Davidson 2, The Citadel 1

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Davidson closed out its three-game road trip with a 2-1 decision over The Citadel on Thursday afternoon in Southern Conference women’s soccer action at Washington Light Infantry Field.

The Wildcats (5-6-2, 3-2 SoCon) closed out their three-game trip 2-1, scoring wins over Western Carolina (2-0) and The Citadel, while dropping the middle game at Appalachian State in overtime.

Davidson continued its dominance in the series vs. the Bulldogs (3-8-1, 1-3-1 SoCon) on Thursday. The ‘Cats took advantage of a Bulldog defensive miscue to net its first goal in the ninth minute. Rachael Newmister pressed a Bulldog defender, who tried to touch the ball back to the keeper, but Newmister continued her pressure and blocked the clear attempt by the goalkeeper. The senior’s blocked clear attempt went over Bulldog keeper Sarah Katchen’s head and Newmister easily tapped in the loose ball for her team-leading third goal of the year.

After both teams played even over the next several minutes, the ‘Cats struck again off of a set play at the 34:05 mark. Rachel Stelter and Lauren Swany hooked up on a corner, when Stelter set a perfect ball into the box and Swany rose up and headed in her first career goal.

The shutout was nearly erased with about two minutes left in the first half, but Vanessa Aponte’s shot went off the left post and the ‘Cats took a 2-0 lead into the break.

Davidson’s lead was cut in half shortly into the start of the second half off of Mariana Garcia’s eighth goal of the year. She got a pass from Aponte and beat her defender on the far side of the box and slipped one past Rachel Locke.

Garcia sits just four goals shy of breaking Kelly Pesterfield's school mark set in 2003. The assist was Aponte's fourth of the season and 12th of her career.

Davidson’s Louise Timboe, Meg Sanborn and the rest of the Wildcat defense halted any ideas of tying it up with shutout ball the rest of the way for the win.

Locke ran her record to 4-5-2 between the pipes, tallying three saves. Katchen finished with five for The Citadel.

Davidson fired off 14 shots, seven apiece in each half, while also winning the corner battle, 7-4.

The Wildcats return home this weekend for a matchup against College of Charleston on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Citadel will close out the weekend on Sunday against Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga., also at 2 p.m.

 

College of Charleston 1, Georgia Southern 1 (2OT)

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Georgia Southern’s women’s soccer team shared a 1-1 draw at College of Charleston on Thursday night. The Eagles gave up a goal in the 21st minute, but Alex Murphy scored in the 35th minute to secure the draw for GSU.

Georgia Southern and College of Charleston left Thursday’s match with matching 2-2-1 SoCon records. The Eagles are now 6-3-4 overall, while the Cougars are 3-8-1 in all games.

Charleston earned a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute off the foot of Nicole Koretsky. The Cougar attacker dribbled through the Eagle defense and cracked a shot from short range to give Charleston an early advantage.

The Eagles responded in the 35th minute as Murphy scored her second goal of the season. Callie O’Connor assisted on the goal by winning the ball in the midfield before slotting a pass to Murphy at the edge of the six-yard box on the left post, allowing the junior to tie the match at 1-1 with a clinical finish.

The second half and overtime periods flowed evenly from end to end with Cougars controlling a narrow possession of the play.

Though the Cougars would outshoot the Eagles 13-6 the rest of the way, the final three periods wouldn’t yield a goal and the teams ultimately split the result. Overall, the Cougars outshot the Eagles by a 21-11 margin.

Georgia Southern goalkeeper Katie Merson made nine saves to help secure the 1-1 draw, the fourth of the season for the Eagles. Eli Sarasola had three stops for the Cougars.

The Eagles are back in action on Sunday afternoon at home against The Citadel. The contest from Eagle Field starts at 2 p.m. The Cougars complete their weekend on the road with a SoCon match at Davidson on Sunday at 2 p.m.