Appalachian State 4, UNC Asheville 2

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Appalachian State University’s women’s soccer team captured its third victory of the season as sophomore Julia Holz led the Mountaineers with two goals and an assist en route to a 4-2 win over UNC Asheville on Friday afternoon at Greenwood Field.

With the victory, App State moved to 3-4 on the season before moving into Southern Conference play next week. UNC Asheville fell to 2-5.

The match got off to a fast start in the opening half as the Bulldogs struck first in the eighth minute. Asheville’s Amanda Knapp received a pass off a free kick from Ferriss Roberts and scored past Appalachian goalkeeper Amy Kolowsky. The goal was Knapp’s second of the season.

The Apps responded quickly after Asheville’s opening goal as sophomore forward Jenna Caudle found the back of the net from a free kick pass off the foot of Holz. For Caudle, it was her second of the season.

The teams went into halftime in a 1-1 deadlock, but the Appalachian offense came alive to start the second half. Senior midfielder Meggie Graham got on the score sheet in the 50th minute when she received a pass from Caudle. Graham’s shot beat Asheville goalkeeper Heather Muller for her first of the season.

Holz followed Graham’s goal with a score of her own in the 60th minute, firing a 10-yard shot past Muller.

The Bulldogs fought themselves back into the match in the 83rd minute when Shenny Lenhart scored past freshman Megan Roberson, who came in to start the second half, for her second of the season. Lenhart settled a pass from Paige Trent to make the score, 3-2.

The Apps closed out the match when Holz added a late insurance goal in the 88th minute. Holz nabbed a pass from Caudle and found a seam in the Asheville backline to score her second of the match.

Head coach Sarah Strickland sent 25 onto the field today in the victory. The Apps outshot the Bulldogs 20-9, highlighted by 14 shots in the second half.

Roberson earned her third victory of the season, stopping one shot. Kolowsky played a solid opening half, tallying four saves.

The Mountaineers will begin SoCon play on Friday when they host UNCG. Kickoff from the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex is set for 7 p.m.

 

Western Carolina 2, Gardner-Webb 0

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina’s women's soccer team made its intentions known early in the match against Gardner-Webb, scoring in the first 17 seconds on its way to a 2-0 victory Friday in the second game of the Catamount Classic Tournament held at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

Fans barely had a chance to settle into the match after kick off before they had a reason to cheer. Freshman Markie-Lynn Studnicky took a pass from sophomore Christina White and eyed the goal. Studnicky took a shot about five yards out and sent it past Runnin' Bulldog goalie Amy Schmidt. It was Studnicky's third goal of the season, which leads the team.

The win was the second consecutive shutout by Western Carolina (4-3) and its second straight win.

The Catamounts didn't rest on their laurels as they proved they were hungry for additional goals. Western Carolina shot and kept shooting throughout the first period and into the second. Just 10 seconds after Studnicky's goal, senior forward Samantha Hodge got a great look at the goal, but it was saved by Schmidt.

Hodge's shot was the first of three straight in the first five minutes of the match. Her three shots were part of seven shots by the Catamounts in the first half. Western Carolina's intense and aggressive play in the first half carried over into the second half.

The Catamounts made sure Gardner-Webb's attempt at a comeback in the match became Herculean when their continued attack at the goal yielded results at the 48:27 minute mark in the second period. Hodge took a shot that went wide and freshman Amanda Schwartz picked up the rebound. She passed the ball to sophomore McKenzie Hallstrom just inside the box and Hallstrom sent it sailing it into the back of the net to give Western Carolina the 2-0 lead.

Western Carolina's stifling defense kept Gardner-Webb back on its heels for most of the match. The Runnin'Bulldogs (1-5) had just one shot in the first period, a shot that sailed wide by Tara Woelfel. In the second half, Gardner-Webb got off five shots, all turned into saves by redshirt senior Catamount goalie Katie Jacobs.

Four of the 10 starting Catamount players on the field had shots in the match to help equate to 20 shots by Western Carolina. Hodge led all players with six shots, two shots on goal. Fellow senior Laura Greb had four shots in the match, including a beauty of an attempt at the 62:54 mark that hooked wide left.

Western Carolina returns to action at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday to host Campbell in the second game of the Catamount Classic Tournament. Campbell was a 4-0 winner over Louisiana-Lafayette in the early match of the tournament. ULL will face Gardner-Webb at noon Sunday to kick off the second day of the tournament.

 

Elon 1, High Point 1 (2OT)

HIGH POINT, N.C. – In its final nonconference road match of the season, the Elon University women’s soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw with High Point on Friday night at Vert Field.

Kate Murphy played all 110 minutes between the posts for the Phoenix and held off High Point’s attack all night long. Murphy made a season-high seven saves, as the Panthers registered 27 shots on the night.

Simi Dhaliwal netted the Maroon and Gold’s lone score, her second of the season. With her back at the goal from six yards away, Dhaliwal gave the Phoenix momentum in the 33rd minute when she flicked a ball in from behind on a great cross from Marissa Russo.

Angela Funari just missed giving the Maroon and Gold a one-goal lead in the 23rd minute when she banged a shot off the crossbar above High Point goalie Jesse May.

The Panthers tied it at 1-1 in the 68th minute after Kelli Joline knocked in a previously blocked shot in a scrum in front of the Phoenix goal. The two teams grinded out the final 22 minutes of regulation before heading to overtime.

Kim Gardner nearly put in the golden goal in the 104th minute, but her shot was saved by May and the match remained knotted at 1-1.

Four late shots by the Panthers missed or were blocked, as the game ended in a draw.

Elon took nine shots (three on goal) in the match.

Elon returns home on Sunday at 2 p.m. to face the Francis Marion Patriots at Rudd Field.

 

Georgia Southern 1, Charleston Southern 1 (2OT)

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite holding a 23-7 advantage in shots and a 15-6 lead in shots on goal, Georgia Southern’s women’s soccer team could score just once in a 1-1 draw against Charleston Southern on Friday afternoon.

The draw is the third of the year for Georgia Southern, which opens conference play next weekend with a 4-1-3 record outside of league play. Charleston Southern finished the day with a 2-3-1 record.

Freshman Emily Hirano got the Eagles off the mark in the 10th minute with her first collegiate goal. After earning the first corner of the game, the ball was delivered into the box, bouncing around before finally coming to the freshman forward. She struck the ball on the volley to score the unassisted goal for a 1-0 Georgia Southern advantage.

In the 26th minute, Charleston Southern scored the equalizer as Toni Lashley scored from the top of the box on an assist from the CSU goalkeeper, Caitlin Cody. The deep goal kick found Lashley, allowing her to take the shot from the top of the box, curving into the net to tie the game, 1-1. The attack was Charleston Southern’s only scoring opportunity of the first half.

The Eagles ruled the run of play, holding a 23-7 overall advantage in shots with a 6-3 lead in the second half and a 6-1 advantage in overtime. 15 of those shots were on target, forcing the Charleston Southern goalkeeper to make 14 saves in the match.

Georgia Southern’s netminder, Katie Merson, made five saves to lift her season total to 40 saves for the year. She has a 0.58 goals against average, allowing five goals in 780 minutes between the pipes.

Georgia Southern opens Southern Conference play next weekend at home with games against Samford and Chattanooga. GSU faces the Bulldogs on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. before the Mocs come to Eagle Field on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.

 

No. 24 Santa Clara 4, UNCG 2

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The UNCG women's soccer team scored two second-half goals but fell to WAC favorite Santa Clara 4-2 Friday night at the Buck Shaw Stadium at the Santa Clara Classic. The Broncos are ranked 24^th nationally by Soccer America. 

In the first half, the Spartans fell behind early after Dani Weatherholt collected a ball outside the box and blasted a low liner into the back of the net.

UNCG (3-4) came out with a different look defensively, putting five back on defense to defuse the offensive attack of Santa Clara. The Blue and Gold held the Broncos to just four shots on goal in the first half.

Freshman goalkeeper Jamie Simmons kept the match close with three first-half saves.

Just two minutes into the second half, Santa Clara increased its lead to 2-0 as Sofia Huerta laced a ball into the net at the lower left corner.

In the 58th minute, UNCG climbed back as junior defender Lauren Lover raced down the left side and placed a perfect cross to the center of the box, where freshman Chesney White tapped in her team-leading third goal of the season.

The Broncos regained a two-goal lead just four minutes later as Brooke Rice scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-1 Santa Clara.

Huerta added her second goal of the game after firing home a score from inside the box to give the Broncos a 4-1 advantage.

The Spartans would not go away, adding a nice goal off a free kick from senior Cat Barnekow, who bent a ball into the back of the net from just outside the box in the 69^th minute. Barnekow’s goal capped a stretch of four goals scored in less than a 12-minute span.

Simmons finished with six saves in net for the Blue and Gold.

UNCG plays its final nonconference game against No. 3 Stanford on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

 

Kennesaw State 2, Samford 1

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford University women’s soccer team suffered its first home defeat in over a year Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a physical 2-1 contest against the Kennesaw State Owls in a hard-fought nonconference matchup held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

Prior to Friday’s setback, Samford’s previous home loss was 4-2 defeat versus Auburn on Sept. 9, 2011. The Bulldogs own a 9-4-1 record when playing at the 17-month-old Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

Kennesaw State (4-4) scored both of its goals in the first 21 minutes of play. The Owls’ dynamic goal-scorer Danielle Gray notched her fifth goal of the season in the fourth minute before Jewelia Strickland bounced home a 45-yard free kick at 20:49.

Strickland’s high, one-hopping goal was her first score of the 2012 season.

At halftime, Samford (3-4) was outshooting Kennesaw State, 7-4, but trailed in the match 2-0. The Bulldogs were getting a number of viable scoring opportunities, just not finding the back of the net. Samford’s Brittany Hoffman rattled off five shot attempts in the opening 45 minutes of play, while junior Michelle Moll and sophomore Joy Grove attempted one shot apiece.

In the second half of play, Samford increased its offensive pressure on Kennesaw State and added 18 more shot attempts.

The Owls’ goalkeeper, Melissa Hutto, registered nine key saves in the second half alone and finished the contest with 10 stops. Kennesaw State’s wily senior from Pensacola, Fla., made a number of diving, goal-saving stops, and the Bulldogs also hit either the crossbar or the post five times.

In the ninth minute of the second half, Samford was fouled in the box and was awarded with a penalty kick at exactly 53:30. Jordan Johnson, the Bulldogs’ junior transfer from Florida State, took the penalty kick and rifled a shot that caromed off the right post and bounded back to Grove at the 15-yard mark. Grove then fired a shot that nearly gave Samford its first score of the match, but it barely missed high.

Midway through the second half, Samford’s Amanda Abbott tallied her first goal of the season as she trimmed Kennesaw State’s lead to 2-1 in the 74th minute of action. On Abbott’s score, Joy Grove dribbled her way past a pair of Owl defenders at the top of the box and slipped forward a pass perfectly to Abbott on the left flank. Abbott took a couple of touches and then fired the shot far post for the goal.

The assist was Grove’s first of the season.

Samford played Friday without the services of reigning SoCon Player of the Week Kaley Blanton. Blanton, who scored three goals last week en route to all-tournament honors at the 2012 Cardinal Classic, was forced to sit out the contest with a leg injury.

Following Abbott’s goal, Samford’s offensive attack was further emboldened and play was consistently forced to Kennesaw State’s half of the field. The Bulldogs continued to blast shot after shot late in the half, but the Owls were able to thwart Samford’s efforts.

The Bulldogs outnumbered Kennesaw State in corner kicks, 8-1, and outshot the Owls 25-6.

A total of 18 players saw the field for Samford on Friday, while Kennesaw State only used 12. The Bulldogs were obviously the more rested team late in the match, but the Owls didn’t back down a bit.

The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their brief two-match homestand versus the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in an in-state duel to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.

 

Jacksonville 1, College of Charleston 0

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The College of Charleston women’s soccer team fell 1-0 at the Ashley Sports Complex on Friday evening after the Dolphins scored with two seconds remaining in the first period.

After 44 minutes of scoreless back-and-forth play, the Dolphins sent the ball into the Cougars’ box in the dying seconds of the half. After the ball rattled around in the congested area, Brooke Comans managed to get the ball to Marie Weckhurst, who chipped it into the back of the net with two seconds showing on the clock.

The game was well-balanced and evenly played, but the Cougars narrowly missed capitalizing on their chances and suffered the loss.

Mauri Harrison demonstrated her two-way play in the 20th minute when she got back to the goal line to block away a shot that Sarah Moghadas took when she collected a rebound and looked toward what she thought was an empty net.

Moments later, Harrison got down to the other end of the pitch and put a quality header toward the top of the net, but Dolphin goalkeeper Hannah Allerton was able to get her fingers to it and thwart CofC’s finest chance to that point in the game.

Eli Sarasola made her CofC debut in goal in the second half after being granted eligibility earlier this week. Sarasola did well in organizing her defense and challenging balls and also made two high-quality saves in the 45 minutes she played.

The Cougars’ season now starts over, in a sense, as they now look forward to the all-important Southern Conference portion of their season. CofC opens SoCon play next weekend by hosting Wofford on Friday at 7 p.m.