Elon 4, Furman 3
ELON, N.C. – Kelly Siewers’ game-winner in the 88th minute helped the Elon University women’s soccer team remain unbeaten at home, as the Phoenix upended the first-place Furman Paladins 4-3 at Rudd Field.
With the match tied at 3-all late and the clock ticking down, Siewers took a pass from Sarah Henson inside the Furman box and ripped it into the back of the net near the right post for her second score, giving Elon a 4-3 lead.
Elon (8-2-3, 2-1-2 Southern Conference) held off the high-powered Paladins for the remaining two minutes, handing Furman (10-3-1, 4-1 Southern Conference) its first Southern Conference loss and snapping the team’s 10-match unbeaten streak and nine-match regular season winning streak against SoCon competition. It marked the first loss for the Paladins in SoCon play since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Elon on Oct. 7, 2012, at Stone Stadium.
Furman looked to be on its way to an eighth consecutive win after taking a 2-0 lead in the opening 17 minutes. Hannah Stanifer led Jamie Alexander with a pass and the sophomore shot to the right side to beat Elon’s Kate Murphy to give the Paladins a 1-0 lead at the 13:23 mark. At the 16:48 mark, freshman Carlie Couch doubled the margin with a shot to the right corner on assists from India Robinson and Alexander. Robinson’s assist was her nation-leading 13th of the season.
Elon’s Kendall Stanley made it a one-goal game just before intermission after heading in a Kimmie Krauss cross near the right post in 36th minute.
Olivia Mackey hit the equalizer minutes into the second period after blasting a shot from nearly 40 yards out off the left post and into the net for the score to make it a 2-2 match.
But the Paladins responded, as Couch registered her second score of the match in the 54th minute off a Kristen Baker cross to put Elon behind, 3-2.
Elon, which took seven corners in the match, finally got one of its set pieces to score when it counted, as Siewers headed in a Mackey corner in the 79th minute to knot it at 3-all. Siewers proved to be the hero again minutes later, scoring the game-winner in the 88th minute.
The Paladins ended the match with an 18-10 edge in shots, putting nine on frame to Elon’s six. Furman and Elon went into Sunday’s match ranked seventh and 10th in the nation in scoring, respectively.
The 4-3 defeat marked just the second time all season that Furman had allowed more than one goal in a match and first time the Paladins had allowed four goals since a 4-1 loss to UNCG on Oct. 17, 2010.
Furman continues its four-match SoCon road trip next weekend when it travels to Cullowhee, N.C., to face Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on Appalachian State in Boone, N.C., on Sunday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m.
Elon returns to action on Friday at Georgia Southern.
Samford 2, Appalachian State 1
BOONE, N.C. – With Sunday’s match knotted at 1-1 and just 1:38 remaining on the clock, Samford’s Malcanisha Kelley scored the game-winning goal to lift the Bulldogs’ soccer team to a thrilling 2-1 road triumph against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in a huge Southern Conference matchup held at the Appalachian Soccer Stadium.
With the win, Samford (10-3-1, 4-1-1 SoCon) completed its weekend road sweep and improved to 4-3 when playing away from home this season. Samford owns a dominant 6-0-1 record at home this year.
Late in Sunday’s showdown, the Bulldogs and Appalachian State (6-5-2, 3-1-2 SoCon) were deadlocked at 1-1.
The extremely physical, hard-fought battle was apparently heading to overtime before junior Amanda Abbott nearly tallied her second goal of the match with less than two minutes remaining.
Abbott rifled a shot attempt on goal that bounded off the Mountaineers’ goalkeeper, Megan Roberson. The ball then bounced toward the middle of the 18-yard box where, the Bulldogs’ Kelley cleaned up the loose possession and fired the game-winning goal into the back of the net.
Kelley’s score proved to be her fourth of the 2013 campaign, as well as her third game-winner. Abbott was awarded with an assist on the play, her second of the season.
Samford improved to 5-0-1 all-time against Appalachian State and registered its seventh one-goal victory of the year. Since Sept. 26, 2010, the Bulldogs have compiled an unbelievable 17-1-2 record against SoCon opponents on the road.
Appalachian State had its five-match undefeated streak snapped Sunday. Prior to losing to Samford, the Mountaineers opened conference play with back-to-back ties against UNCG, 1-1, and Elon, 3-3, before rattling off a trio of consecutive wins over Georgia Southern, 3-1, Davidson, 2-1, and Chattanooga, 5-0.
The Bulldogs took a quick 1-0 lead in Sunday’s match when Abbott notched her team-high sixth goal of the 2013 campaign. At just 9:18 into the contest, Abbott took a perfectly placed pass from Jordan Johnson and beat Roberson for the goal.
The assist was Johnson’s fifth of the season, as she leads the team in the category.
Just over seven minutes following Abbott’s score, Appalachian State’s Samantha Childress equalized the match at 1-1 with her eighth goal of the 2013 campaign. On her score, Childress was assisted by Jane Cline.
Following Childress’ goal in the 17th minute, neither team scored again until Kelley’s game-winner in the 89th frame.
There were a total of 26 fouls in Sunday’s battle, with Appalachian State being whistled for 16 of the infractions. Samford outshot the Mountaineers, 12-8, and maintained a minor advantage in the corner kick comparison, 4-3.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., for a Senior Night matchup against The Citadel to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
The Apps will return to the pitch at Appalachian Soccer Stadium on Friday when they host Wofford. Kickoff for that game is at 7 p.m.
Western Carolina 1, Chattanooga 0 (OT)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Redshirt sophomore Kimberly Sullivan scored the golden goal in overtime to lift Western Carolina to a 1-0 victory over Chattanooga on Sunday at Finley Stadium.
Scoreless after regulation, Western Carolina (7-6-1, 2-4 Southern Conference) continued the offensive attack it had displayed all game. After two shots early in the overtime, the Catamounts were awarded their second corner kick in OT, setting up the score. Junior Madison Lee sent the corner kick to Sullivan, who scored off a header past Mocs goalkeeper Taylor Mangrum at the 98:44 mark. It was Sullivan's first goal of the season.
The Catamount defense was oppressive in the game, only allowing Chattanooga (4-9, 0-6 SoCon) three shots in the contest. Western Carolina had a total of 27 shots, 10 on goal, against the Mocs and also had 13 corner kicks.
Sophomore Markie-Lynn Studnicky had a quality look at the goal just before the end of regulation, but Mangrum picked up the save. It was one of three shots for Studnicky. Catamount leading scorer Kelly Pannell took eight shots in the match, three on goal, but it was Sullivan who got the big look. Sullivan had a total of four shots in the contest, with the header shot in the overtime turning out to be the key shot for the score.
The overtime contest is the third in the last four games for Western Carolina and the second straight. The Catamounts dropped a 2-1 decision against Samford on Friday.
Western Carolina returns home this weekend for family weekend and senior day on Sunday, Oct. 20. The Catamounts host Furman at 7 p.m. Friday and Wofford at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Chattanooga will step out of conference play to host Francis Marion on Friday night at Finley Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 3, The Citadel 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel twice battled back from deficits in the second half before a goal by Alex Murphy gave Georgia Southern the lead for good in a 3-2 victory over the Bulldogs in a Southern Conference women's soccer game Sunday at WLI Field.
The Citadel (3-8-2, 1-5 SoCon) got goals from Nicole Levermann and Jill Meyer, the latter tying the game with 6:49 remaining. But the Eagles (4-7-2, 2-2-1) responded just 20 seconds later, when Murphy corralled the ball inside the box and her shot hit off the crossbar and tucked inside the goal.
The loss was just the second in the past six games for the Bulldogs against the defending SoCon champions.
The Citadel peppered the Georgia Southern goal with 16 shots in the second half after trailing 1-0 at intermission on an Eagle goal by Nora El-Shami. The Bulldogs appeared to tie the game in the 60th minute when Levermann attempted to put in an indirect kick by Meyer, but the referees ruled that Levermann did not make contact with the ball, negating the tally.
It didn't take long after that for the Bulldogs to even the game for the first time, with Levermann tapping in a shot off a corner kick by Lea Raedle in the 68th minute for her second goal of the season and 14th of her career. Raedle's assist was her team-leading sixth of the year and came at the end of a stretch of four corners for The Citadel in just over a minute.
The Eagles retook the lead 10 minutes later when a Murphy shot was stopped by Naomi Carter, but Caitlin Tongco put in the rebound to give Georgia Southern a 2-1 advantage. It stayed that way for just six minutes, when a direct kick by Meyer was misjudged by Eagle netminder Molly Williams and found its way into the net to even the game at 2.
The goal was Meyer's first of the season to go along with three assists, and she has now scored five goals in her career.
Carter, the SoCon leader in saves, stopped nine Eagle shots and has 118 on the season, while Williams had five saves for Georgia Southern. The Bulldogs finished with a 20-18 advantage in shots after trailing 8-4 at halftime and attempted 13 corner kicks to four for the Eagles.
The Bulldogs hit the road for the final time during the regular season when they play at Samford on Friday and Chattanooga on Sunday, Oct. 20. The Citadel then plays its final three games at home, beginning with an Oct. 25 contest against Appalachian State.
Georgia Southern is back on the pitch Friday when it hosts Elon at 7 p.m.
UNCG 0, Wofford 0 (2OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women’s soccer team earned a point in Southern Conference play Sunday, tying UNCG 0-0 at Snyder Field.
With the tie, the Terriers moved to 6-3-3 overall and 2-1-2 in the Southern Conference. The Spartans moved to 7-5-2 overall and 2-1-2 in SoCon play.
In the first half, both teams had a couple of chances to score. Wofford had the first chance of the match when sophomore midfielder Mary Beth Bleekrode had a shot from 20 yards saved by Jamie Simmons in the fifth minute.
The Spartans had their first chance when Katie Durst had a header saved by senior goalkeeper Kimberly Cohn in the 15th minute. Alexis Thomas would then create another good opportunity for UNCG in the 34th minute, but her shot was saved by Cohn.
Wofford would close out the half with a good chance when sophomore forward Vicki Hill would have her shot off a cross saved by Simmons in the 43rd minute, keeping the game scoreless after 45 minutes of play.
At the beginning of the second half, both teams would have a couple of shots but none found the net. The first real opportunity of the half was created by sophomore forward Chloe Brackett of Wofford, who took a shot from 16 yards that was saved by Simmons in the 63rd minute.
Cohn would then be tested in the 73rd minute when she made an incredible diving save, preventing UNCG defender Georgia Brown’s shot from going into the upper right corner of the goal.
Wofford would then respond on the offensive end when senior midfielder Maggie Bosley fired a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box, but Simmons made a great diving save to her right to keep the game scoreless in the 79th minute.
Both teams battled it out for the rest of regulation, but neither team could find the goal as the match would head into overtime deadlocked at 0-0.
The best chance in overtime came in 107th minute when Brackett fired a shot that was blocked and then rifled the rebound toward net, only to see it saved by Simmons.
Wofford created a lot of pressure during the overtime period but was unable to find a winner as the match would end scoreless.
For the match, the Spartans outshot the Terriers 21-18 and also won the battle in corners 7-4.
In net for Wofford, Cohn earned her fifth shutout of the season, facing 21 UNCG shots and making six saves. For the Spartans, Simmons faced 18 Wofford shots and made seven saves, earning her sixth shutout of the season.
Wofford returns to action on Friday when it travels to Boone, N.C., to take on Appalachian State at 7 p.m. The next home match for the Terriers is on Friday, Oct. 25, when they host SoCon opponent Davidson on Snyder Field at 6 p.m.
UNCG returns to action Friday at Davidson at 7 p.m.
Davidson 4, Francis Marion 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The freshman duo of Ashley Finke and Kate Joss each scored their first two career goals and head coach Greg Ashton won his 100th game at Davidson as the Wildcats held on for a 4-3 win at Francis Marion on Sunday afternoon at Hartzler Field.
Joss’ second goal turned out to be the game-winner, as her rebound shot after Julia Singley’s shot was saved from 13 yards out broke up a 3-all tie in the 87th minute.
Ashton’s 100 wins also helped him move closer to becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history, as he is 18 victories away. In his 10th season, Ashton ran his record at Davidson to 100-76-24.
Davidson improved to 5-7-3 on the season, scoring a season-high four goals. The Wildcats needed all of them to hold off Francis Marion, which fell to 0-13.
Davidson grabbed an early 1-0 lead on Finke’s bending shot from 20 yards out in the first half. It was quickly answered just over a minute later, when Chanel Harris scored the first of her two goals on the day at the 20:29 mark.
Finke struck again at the 31:33 mark, as she put in a rebound goal off Jenni Isaac’s shot to make it 2-1. It was Isaac’s second assist in as many games.
Joss closed the half with a score in the 41st, when Becca Fisher fed her the ball and she struck it from about 20 yards out, arching it just past the Patriots’ keeper for a 3-1 lead.
Harris and Yasmin Bunter tied things up late in the second half with scores in the 72nd and 80th minutes before Joss broke up the tie with her winning goal.
Renae Cairns earned her second career win in goal, playing the whole second half. Lauren Skorb started the game, her first career start, stopping a pair of shots in first 45 minutes. Taylor O’Berry came up with seven saves for FMU.
Davidson had a 16-9 advantage on shots and earned a season-best nine corner kicks.
Davidson returns home to face Elon on Friday at 7 p.m. and then UNCG on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 20. The Wildcats will also celebrate 25 years of women’s soccer with festivities all weekend.