Appalachian State 1, Wofford 0 (2 OT)
BOONE, N.C. - In the final minutes of the game, ASU freshman Julia Holz (Marietta, Ga./Walton) netted an exciting sudden-victory goal to lift Appalachian State women's soccer, 1-0, over Wofford in double overtime Sunday at ASU Soccer Stadium. The win is the Apps' first Southern Conference victory of the season as the team improves to 5-6-1 (1-2-1 SoCon), while the Terriers dip to 7-3-0 (1-3 SoCon).
"Our ladies really stepped up today," said head coach Sarah Strickland. "They really laid it on the line, and we felt like a goal was coming all game. Julia [Holz] scored a great goal, and I'm very proud of our team."
The win was Appalachian's first overtime conference win since a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Western Carolina in 2004. Wofford suffered its third straight loss after a 7-0 start to the year.
In the opening minutes of the game, Appalachian's Sydney Hill (Alpharetta, Ga./) broke loose on the front for what looked like a quick goal for the Mountaineers, but her shot drifted wide left of the post.
Wofford's defense collected itself collected itself and allowed only three more shots in the period. On the other end of the field, the Appalachian defense proved equally formidable, and the Terriers were only able to pull the trigger once in the opening half.
The Terriers gained momentum late in regulation and seemed on the verge of ending the scoreless drought. In the 78th minute, Wofford's Erin Stephenson fired from near the top of the box. ASU goalkeeper Amy Kolowsky (Columbia, S.C./Spring Valley) came out to play the ball and smothered the shot, but the ball rebounded to Emily Bougas.
With only one defender between her and an open goal, Bougas was unable to keep her shot on target, and the opportunity ended with the ball sliding outside the left post.
After no score in regulation, the teams upped the tempo in the first extra period. Kolowsky saved two Wofford shots on goal, and the Black and Gold notched three shots with two deflecting off the crossbar.
Appalachian's big break came in the 107th minute. Deep in Wofford territory, freshman Morgan Fancher (The Colony, Texas/The Colony) and junior Hannah Coad (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) maneuvered the ball to Holz, who drew the keeper off her line. Holz's shot was partially deflected by the diving goalie but caught the inside of the left post to clinch the Mountaineers' victory.
Kolowsky finished the game with five saves, while ASU's Meggie Graham (Marietta, Ga./Walton) had a game-high three shots.
"I didn't even see the shot," admits Holz. "I was just focused on my foot and the ball and hit it with everything I had left." The goal was her team-high fifth of the season. "Overall, I think we were a little off our game at times, but we stayed in it," she added.
"Holz scored an incredible goal," commented Strickland. "Taylor Dunlap (Fenton, Mich./Fenton) did a great job on defense, and Amy [Kolowsky] earned her fourth shutout. Katy Dodd (Apex, N.C./Apex) stepped up, too."
The Mountaineers return to the road next weekend with games at Davidson on Friday, Oct. 7 and Georgia Southern on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Samford 0, The Citadel 0 (2 OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team remained undefeated in Southern Conference play Sunday as the Bulldogs played to a scoreless draw against The Citadel Bulldogs in a physical league contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
"It was a very physical match and there were 31 fouls called today," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "There might have even been a few left on the table for sure. I give full credit to The Citadel. They were hard-working and they fought like crazy. They were very blue-collar in their approach to the day and they made it very difficult for us. They fully deserved the result that they earned and obviously we feel a little disappointed with our effort today."
With Sunday's draw, Samford (4-5-2, 2-0-2 SoCon) completed an arduous week of matches with a 2-0-1 record. On Monday, the Bulldogs notched a 1-0 victory at preseason-favorite UNCG before tallying a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against College of Charleston on Friday.
Samford will next be in action Thursday as the Bulldogs conclude their key three-match SoCon homestand against Wofford at 7 p.m.
The Citadel (4-6-2, 2-1-1 SoCon) completed their weekend road trip with a 1-0-1 record. On Friday, the Cadets picked up a 2-1 triumph at Chattanooga.
With Sunday's result, Samford moved its all-time record against The Citadel to 4-0-1. Last season, Samford exploded for a 7-0 victory in Charleston, S.C., before earning a come-from-behind 4-3 win in the semifinal round of the 2010 SoCon Tournament.
"The Citadel has a special team and they have some really good attacking players," Yelton said. "I thought their players brought a different mentality to the game. I thought our players were up for a nice, polite game of soccer, while their team added a bit more grit and determination to the contest. A lot of times that's the difference between a win and a loss, and I'm certain that (The Citadel head coach) Bob (Winch) is really proud of his players. They certainly battled for the entire match."
Sunday's showdown was extremely physical and a total of 31 fouls were called throughout the 110 minutes of play. The Citadel was handed three yellow cards, while Samford finished with one. The Citadel was also whistled for 20 of the matches 31 fouls.
Both teams registered scoring opportunities as each team finished with 12 shots apiece. Nine of The Citadel's shot attempts were on goal, while Samford tallied three.
Alyssa Whitehead, Samford's senior goalkeeper, tied her season-high of nine saves Sunday. She made a number of goal-saving stops and equaled Friday's total of nine saves. So far this season, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 native of Hattiesburg, Miss., has recorded 71 saves and three shutouts.
With Sunday's 110-minute shutout of The Citadel, Whitehead extended her all-time Samford career record in the category to 29.
"Alyssa was huge for us today," said Yelton. "I also have to give full credit to Katie (Danehy) and Sabbath (McKiernan-Allen), because they played every minute of the weekend and did a tremendous job for us."
Samford's offensive attack was spearheaded by true freshman Joy Grove who finished with four shot attempts. Fellow true freshman Amanda Abbott tallied three shots, with two being on goal. Senior Sarah Wilkinson rifled off two shot attempts Sunday, while Shannon Weathington, Trine Taule and Michelle Moll all added one shot apiece.
"At the end of the day, I don't think we reached full match strength in going after goals until the last 10 minutes," Yelton said. "If you do it that way then you're going to wind up being disappointed much more than you'll be happy. With that in mind, our defense did an outstanding job. Our defense threw a shutout and at the end of the day, if your goalkeeper and your back four shut out a team as good as The Citadel, then you're thinking that ought to be good enough to win."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs complete their current three-match homestand against the Wofford Terriers in another key SoCon contest to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
College of Charleston 3, Chattanooga 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team has had a tough start to the Southern Conference season after falling 3-2 to the College of Charleston on Pink Day Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
The Mocs are now 5-5-1 overall and 0-4 in league action while the Cougars improve to 7-5-0 overall and 3-1-0 in conference play.
"This is just our third day with our new system in place and we're getting better," Chattanooga Head Coach J.D. Kyzer said. "This game was closer than the last and even closer than the one before that and the results are better.
"It's not showing on the scoreboard yet, but we're getting better and more relaxed with it."
The Cougars got on the board quickly with a shot from the top of the box to the right side of the net from Alli Brashear in the fifth minute to put College of Charleston up 1-0 out of the gates. The Mocs responded with a goal in the 29th minute from junior Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) who netted her 10th goal of the season when she caught a deflected shot off the Cougars' keeper to tie it up 1-1 at 29:04 in the game.
"Becca is playing like she did her freshman year," Kyzer said. "Most people didn't realize that she was hurt most of last year and was gutting it out. She's a rock and she is a part of most of our goals, but it's a team effort."
Before the half ended, CofC got the first of two goals on the day from Sarah Schaidle, the team's leading scorer. She got a pass from teammate Hannah Gmerek to just in front of the net and sent a header past UTC keeper Taylor Mangrum (Franklin, Tenn.) to take a brief lead before halftime.
With just minutes to go before the break, the Mocs capitalized on a scoring opportunity in the 43rd minute. Chattanooga worked to convert a corner kick from sophomore Andria Aurand (Hixson, Tenn.), but the Cougars cleared the ball. However, Chattanooga freshman Andi Argueta (Clarksville, Tenn.) found the ball and passed it to Aurand who lofted the ball over the scrum of players in the middle and found senior Danielle Barr (Hixson, Tenn.) on the far side. Barr headed the ball past Charleston's Cricket Wise for her first goal of the season and the equalizer.
"Danielle scores on corners and long balls," Kyzer said of his senior defender. "That is really her only opportunity to score. We put people in positions to be effective for us and that is where she is most effective."
Chattanooga's defense was tested with four saves in the first half by Mangrum and eight in the second, but the Cougars were able to find the net one more time for the win. Schaidle took a pass from Sarah Cardamone and recorded the game winner in the 67th minute.
Chattanooga will have a quick turn around as it hosts league-leading Furman Thursday night at Finley Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m. and admission is free. Live stats and streaming video will be available at the official website of Mocs Athletics, GoMocs.com.
October is breast cancer awareness month and the Mocs showed their support by sporting Pink warm up shirts before the game. Pink T-shirts, pink water bottles and pink Chattanooga Mocs lanyards were given out the fans before the game. Finley Stadium was dressed out in pink for the event as well.
UNCG 1, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Playing the second of four straight games at home, Davidson suffered a 1-0 setback to visiting UNCG on Sunday afternoon in Southern Conference women's soccer action at Alumni Stadium.
The Wildcats (4-6-2, 2-2 SoCon) had its two-game win streak halted, while UNCG (4-7, 3-1 SoCon) won its second straight over the weekend and third in the last four games overall.
The Spartan's Kristin Player took a pass from Shea Glaspey after Karin Sendel headed the ball to Glaspey and fired a shot to the near post past the diving Rachel Locke (Carlsbad, Calif.) for the only score of the afternoon in the 21st minute.
Locke finished with five saves in goal for Davidson, while Kelsey Kearney of UNCG had four.
The Wildcats continue their stay at home when they play Appalachian State and Western Carolina next weekend, Oct. 7-9.
Western Carolina 1, Furman 0 (2 OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - For the second straight game, Western Carolina women's soccer won on a double overtime golden goal, as the Catamounts shutout Furman (7-5-1, 2-1-1 Southern Conference) 1-0 to improve to 8-3-1 and 3-1 in the SoCon Sunday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Just 43 seconds into the second overtime, Western Carolina capitalized on its increasingly aggressive play, with a goal by freshman Madison Lee. Redshirt junior Samantha Hodge passed the ball into the box, bounced off the goalie's foot and to Lee, who took a shot into the right side and into the net.
It was Lee's first goal of career. As for Hodge, it was her third assist of the weekend. Hodge had a pair of assists in the win over Wofford Friday, including the corner kick that turned into a header game-winning goal by freshman Tara Budnick over the Terriers.
Western Carolina had just one shot after the first period of play. However the Catamounts put the pressure on in the second period and took five shots.
The first overtime is when the Catamounts seemingly kicked it into high gear. The Catamounts had three shots in the first overtime, including a beauty of a shot by Christina White, off a corner kick from Laura Greb, which sailed high over the goal.
The Catamounts remain undefeated at home this season, improving to 5-0. The 8-3-1 record, in the first 12 matches of the season, is the best start for the Catamount season in two years.
Western Carolina will be back on the road next weekend. The Catamounts play at Georgia Southern on Friday and Davidson on Sunday.
Georgia Southern 0, Elon 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - A splendid defensive effort gave Georgia Southern Women's Soccer its first point of the conference season as the Eagles drew 0-0 with Elon on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 2nd). The Eagles move to 2-7-2 overall and 0-3-1 in the Southern Conference, while Elon is 3-5-4 overall and 1-1-2 in league play.
"Our defense has played well this weekend both against UNCG and Elon," said Head Coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel. "If it wasn't for the play of our four defenders and Katie (Merson) in goal, the result would have been different"
Georgia Southern goalkeeper Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) made six saves off 16 total Elon shots as the Eagle defense logged its third shutout this season, the second for Merson between the pipes. She led the Eagle defense which consisted of Zoe Van Gorder (Park City, Utah), Sydney Keer (Gambrills, Md.), Paige Grant (Albuquerque, N.M.), and Lindsay Hammer (Evans, Ga.).
The Eagle offense was led by Courtney Collins (Mason, Ohio) with three shots, two on goal. Georgia Southern combined for 12 shots including three in the overtime period.
The Eagles wrap-up their four-match homestand next weekend against Western Carolina and Appalachian State. Georgia Southern faces WCU on Friday, October 7th to close out a Men's and Women's Soccer doubleheader at 4 p.m. The weekend concludes on Sunday, October 9th, at 2 p.m. against the Mountaineers.