniors in Stephanie Gerow, Jessie Baxa, Elizabeth Underwood, Mary Marshall Meredith, Christy Carry and Newsom as they played their second-to-last home contest of their careers.
The Wildcats hit the road for their final two away games. They will play at Samford next Friday, Oct. 21, and then travel to Chattanooga on Sunday.
Elon 2, Wofford 1
ELON, N.C. - Rookie Kim Gardner netted two second-half goals, including a game-winner in the 81st minute, to lift the Elon women's soccer team to a 2-1 win over the visiting Wofford Terriers on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 16, at Rudd Field.
The Phoenix improves to 5-7-4 overall and 3-3-2 in the Southern Conference with the win, while the Terriers fall to 8-5-1 (2-5-1) with the setback.
"Wofford is an athletic team that likes to press its opponents, but we did a good job of finding gaps in the press and going forward," said Elon head women's soccer coach Chris Neal. "Olivia Mackey and Jaclyn Wood helped us control possession nearly the entire game today. Today was a great win over us against a dangerous team. Kim Gardner stepped up for us big today and got it done and Kate Murphy made several key saves for us down the stretch, so I'm very happy for the two of them."
After falling behind 1-0 in the 51st minute, Gardner helped the Phoenix tie the game in the 60th minute after connecting on a ball off the post following a shot by sophomore Catherine Brinkman.
Gardner netted the game-winner in the 81st minute after sophomores Simi Dhaliwal and Kimmie Krauss helped find her in the top-left corner of the box. Gardner managed to get off a clean shot behind Wofford keeper Erika Christensen for the score to put the Phoenix ahead, 2-1.
Gardner's two-goal performance marks the seventh time this season an Elon player has scored multiple goals in a match.
The Terriers nearly tied the match in the 86th minute, but Murphy made a great diving save to her left to allow the Phoenix to maintain its 2-1 advantage. Murphy totaled five saves in 90 minutes between the posts.
Elon outshot Wofford 12-7 in the win and claimed a 5-1 advantage in corners.
Brinkman nearly gave the Phoenix a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, but her shot from just outside of the box hit off the crossbar and kept the match scoreless.
Wofford scored in the 51st minute after Maureen Buff deflected a shot in from Amanda Morris from about 17 yards out in the middle of the field to give the Terriers a short-lived 1-0 lead.
Elon dominated the pace of play in the first half, claiming a 7-1 advantage in shots and a 4-0 lead in corners.
Elon returns to action on Oct. 20 when it heads to Boone, N.C., to face the Appalachian State Mountaineers at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 2, Georgia Southern 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Women's Soccer dropped a 2-1 decision on Sunday (October 16th) to the College of Charleston in the 2011 home finale. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Eagles and drops GSU to 5-8-2 overall and 3-4-1 in SoCon play. Charleston improves to 9-5 overall and 5-1 in league matches. Prior to the contest, Georgia Southern honored its three seniors, Candace Marshall (Bridgewater, Mass.), Krystin Smith (Acworth, Ga.) and Sara Oland (Evans, Ga.)
"They (the seniors) are three great kids on and off the field," said Head Coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel. "They battle for full games and leave their hearts on the field. We are certainly going to miss them next year, but this year isn't over yet."
College of Charleston scored the match's opening goal in the 24th minute. McCallie Jones beat Georgia Southern's diving goalkeeper, Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) in the wide area of the box. Jones took a shot which skipped off the post and back to Hope Atkinson in the center of the six-yard box. She finished into the open net to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead.
Hayley Hutchins scored for the Cougars in the 58th minute as the visitors doubled their advantage, 2-0. A cross was played into the box and partially cleared the Georgia Southern defense. The ball came down to Hutchins just at 15 yards. She took one touch and ripped a shot that found the net.
The Eagles had an answer in the 61st minute as senior Sara Oland recorded her third goal of the season and 16th career tally by winning the ball at the center of the box, making a nifty move around a Cougar defender and placing the shot just over the diving Charleston goalkeeper to make the score, 2-1.
In the final five minutes of the match, both Georgia Southern and College of Charleston had goals disallowed on offsides. The Eagle offense pushed forward in the waning minutes, but Georgia Southern was unable to score the equalizer and fell, 2-1.
Georgia Southern's keeper, Merson, recorded a career-high 11 saves in the match. Charleston took 22 shots to the Eagles' final total of eight shots.
The Eagles close out the 2011 regular season with three consecutive road matches. GSU faces Chattanooga on October 21st and travel to Samford on October 23rd.
Samford 1, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (8-7-1, 3-5 Southern Conference) dropped a highly contested match with Samford (8-5-2, 6-0-2), in the Catamounts final regular season Sunday match of the season, at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
A scoreless first half turned into a nail-biter of a contest, in the second half, as Western Carolina and Samford both looked for that small opening to get on the scoreboard. The Bulldogs capitalized on the window of opportunity at the 61:15 mark. Samford's Sarah Wilkinson took a shot from 10 yards out and scored when the ball went into the net on the right side.
Western Carolina fought for the remainder of the 25 plus minutes to tie the game and had numerous opportunities. It looked like the Catamounts might knot the game when Kayla Beauduy took a monster of a shot from a few yards out, but it hit the top of the goal post.
With 10 seconds left, redshirt junior Samantha Hodge had the chance to be the hero for the Catamounts when she took a shot from the left side, about five yards out, and it just skimmed the outside of the goal and pined off the right side of the goal.
Western Carolina and Samford were almost even in shots with the Catamounts taking eight and the Bulldogs notching seven. Beauduy had three shots for the Catamouns and Hodge and Laura Greb each had two.
Western Carolina completes its three-match home stand on Friday hosting UNC Greensboro. Match time is set for 7 p.m.
Appalachian State 1, Chattanooga 1 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C. - Early in the second half, ASU junior Hannah Coad (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) scored the game-tying goal and neither team was able to break the deadlock, as Appalachian State women's soccer (5-9-2, 1-5-2 SoCon) earned a 1-1 tie with Southern Conference opponent Chattanooga (6-7-2, 1-6-1 SoCon) at ASU Soccer Stadium on Sunday.
"Both teams showed up ready to play," reported head coach Sarah Strickland. After yielding an early goal, the Apps fought back to erase the deficit. "We did a good job creating chances all day. Chattanooga has a few special players we had to manage."
Chattanooga is led by junior Becca Smith, who began the day as the conference's leading point-scorer, having recorded 12 goals and five assists in previous games; Smith added to her total by scoring Sunday's first goal in the 33rd minute. Off a pass from Keley Swann, Smith fired a deep shot from well outside the penalty area to give the Mocs a 1-0 advantage.
Trailing at the half, the Apps came out of the break aggressive. In the 48th minute, Sydney Hill (Alpharetta, Ga./South Carolina) fed a through-pass into the right corner. From there, ASU's Meggie Graham (Marietta, Ga./Walton) fired an immediate crossing pass and found Coad at the far post for the equalizer. The goal was her second of the season and Hill's team-high sixth assist.
After a tense conclusion of regulation and two extra periods, the dust settled with the teams still tied, 1-1. The game was Appalachian's fourth-straight double-overtime game at home (1-1-2).
ASU keeper Amy Kolowsky (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) recorded six saves in goal, while Katy Dodd (Apex, N.C./Apex) posted a career-high seven shots.
"Every team's competitive in the Southern Conference," continued Strickland. "There's unbelievable parity in the league, and many games are ending in ties. Coad scored a great goal, but now we face an uphill battle. We aren't giving up and we're going to fight until we're done."
Appalachian returns to ASU Soccer Stadium at Ted Mackorell Complex for its next game on Thursday, Oct. 20. In their final home game of the year, the Mountaineers host the Elon Phoenix for a 7 p.m. game.