UNCG 2, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (8-8-1, 3-6, Southern Conference) was dropped by UNCG (8-7-1, 7-1-1 SoCon) 2-0 Friday at the Western Carolina Athletic Complex.
It was a game of inches for both squads just missing the goal on numerous occasions. Early in the first period, Western Carolina showed its aggressive side, attacking at every turn. And just like the previous two games, the Catamounts were nipping at a goal, but could never punch one in.
Late in the first period, Catamount junior Laura Greb took a beauty of a shot on the left side. Greb played the ball on the left side of the box, sailing the ball just above the Spartan goalie's head. The ball nicked the top middle part of the cross bar, just missing going in.
Both teams entered the second period with the score knotted at zero. The Catamounts continued the pressure, with a quality shot by sophomore Christine Kaznowski, who had a great look at the goal, just five yards out, but the shot was wide.
UNCG took this game of inches and found a crack of an opening at the 59:33 mark, when the Spartan's Lauren Hein took a pass from Kristen Player, inside the box and scored.
Just four minutes later, UNCG put the game out of reach with its second goal of the game. Player was again in the mix, as she took a free kick, after a Western Carolina foul, and sent it to an open Katyee O'Brien for the goal.
Western Carolina took five shots after the pair of UNCG goals, but couldn't find an opening for a score. The Catamounts outshot UNCG 13-8 in the match.
Wofford 2, The Citadel 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After falling behind 2-0 to The Citadel, the Wofford women’s soccer team rallied to score two consecutive goals, but was unable to score the game-winning goal, with Friday night’s contest ending in a double-overtime draw at Snyder Field. The Terriers now stand at 8-5-2 overall, and 2-5-2 in Southern Conference play.
The Bulldogs took the early 1-0 lead in the 28th minute when Nicole Levermann took a shot from nearly eight yards away, placing the ball into the upper left corner of the net following a pass from Karina Schneider.
Levermann scored her second goal of the contest in the 38th minute to give The Citadel a 2-0 lead, as Ruth Leiva crossed the ball from the right side of the 18-yard box, drawing Wofford goalkeeper Erika Christensen out of the goal, giving Levermann an empty net to score in.
The Terriers were able to get on the board in the closing seconds of the first half, as Chelsea Ashworth sent a shot into the back right corner of the goal. Anne Phillips was credited with the assist.
Phillips scored the game-tying goal for the Terriers shortly after the start of the second half, as she sent a shot from the far-right side of the field rocketing toward the goal, just making its way into the upper right corner of the goal, just over the reach of Citadel goalkeeper Whitney Nave in the 50th minute.
Both teams had a handful of scoring opportunities in the remaining minutes of regulation, but neither could produce the potential game-winning goal. Perhaps the best scoring opportunity for the Terriers came in the 70th minute, when Maureen Buff sent a shot that ricocheted off the left goalpost to Chelsea Turner, whose shot was just within the reach of Nave, preventing the goal.
Both ten-minute overtime periods were a defensive struggle for both squads, as neither team were able to produce a shot on goal throughout the two periods, with the match concluding with the draw.
Kara Boggs takes the decision for the Terriers, playing the final 65 minutes in goal, picking up two saves in the process. Erika Christensen started the match for Wofford, playing the first 45 minutes with one save. Whitney Nave stood in goal for the final 65 minutes for The Citadel, earning two saves after replacing Laura Serafino who played the first 45 minutes for the Bulldogs.
Furman 2, College of Charleston 2
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman and College of Charleston each rallied from a one goal deficit before settling for a 2-2 draw in Southern Conference women's soccer action in front of a crowd of 524 on Friday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The deadlock moved Furman to 9-7-2 overall and 4-3-2 in SoCon play as the Paladins pulled even with Elon for a share of fifth place in the league standings with two matches remaining. Charleston, now 10-6-1 overall and 6-2-1 in league play, retained sole possession of third place.
The Cougars jumped out to the early lead as Hannah Gmerek scored her first of two goals on the night at the 4:19 mark. Sarah Cardamone sent a driven corner kick from the left side through the box. Furman goalkeeper Jessica Smith attempted to punch the cross clear, but it deflected to the feet of Gmerek who finished at the back post for her third tally of the season.
Senior Rachel Shelnutt erased the Charleston lead in the 17th minute with her team-leading 10th goal of the campaign. Freshman Alyssa Althoff played a pass into the path of Shelnutt down the left wing and the senior beat her defender to the ball before chipping the keeper.
Less than 11 minutes later, the Paladins grabbed the lead. Hannah Stanifer lined a shot off of the left post and the rebound bounced to India Robinson who headed into the open net from inside the six-yard box at 27:01 for her first collegiate goal.
In the second half, College of Charleston took control of possession and put the Paladin defense under constant pressure. The Cougars' persistence finally paid off with just 11:02 remaining in regulation when Gmerek volleyed a Maryam Buazza pass into the upper righthand corner for her second goal of the night.
Furman had two opportunities to steal three points in the first overtime period. Shelnutt ran onto a ball and cut back in the middle of the box before stumbling over a Charleston defender. She fed a pass to Megan Doughtery on the right side of the box, but the senior was whistled for being offside. Moments later, Shelnutt once again picked out a wide open Dougherty on the right side of the box, but she fired high in a one-v-one with Cougar goalkeeper Cricket Wise.
Charleston outshot the Paladins 18-14, including 12-8 in shots on goal, with both teams earning six corner kicks. Wise stopped six shots for the Cougars, while Smith turned away 10 shots for the Paladins to preserve the point.
The Paladins celebrate Senior Day on Sunday afternoon when they host The Citadel at 2 p.m. Furman enters the contest against The Citadel with a 10-1-0 series lead. After a 3-0 Furman triumph during last season's regular season meeting against the Bulldogs, the Paladins fell 2-1 in overtime at The Citadel in SoCon Tournament quarterfinal round action.
Samford 2, Davidson 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The first-place Samford University soccer team used goals from freshman Brittany Hoffman and sophomore Michelle Moll to tally a 2-0 Senior Night victory against the Davidson Wildcats in a critical Southern Conference contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
With Friday's shutout victory, Samford (9-5-2, 7-0-2 SoCon) extended its winning streak to five-consecutive matches and remained undefeated in conference play this season. The Bulldogs currently hold a one-point advantage in the SoCon standings with two contests remaining, but second-place UNCG is nipping at Samford's heels.
Davidson (7-8-2, 5-4 SoCon) suffered its second straight defeat Friday and was held scoreless for only the fourth time this season. With the loss, the Wildcats moved to 1-1-3 in its all-time series against Samford. Last year, the Bulldogs knocked Davidson out of the SoCon Tournament with a 4-3 shootout victory in the final match held at Bulldog Field. Samford outshot Davidson 13-7 on Friday and limited the Wildcats to one shot on goal. The Bulldogs also held Davidson's explosive forwards Becca Fisher and Stephanie Piperno to one shot apiece.
Samford jumped out to its 1-0 first-half lead in the 25th minute of play as Hoffman rifled a shot from 25 yards into the top right corner of the net.
On the game-winning goal, the Bulldogs' Lindsay Matern played a ball to Hoffman's feet on the left flank. Hoffman faked a move to her left then quickly turned to her right and fired a laser into the far corner. The score was Hoffman's second of the season, while Matern's assist proved to be her first of the 2011 campaign.
The Bulldogs' senior goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead registered her fifth shutout of the 2011 season and improved her school-record total in the category to 31. The previous career record in shutouts was held by former Samford-great Crystal Royall, who finished with 24.5.
With less than 15 minutes remaining in Friday's contest, Samford's Michelle Moll increased the Bulldogs' lead to 2-0 with a spectacular juke move and scoring shot from 20 yards out.
On the goal, which was Moll's third of the 2011 season, she gathered a pass from Trine Taule on the left wing, dribbled past a pair of Davidson defenders and then slowed up a bit as she neared a third Wildcat. Once she approached the final Davidson defender, Moll ducked to her left, spun all the way around while shifting the ball to her right foot and then boomed a shot high into the corner of the net.
Taule, who was accredited with an assist on the play, earned her fourth helper of the season.
Georiga Southern 2, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - Goals in the first and 31st minutes propelled Georgia Southern to a 2-1 victory over Chattanooga on Friday night at Findlay Stadium. The Eagles improved to 6-8-2 overall and an even 4-4-1 in conference play.
Georgia Southern needed just 58 seconds to take a 1-0 lead as Carlee Storey scored from 12 yards out. The Eagle midfielder combined with senior Sara Oland for the forward's seventh assist of the season.
Sophomore Alex Murphy doubled the Georgia Southern lead in the 31st minute with her sixth tally of the season.Paige Grant carded the assist with an inlet pass that allowed Murphy to slot the ball past the Chattanooga goalkeeper for a 2-0 GSU lead.
Chattanooga answered in the 42nd minute with Becca Smith's league-best 14th goal of the season. She was assisted by Donna-Kay Henry who crossed the ball to Smith at 15 yards. Smith scored with a shot to the top middle of the net.
Goalkeeper Katie Merson made five saves and kept a second half clean sheet to earn the 2-1 victory for Georgia Southern. GSU had 15 shots in the match, including seven from Murphy for the Eagles' sixth win of the year.