Chattanooga 2, Tennessee Tech 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga junior Becca Smith (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) scored twice to lead the Mocs to a 2-1 season opening win over Tennessee Tech Friday night at the Tech Soccer Field. UTC improves to 1-0 on the year with Tech falling to 0-1.
"Becca is a veteran and everybody knows she can play," Chattanooga Head Coach J.D. Kzyer said. "She had some injuries last year that made it difficult for her to showcase the talent she showed her freshman year. She did a really good job tonight and we relied on her a lot."
Smith's game-winner came late in the game when she took a pass from freshman Crystal Mackezyk (Columbia, Tenn.) and went one-on-one with a defender. She launched her shot from outside the box on the left side and cleared the Golden Eagle's keeper, sending the shot into the top of the net on the right side in the 88th minute for the game winner.
"Crystal played the ball to my feet," Smith said. "I took a few dribbles to get away from the defender and tried to shoot it high over the goalie and it went in."
Tennessee Tech scored first with a goal from Kerry Reid in the 29th minute on a deflection off the cross bar. That score would stand for just 12 minutes when Smith tied it up at the 40:33 mark of the game. Smith read a pass from a defender back to the goalie and took advantage of the situation for an interception. She took a shot dribble around the left of the keeper for the score.
"This win felt good. As a team it was kind of a rough start for us," Smith said. "In the second half we worked better as a team overall and it felt great to get the win."
The Golden Eagles outshot Chattanooga 10-9 with three shots from Kris Cambron and two each from Andrea Meloff, Reid and Ellie Iaciofano. Keeper Becca Toler made just one save.
Smith led Chattanooga with a game-high three shots with six other players had one shot each. Sophomore keeper Taylor Mangrum (Franklin, Tenn.) recorded six saves on the night.
"There were a lot of jitters, a lot of nerves on both sides of the ball being the first game for both teams," Kyzer said. "We're a much better team than the way we played today, but fortunately, because of heart and drive and never giving up, we were able to win. Tennessee Tech is a much better team than they were last year. They are very technical and played the ball really well. Our team chemistry is what made the difference for us. We won because we have heart.
"Nine players out of 11 on the field tonight were playing new positions. Kaitlyn Bennett (freshman, Columbia, Tenn.) really stood out. She played outside mid, a position she's not used to playing and did a really good job. Crystal Mackezyk almost scored early in the game. She can strike the ball and will be a good player for us."
Chattanooga improves to 1-0 on the year and will host Austin Peay Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium at 2 p.m. Admission is free and the concession stands will be open. Entrance to the game will be through the South Gate only and no outside food or drink is permitted.
SCORING SUMMARY:
No. Time Team Goal scorer Assist Description
1. 28:47 TTU REID, Kerri (1) (unassisted) off the crossbar
2. 40:33 UTC Becca Smith (1) (unassisted)
3. 87:47 UTC Becca Smith (2) Crystal Mackezyk long shot outside box top net
Wofford 2, East Tennessee State 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford women's soccer team opened the 2011 season on a positive note, claiming a 2-1 victory over East Tennessee State Friday evening at Snyder Field. The Terriers controlled the majority of the match, outshooting the Lady Bucs 12-5, and earned more corner kicks with a margin of 6-1.
The Terriers (1-0) struck quickly, as sophomore Maureen Buff scored the opening goal during the second minute of play, putting a shot past ETSU's Caitlin Gaughan following a corner kick by junior Jewel Kawamoto.
ETSU (0-1) tested Wofford sophomore goalkeeper Kimberly Cohn throughout the remainder of the first half, putting three shots on goal, yet Cohn prevented any from finding the back of the net to set the score at 1-0 at the half.
Wofford added another goal in the 55th minute, as sophomore Emily Bougas blasted a shot into the lower right corner to put the score at 2-0. Senior Maggie O'Brien was credited with the assist.
The Lady Bucs answered back in the 67th minute when junior Morgan Thomas put a shot into the back right corner of the net.
The Terrier defense was key throughout the remainder of the half, not allowing a single shot by ETSU in the final 23 minutes to seal the 2-1 victory.
Wofford will return to action next Friday evening as they travel to nearby USC Upstate. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. start time.
College of Charleston 3, Charleston Southern 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team downed Charleston Southern, 3-1, in the teams' season opener in front of 362 fans at Patriots Point on Friday evening.
The Cougars dominated possession in a physical contest which saw a nearly-evenly split 21 fouls called.
CofC dominated the shot statistics with a 20-7 shot margin including an 11-1 advantage in the second half. The Cougars put eight shots on frame compared to the Lady Bucs' three.
Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.), Haley Hutchens (Irmo, S.C.) and McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) were the Cougars' goal scorers.
In the 28th minute, Hannah Gmerek (Anderson, S.C.) sent a long ball into the box which was run on to by Schaidle. Schaidle collected the ball around the 18-yard line and took a touch before capitalizing past CSU keeper Amy Arroyo.
The Cougars saw several more quality chances in the opening period but took the 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
"From the outset, we had a pretty good foot on the pedal and had control of the match and scored a great goal," said head coach Christian Michner. "We were able to go into the break 1-0 and felt pretty good about ourselves. But give Charleston Southern plenty of credit, they are a very well coached team. They work hard and they make it difficult and we had our work cut out for us today."
In the 56th minute, CofC padded its lead when Hutchens volleyed a ball over Arroyo and into the net. The shot was through a scrambling crowd in the box with an assist coming from Lindsay Frey (Cincinnati, Ohio).
CSU responded minutes later, however, when Chelsea Phillips controlled the ball in the right-hand side of the box and beat a defender on the dribble before blasting a shot across the goal mouth and into the far-side netting, cutting CofC's lead to 2-1.
The Cougars maintained composure despite seeing their lead cut in half and thwarted CSU's remaining attacks at net.
Jones added the 88th-minute insurance goal after she collected a beautifully-threaded ball from Hope Atkinson (Rumson, N.J.), beat a pair of Lady Buc defenders with a set of precise dribbles and slid the ball past the charging keeper.
The Cougars take to the road to face Kennesaw State on Friday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. The Cougars will seek vengeance for last season's high-scoring match went back-and-forth before the Owls netted an 86th minute goal to escape with a 4-3 victory at Patriots Point.
Samford 2, Belmont 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University soccer team used goals from true freshmen Amanda Abbott and Joy Grove to earn a 2-0 season-opening victory against the Belmont Bruins Friday in the inaugural match held at the brand-new Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, Samford (1-0) extended its winning streak against Belmont (0-1) to eight straight matches and improved its all-time record in the series to 9-1.
The Bulldogs outshot the Bruins 18-14 on Friday, but were trailing by a count of 10-7 at halftime.
"I thought we were very, very poor in the first half," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I thought we were very fortunate to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead. I challenged the players at halftime and I'm extremely happy with how they responded. Other than a couple minor breakdowns, I thought we played really good in the second half."
Samford's opening goal of the match occurred during the 21st minute of play as Abbott faked her way through a pair of Belmont defenders and then deftly moved past the charging goalkeeper for an open-net score from 15 yards out. On the play, senior Sarah Wilkinson set her up perfectly with the lead-in assist.
Abbott's first goal of her collegiate career occurred in the first match of her collegiate career. The Bulldogs' true freshman from Marietta, Ga., led Samford on Friday with four shot attempts, two of which were on goal. Abbott logged 54 minutes of playing time in her collegiate debut and was one of three true freshmen to earn game action.
"Amanda and Joy both scored outstanding goals," Yelton said. "I thought that they each showed some great individual effort for them to put the goal away when they had the chance. I certainly wish we would have gotten a couple more, but the saves by their goalkeeper were first-class. I thought the freshmen did a great job tonight, but we need to keep going at it and improving."
Grove, Samford's true freshman from Midlothian, Va., started in Friday's contest and played 70 minutes. She also tallied the Bulldogs' second goal of the match in the 52nd minute of action.
On Grove's goal, she rifled a shot past the goalkeeper from 18 yards out for her first career score at Samford. The play was set up perfectly by both Trine Taule and Adrianne Mancino as both teammates were awarded with assists.
Samford's four-year starting goalkeeper Alyssa Whitehead extended her all-time record in shutouts to 27 on Friday. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-3 native of Hattiesburg, Miss., finished the contest with four key saves to preserve Samford's shutout victory.
"Alyssa is fantastic," said Yelton. "I think she is one of the top goalkeepers in the country and she has a great mentality and temperament. She was able to keep a clean sheet tonight and our back line is a work in progress right now. We have some players who are new to it, so we'll keep working to get organized and try to help Alyssa out so she won't have to make a great save every game."
Belmont's starting goalkeeper Nicole Berner tallied a match-high five saves, but allowed a pair of Samford goals. The Bruins' Sari Lin played the final 14 minutes in goal and notched two stops.
"I have to give full credit to Belmont," Yelton said. "I thought they gave us a great effort and they were a very difficult team for us to play. If they give that type of effort every night, then they are going to win a lot of matches this season."
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs conclude their two-match homestand against the Alabama Crimson Tide on home at the Samford Soccer Stadium.
Western Kentucky 1, Western Carolina 0 (OT)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Western Carolina women's soccer (0-1) battled a veteran Western Kentucky (1-0) squad to a scoreless tie, in regulation, before falling in overtime, 1-0, Friday at the WKU Soccer Field in both team's season opener.
The Hilltoppers' Leslie Chinn scored the golden goal eight minutes into overtime. Chinn scored from eight yards out from an assist by Kelsey Meyer.
The youthful Catamount squad, who started four freshmen, went up against a Hilltopper team that started five seniors and was picked fifth in the Sun Belt preseason poll. Western Carolina was tabbed eighth in the Southern Conference preseason poll.
Katie Jacobs, in her first appearance in goal for the Catamount since 2009, withstood a barrage of shots by Western Kentucky in regulation. The Hilltoppers had nine shots on goal in the first period, but in the second period the Catamount defense buckled down and allowed four shots to get to Jacobs.
The Catamounts had just one shot in the first half but picked it up in the second half. The Catamounts were just one shot behind the Hilltoppers in the second period with three shots, each team had a shot in overtime.
Western Carolina has a solid opportunity six minutes into overtime off a free kick. The ball went into the box, flicked toward the goal, but sailed wide.
Junior Laura Greb led the Catamounts with two shots. Samantha Hodge, Kimberly Sullivan and Savannah Ward each has a shot in the match.
The Catamounts return to action Sunday, at the WKU Tournament, playing Murray State at 1 p.m.
Winthrop 3, Georgia Southern 1
ROCK HILL, S.C. - Georgia Southern logged numerous chances in the 2011 season opener, but two Winthrop goals in the closing minutes of the first half ultimately lifted the Big South Conference foe to a 3-1 win over the Eagles on Friday night (August 19th). Georgia Southern (0-1) cut a two-goal Winthrop (1-0) lead in half just before halftime, but a late goal by the hosts dealt Eagle Head Coach Lindsey Vanderspiegel her first loss in charge of the Eagles.
Two chances for the Georgia Southern went for naught in the 25th and 27th minutes on very similar plays. Courtney Collins (Mason, Ohio) got behind the Eagle defense on a high through ball to the far post but saw her shot saved by the Winthrop goalkeeper. Two minutes later, Alex Murphy (Cincinnati, Ohio) duplicated the play, taking a shot that slid past the goalkeeper and wide of the post.
Winthrop's Kelly Clark, however, put the hosts on top in the 43rd minute with a header off an Ashley Herndon cross into the box. The Eagles doubled their lead just 59 seconds later with a goal on a header by Tori Davis to put Winthrop up, 2-0.
Georgia Southern responded straight-away with a goal in the final minute of the first half by Murphy. The sophomore got into a one-on-one situation with the Winthrop center back that blocked Murphy's initial shot. The Eagle attacker stayed with the play and finished past the Winthrop goalkeeper to cut the advantage to 2-1 going into halftime.
Sophomore Georgia Southern goalkeeper Katie Merson (Albuquerque, N.M.) finished the first half with three saves and was called upon to make her fourth in spectacular fashion just two minutes into the second half. She finished the night with five saves.
Winthrop took a two goal lead in the 82nd minute when Courtney Durbin scored by getting behind the Eagle defense off a through ball by Rachel Webster.
The Eagles pushed forward after conceding the goal with shots by Murphy and McKenna Storey (Medford, Ore.) in the 83rd minute of play. Freshman Sydnie Van Curen (Rincon, Ga.) logged a shot in the 89th minute, but the Eagles could not score in the waning minutes and fell, 3-1, at the final whistle.
Overall, Georgia Southern took 10 shots with five on target while Winthrop posted 18 shots with eight on frame. The visitors had eight corner kicks to Winthrop's five.
Georgia Southern returns home on Thursday, August 25th for the 2011 home opener against Mercer at Eagle Field. The match starts at 4 p.m. and can be seen live on Eagle Vision.
Virginia Tech 4, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Virginia Tech got a goal late in the first half and added three in the second to spoil UNCG coach Steve Nugent's head coaching debut as the Hokies took a 4-0 win in both teams' season opener on Friday at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Virginia Tech (1-0) got on the board on a penalty kick in the 44th minute. After a UNCG defender inadvertently got a hand on a Hokie cross in the box, Virginia Tech was awarded a penalty kick. Kelly Conheeney buried it with no problem at the 43:05 mark for what would prove to be the winning goal.
"There were some great moments in the first half, some great combinations, some great work within our midfield," Nugent said. "But against a team like Virginia Tech, in the ACC, they're battle-tested; they play against the best competition year-round. You can't allow them to get a goal the way they did and then chase the game against athletes like this. All the credit to Virginia Tech. They imprinted their style on us tonight, but I thought for the first 40 minutes, we were right there."
The Spartans (0-1) hung with the Hokies in the first half, getting off a pair of solid scoring chances about midway through the frame. In the 23rd minute, Karin Sendel found Kristin Player with a ball that left Player in a one-on-one situation with Virginia Tech keeper Dayle Colpitts. With Colpitts coming off her line, Player put her shot high to keep the game scoreless.
Just minutes later, Sendel found freshman Ashley Stokes alone on the left side of the box. Stokes fired a shot from near the top of the 18 that Colpitts was able to push over the crossbar.
Virginia Tech had the run of play in the second half, starting with a quick strike from Anne Lumpkin to make it a 2-0 game. After Conheeney sent a corner kick into the box, the ball rattled around and out to Lumpkin, who pounded it home for her first goal of the season in the 49th minute.
Conheeney added her second goal of the night in the 58th, one-timing a Lumpkin cross from the right wing top shelf past UNCG keeper Kelsey Kearney.
The Hokies capped the scoring in the 80th minute, as Kelsey Loupee beat Kearney one-on-one in the box from about 8 yards out.
Virginia Tech threatened for more, as Jazmine Reeves put a shot off the left post and Shannon Mayrose had a shot hit the crossbar, both in the second half.
The Hokies, who outshot UNCG 19-4 in the contest and 12-1 in the second stanza, were whistled offside 11 times in the contest.
Player had two shots to lead UNCG, while Stokes and sophomore Ashlee Wilhelmsen had one each.
Conheeney and Reeves had four each to pace the Hokies.
Colpitts picked up the win with two saves in the complete-game effort. Kearney made six saves and allowed four goals, matching the career high she set against Virginia Tech in a similar 4-0 loss in 2009.
UNCG returns to action on Friday, Aug. 26, when it will host Wake Forest as part of a doubleheader with the UNCG men's soccer team, presented by Sterling Cottages at West End. The women will play at 6 p.m., followed by UNCG vs. Duke on the men's side at 8 p.m.
Georgia 3, Furman 1
Greenville, S.C. -- The University of Georgia netted a pair of first half goals and held on for a 3-1 victory over Furman in the women's soccer season opener for both schools before a crowd of 2,613 on Friday night at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The Bulldogs dominated the opening 45 minutes outshooting Furman 11-0 while building a 2-0 advantage. Jamie Pollock got Georgia started at the 25:25 mark receiving an Alexa Newfield pass and drilling a 25-yard shot into the lower righthand corner past Paladin keeper Jessica Smith. Less than 11 minutes later, Madeline Barker redirected Chika Ibiam's low cross into net from inside the six-yard box to double the Bulldog lead at intermission.
Georgia added to the lead at 64:03 when Nicole Locandro's long range shot glanced off of Smith's hands and into the net to increase the margin to 3-0.
Furman began to up the pressure on the UGA defense over the final 30 minutes and broke through at 79:38 when freshman Alexa Morse fired an India Robinson cross past Bulldogs keeper Ashley Baker from the top of the six-yard box for the Paladins' first tally of the season.
Georgia managed an 18-5 edge in shots and 7-2 advantage in shots on goal. Baker totaled one stop to earn the victory in goal while Smith notched three saves for the Paladins.
Furman makes its first road trip of the season on Sunday when the Paladins travel to Nashville, Tenn., to battle the Vanderbilt Commodores at 2 p.m. EDT. Fans can follow live stats at www.FurmanPaladins.com while Vanderbilt will be providing a free video feed.