UNCG 2, College of Charleston 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team fell to UNC Greensboro, 2-1, at Patriots Point in a battle for first place in the Southern Conference on Sunday afternoon. The match also served as CofC's Senior Day as the Cougars honored their five seniors.
The teams came into the match tied with a league-leading 4-1 record in SoCon play. CofC falls to 8-6-0 (4-2-0 SoCon) while UNCG improves to 6-7-0 (5-1-0 SoCon) and takes over sole possession of first place.
Hannah Gmerek (Anderson, S.C.) celebrated her Senior Day in style with an equalizing goal late in the match but it was Kristin Player's pair of goals which ultimately earned UNCG the decision.
"It was a very good match between two teams at the top of the conference who wanted to win this game and were playing good soccer," said head coach Christian Michner. "I tell you, a couple mistakes can kill you. We made the same mistake twice and their kid got in all alone and scored a couple of great goals. Credit our team for battling back and scoring a great goal off a corner kick with our senior leader getting up, knotting the goal and getting us back to level terms. To make another mistake and give away the winning goal after that hurts. It's a killer. Now we'll regroup and move forward from this one and be prepared for our next match."
UNCG struck first in the 13th minute when some quick one-touch passing by Jaimey Etten and Lauren Hein sprung Player in alone on goal who capitalized with the game's first mark.
The Spartans were the more possessive side and held the ball back and made methodical moves forward which seemed to drain the clock on the Cougars. The remainder of the first half and the majority of the second were played mostly along the sidelines and flowed freely from end to end.
CofC broke through late in the match on an 84th minute corner kick taken by Sarah Cardamone (Downingtown, Pa.). Gmerek used her 5-7 frame to elevate above the crowd in the box and head the ball into the back of the net to knot the match.
The match appeared to be destined for overtime until Player notched the ultimate game winner in the 88th minute after again being sent in one-on-one with the Cougar keeper off a pass by Ashlee Wilhelmsen.
In honor of Senior Day, the Cougars celebrated the careers of Gmerek, Hope Atkinson (Rumson, N.J.), Lindsay Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio), Allison Truitt (Greenville, S.C.) and Cricket Wise (Walhalla, S.C.).
"It was great to honor our seniors before the match," said Michner. "This bunch has done so much for our program throughout their careers and certainly this season. They've all done a great job in leading our team both on and off the field and will truly be missed."
The Cougars stay at home to host Davidson at Patriots Point in further SoCon play on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.
"It's super important to take advantage of our games at home," said Michner. "Davidson has had a strong year so far and we know they will be coming here looking for three points so we'll do what we can to get ready in the next few days."
The Davidson match will be the Cougars' last at home before embarking on a four-match, season-concluding road stand.
Wofford 3, Chattanooga 2 (2 OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - A goal by Anne Philips in the 107th minute led the Wofford women's soccer team to a 3-2 double-overtime win over Chattanooga Sunday afternoon at Snyder Field. With the win, the Terriers improve to 8-4-0 overall on the season and 2-4-0 in Southern Conference play.
Phillips was able to put the game-winner into the back of the net in the 7th minute of the second overtime period, taking a shot from nearly eight yards out, finding the upper right corner of the net. Maureen Buff was credited with the assist. The goal was the second of the afternoon and third of the season for Phillips.
The Terriers controlled play the majority of the afternoon, outshooting the Mocs by a 25-8 margin, and out earned Chattanooga in corner kicks, 12-2.
Wofford struck early in the match, when Emily Bougas scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season in the 3rd minute of play from the right side of the box following a pass from Chelsea Ashworth.
Chattanooga was able to tie the match in the 29th minute when Becca Smith scored on a penalty kick.
The Terriers took a 2-1 lead in the 71st minute when Phillips scored her first goal of the afternoon, taking a shot from the far right side of the 18-yard box that ricocheted into the back of the net off of the left goal post.
The Mocs answered back in the 82nd minute when Crystal Mackezyk put a shot past Wofford keeper Erika Christensen following a pass by Donna-Kay Henry, setting up overtime play.
Erika Christensen is awarded the win for the Terriers, earning two saves while facing a total of eight shots. Taylor Mangrum takes the loss for the Mocs, tallying nine saves while facing 25 shots.
Wofford returns to action this Friday evening, hitting the road to face UNC Greensboro, with the match slated for a 7:00 p.m. start time.
Elon 2, The Citadel 1
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel women's soccer team (4-8-2, 2-3-1) jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead but couldn't hold on as Elon (4-6-4, 2-2-2) knocked in two second half goals to beat the Bulldogs, 2-1, in a Southern Conference Sunday matchup on WLI Field.
The cooler weather and gusty winds affected both teams as the game started slowly with just three total shots in the first 20 minutes. The Citadel cleared the ball in the 26th minute after an offsides call, and freshman Karina Schneider collected the ball near the box and fired a pass to Mariana Garcia who would net her sixth goal of the year from 10-yards out to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs finished out the period with a 1-0 lead.
The Citadel would enter the final frame with senior keeper Laura Serafino in net, who has been lights out for most of the year, but quickly relinquished the lead just 12 minutes in on a 10-yard laser from Elon forward Kendall Staley into the top corner of the net to even the game at one goal apiece.
The Phoenix rode the momentum of Staley's early goal for the remainder of the second half as they dominated play for the final 30 minutes, connecting on seven shots to the Bulldogs' three.
It wasn't until the 81st minute that the Phoenix broke the tie on Staley's second goal of the game and third of the season, a 20-yard rocket past Serafino to give Elon the advantage with just nine minutes to play.
The Phoenix staved off the Bulldogs for the remainder of the half and took the game away from The Citadel, who has struggled scoring in the second period all season, allowing 16 goals while only scoring four in the final frame. Sunday's game marks the third time this season the Bulldogs have suffered a loss after leading at the end of the first period.
"We started the game off well, but we didn't finish strong and Elon was able to take advantage of it," said senior captain Hannah Warne, who was sidelined due to a red card in Friday's game against UNC Greensboro.
The Citadel will finish out their three-game home stand on Thursday when they take on Georgia Southern at WLI Field. The Bulldogs have not lost to the Eagles since 2007, collecting three consecutive wins against the SoCon foe.
Georgia Southern 2, Appalachian State 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - A last second goal by Alex Murphy gave Georgia Southern a thrilling 2-1 victory over Appalachian State in a chaotic scene at Eagle Field on Sunday afternoon (October 9th). The Eagle striker lashed a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced in with 1.3 seconds remaining. Georgia Southern's second victory in two matches this weekend improves the Eagles to 4-7-2 and 2-3-1 in SoCon play. The Mountaineers fall to 5-8-1 overall, and 1-4-1 in league play.
"This was actually not one of our better performances," said Head Coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel. "We failed to match their intensity for much of the first half. I feel like the wind had something to do with that, but we battled back in the second half. After going down a goal, we battled on and it showed the perseverance of our team. With that goal with 1.3 seconds left in the match is something really special and something we will remember for a very long time."
The Mountaineers strung a number of passes together in the final third and scored the match's first goal in the 77th minute on a shot by Katy Dodd from the top of the six-yard box. She was fed the cross by Sydney Hill, who was credited with an assist.
The Mountaineer goal snapped a 277-minute goalless streak for GSU goalkeeper Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.), which spanned three matches. Merson finished the afternoon with seven saves.
The Eagles, however, answered with just minutes remaining in regulation with a set piece goal by Carlee Storey (Medford, Ore.). Her header redirected a free kick by Paige Grant (Albuquerque, N.M.) that was taken from midfield, just in front of the Eagle bench.
A throw in by Sydney Keer (Gambrills, Md.) sparked the attack as the Eagles pressed forward in the waning seconds. A flick on gave the ball to Murphy, who dribbled the ball forward as the seconds ticked down. She ripped the shot, which bounced off the crossbar and in for the game-winning goal.
The entire team spilled onto the field for the celebration which was postponed slightly until Appalachian State could take the kickoff with 1.3 seconds remaining. The Mountaineers touched the ball and the clock ran out.
Georgia Southern looks for its third-straight victory on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 13th) at The Citadel. The Eagles face the Bulldogs in Charleston at 4 p.m.
Samford 2, Furman 1 (2 OT)
Greenville, S.C. -- Trine Taule scored on a header off of a Samford free kick in the 105th minute to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory over Furman in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Stone Soccer Stadium.
Adrianne Mancino lofted her set piece into the middle of the box and Taule's header, which caught Furman goalkeeper Jessica Smith charging off of her line, deflected off of the left post. Smith appeared to have batted the rebound clear, but the assistant referee ruled that the whole ball had crossed the line for the match-winning goal.
"It's just a tough way to lose against a team that is among the best in this conference," said Furman head coach Andrew Burr. "We fought hard and gave good effort, but came up short against a quality opponent."
The loss dropped Furman to 8-6-1 overall and 3-2-1 in SoCon play, while Samford upped its record to 6-5-2 overall and 4-0-2 in league play.
The Paladins looked to be in position to gain a result when senior Rachel Shelnutt earned a penalty kick in the third minute. Shelnutt out ran her defender to a long ball from Alyssa Althoff and was tripped before being awarded the spot kick. The St. Simons Island, Ga., native slotted her shot into the lower righthand corner for her ninth goal of the season to push Furman in front 1-0 at 2:34.
Samford levelled the match in the ninth minute as Taule played a ball to Sarah Wilkinson on the left side of the box and the Bulldog captain beat Smith with a low shot toward the middle of goal for her sixth tally of the season at 8:16.
Both teams found opportunities to break the deadlock following the restart. Rachel Shelnutt was again played in behind the Samford defense only to see goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead stop her driving shot from a tight angle down the right side of the box. Smith held the Bulldogs at bay with a diving second half stop on a Michelle Moll shot for one of her six saves on the afternoon.
In overtime, Dee Makris rounded her defender near the left post, but could not get enough behind a shot that Whitehead collected on the bounce. Smith matched her counterpart by turning away shots from Brittany Hoffman and Joy Grove in double overtime before Taule's shot crossed the line.
Whitehead saved six shots to earn the victory in net for the Bulldogs who held an 8-7 edge in shots on goal.
Furman travels to Elon next Friday to face the Phoenix at 7 p.m. before playing at UNC Greensboro next Sunday afternoon.
Davidson 1, Western Carolina 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Freshman Becca Fisher (Fredericksburg, Va.) tallied her third game-winning goal when she took a cross in the box and headed in the lone goal late in the second half to send Davidson to a 1-0 victory over Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Stadium in Southern Conference women's soccer action.
The win gave the Wildcats a perfect 2-0 weekend as they finished out their four-game homestand 3-1. They bumped their overall record to an even 6-6-2, while moving to 4-2 in league play. Western fell to 8-5-1 overall and 3-3 in the SoCon.
Fisher's goal came in the 84th minute when she gathered in a perfectly placed cross from fellow freshman Rachel Stelter (The Woodlands, Texas) and headed the ball in for her team-leading fifth goal of the season. The assist for Stelter was her team-best fourth on the year.
Goalkeeper Rachel Locke (Carlsbad, Calif.) had a solid weekend, with a pair of shutout victories to give her three on the season. She finished the afternoon with one save to improve her record to 5-3-1 between the pipes.
The Wildcats, winners of four of their last five games, take to the road for a 7 p.m. contest at College of Charleston on Thursday, Oct. 13.