Furman 3, Davidson 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Furman women’s soccer team tallied three first-half goals en route to a 3-1 victory over Davidson on Sunday at Stone Soccer Stadium, and the Paladins clinched the 2013 Southern Conference regular-season title moments after the final whistle when Samford earned a 1-1 draw at second-place Elon.
Furman, 13-3-2 overall and 7-1-1 in the SoCon, captured their first league regular-season crown since 2003 and earned the No. 1 seed in next week’s SoCon tournament. The Paladins will host Wofford in Wednesday’s regular-season finale before hosting a team yet to be determined on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the quarterfinal round.
It took the Paladins less than six minutes to surge in front of Davidson (5-10-4, 3-5-1) on Senior Day at Seagraves Field. Freshman Carlie Couch dribbled across the top of the box from left to right before ripping a shot past Wildcat goalkeeper Rachel Locke and into the left corner at the 5:29 mark.
In the 29th minute, Couch played a ball from the right wing into the box that deflected to sophomore Stephanie DeVita. The Simpsonville, S.C., product took a touch before burying her team-leading 12th goal of the season at 28:10.
Less than three minutes after DeVita’s tally, Couch scored her second goal of the afternoon and 10th of the season. After taking a pass in the midfield, the Tifton, Ga., native raced past two Davidson defenders before once again depositing her shot into the far left corner.
With her two-goal, one-assist performance, Couch leads all SoCon players with nine goals and 23 total points during SoCon play.
Davidson’s Dani Johnson pulled a goal back from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, but Furman goalkeeper Rose Hull registered two saves to keep the Paladins in front and up her record to 9-1-1 between the pipes this season.
Locke took the loss for Davidson after finishing with eight saves.
Furman finished the match with a 17-4 advantage in shot attempts and 11-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Paladins kickoff versus Wofford at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Davidson concludes the regular season Wednesday at Georgia Southern at 7 p.m.
Western Carolina 4, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sophomore forward Markie-Lynn Studnicky scored a pair of goals, pacing Western Carolina to a key 4-0 win over The Citadel on Sunday at WLI Field.
With losses Sunday by Davidson and Georgia Southern, Western Carolina (9-8-1, 3-6 SoCon) has seen its fate fall firmly at its feet in regards to a spot in the Southern Conference tournament. Western Carolina’s pass into the SoCon tournament rests solely on its end-of-the-season game against rival Appalachian State, as has been for the last three years.
Western Carolina hosts Appalachian State at 7 p.m. Wednesday in its final home game of the year. A Catamount victory against Appalachian State would assure Western Carolina of a spot in the 2013 Southern Conference tournament. The Catamounts can also make the tournament with a tie and Davidson win over Georgia Southern. A loss will keep Western Carolina out of the tourney.
The two teams above Western Carolina in the standings, Georgia Southern and Davidson, each have 10 points and face each other Wednesday, with the Catamounts standing with nine points. A Catamount victory would give WCU 12 points, vaulting the Catamounts over the loser between Georgia Southern and Davidson, as the loser would end the regular season with 10 points.
The loss ended The Citadel's hopes for a berth in the conference playoffs. The Bulldogs (5-10-2, 3-7 SoCon) have nine points on the strength of their three league wins, but eight teams have already reached the 10-point mark. The game against Western was the final SoCon contest of the season for The Citadel.
In the key victory against The Citadel on Sunday, Western Carolina unloaded for four goals.
Scoreless for the first 30 plus minutes of the match, Western Carolina got a late goal before the end of the first half. Senior Kayla Sedgley notched her second goal of the season when she took a pass from freshman Mercedes Ducker sneaking ahead of the defense to take a shot in the middle of the box for the score.
Western Carolina didn’t waste any time at the start of the second half. Studnicky notched the first of her two goals in the game 57 seconds into the second half. Taking a pass from freshman Kasey Cooke, Studnicky’s shot hit the crossbar, dropped over the goal line and went in.
At 59:43, sophomore Kelly Pannell scored her eighth goal on the year, and third over the last two games, converting a cross from junior forward Caitlyn Bradham. Studnicky added her second goal of the game from a cross by Christine Cockrell at midfield and fired a sliding shot into the goal. It was also Studnicky’s third goal over the last two games.
Western Carolina’s offensive onslaught was oppressive against The Citadel, as it has been in previous games this season. The Catamounts’ aggressive nature paid off with the four definitive goals. Overall, Western Carolina had 22 shots in the game, with The Citadel having 14. The Bulldogs had six shots on goal, all resulting in saves from freshman goal keeper Carly Tinstman.
The Citadel wraps up its season on Wednesday with a nonconference game against Francis Marion at WLI Field beginning at 2 p.m.
Wofford 2, Georgia Southern 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. –Wofford put on a great team performance on Senior Day as it defeated Georgia Southern 2-0 to clinch a berth in the Southern Conference tournament. This will be the first tournament appearance for the Terriers since 2010.
With the win, Wofford improved to 8-3-5 overall and 4-1-4 in the Southern Conference. The Eagles fell to 5-10-2 overall and 3-5-1 in Southern Conference play with the loss.
Sophomore forward Chloe Brackett would strike first for the Terriers in the 17th minute, when she received a pass from senior forward Emily Bougas, beat two defenders and placed a shot past the goalkeeper into the lower left side of the goal to give the team a 1-0 advantage.
The Eagles would then test senior goalkeeper Kimberly Cohn in the 25th minute, but she would save Sydnie Van Curen’s attempt on goal.
Brackett would have another great opportunity inside the box one minute later, but her effort hit the woodwork and went out of play.
Wofford would create several more opportunities in the half, outshooting the Eagles 6-2, but it could not find a second as the Terriers would hold their 1-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Georgia Southern would have a great opportunity to score in the 70th minute, when Wofford committed a foul outside the box, setting up a free kick for the Eagles. Nora El-Shami took the set piece, but her shot attempt sailed just right of the goal.
Several minutes later, junior forward Annika Jansson had a shot on goal that forced Georgia Southern goalkeeper Molly Williams to make a great save, pushing the ball out of play in the 74th minute.
Caitlin Tongco then had an opportunity to find an equalizer in the 76th minute, but her shot missed wide left of the goal.
Wofford would continue the pressure with another great chance from Brackett in the 83rd minute, but her shot was saved by Williams.
Undaunted, the Eagles created a great chance moments later when El-Shami had a shot on goal, but Cohn made another great save, keeping the Terrier lead with less than seven minutes remaining.
Two seniors for the Terriers would put the game away for good on Senior Day in the 90th minute as midfielder Alex Kachulis scored a header just outside the 6-yard box off of a cross from midfielder Maggie Bosley to give Wofford the 2-0 victory.
For the match, the Terriers outshot the Eagles 11-6, but Georgia Southern would edge out Wofford in the corner battle 5-4.
In net for Wofford, Cohn continued her outstanding season so far, posting her fifth straight shutout and her SoCon-leading ninth of the season as she earned her eighth win. She faced six Georgia Southern shots and made two saves. For Georgia Southern, Williams fell to her fifth loss of the season, facing 11 Terrier shots and making two saves.
Wofford returns to action for its final regular-season match on Wednesday when it travels to Greenville, S.C., to take on the Paladins of Furman University at 7 p.m.
The Southern Conference tournament begins on Sunday, Nov. 3. The opponent, location, and time that Wofford will play are to be determined later in the upcoming week.
Georgia Southern hosts Davidson to close out the regular season on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
UNCG 5, Chattanooga 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s soccer team downed Chattanooga 5-0 Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, UNCG improved to 10-6-2, 5-2-2 in the Southern Conference, jumping to third place in the league standings with one conference game remaining. The Spartans have 17 points, trailing Elon’s 18. Appalachian State and Wofford are tied for fourth at 16 points, while Samford is in sixth with 14 points.
UNCG struck first in the fifth minute after senior Christina Chai-Chang fed classmate Lauren Lover, who finished inside the box to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. It was Lover’s first goal of the season and second career tally.
Five minutes later, freshman Kelsi Peters crossed a ball into the box, where sophomore Zoe Fishman one-touched into the net for her first goal of the season.
The Spartans made it 3-0 in the 20th minute after sophomore Jamie Simmons booted a kick down the field and sophomore Katherine Rodriguez collected the bouncing ball and beat the keeper.
UNCG finished the first half with 14 shots to just four for Chattanooga.
In the second half, the Spartans continued to put the pressure on the Mocs, having multiple opportunities to increase their lead.
In the 75th minute, Chattanooga kicked in an own goal off a Rodriguez corner kick to give UNCG a 4-0 advantage.
Sophomore Candice Forbes put home her second goal of the season in the 84th minute after a pretty setup from freshman Katelyn Mountjoy.
Simmons finished the game with two saves, splitting time with senior Rachel Collins.
UTC senior keeper Taylor Mangrum had seven saves through the first half, giving up three goals, while sophomore Lauren Thomas played the second and made five saves with two goals against.
UNCG took a season-high 23 shots and scored a season-best five goals heading into its instate showdown against Elon on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. Before the game, the Spartans will honor their four seniors.
Chattanooga wraps up its season Wednesday at Samford.
Elon 1, Samford 1 (2OT)
ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s soccer team played its final regular-season home game on Sunday at Rudd Field, battling the Samford Bulldogs to a 1-1 draw.
Elon moved to 11-2-5 (5-1-3 Southern Conference) with the tie and remained unbeaten at home. Samford went to 11-5-2 (4-3-2 SoCon) with the draw.
The lone scoring threat by either side in the first period happened in the 27th minute, as Nicole Dennion earned a 22-yard free kick for Olivia Mackey. Mackey’s bending strike sailed just left of the post, however.
Samford took a 1-0 lead in the 63rd minute after a Kelley Malcanisha score following a deflection in the box off a corner kick.
Catherine Brinkman nearly tied the game at 1-all in the 75th minute, but her header deflected off the post. But the senior from Clearwater, Fla., hit the equalizer two minutes later, ripping a penalty kick into the back right corner to knot it at 1-all. Brinkman’s classmate Kimmie Krauss drew the penalty for the Phoenix, as the senior was fouled inside the box after breaking out along the left side of the pitch.
Neither squad could push across the golden goal in overtime, however. Elon took three corners in the extra sessions, while Samford took two. The Bulldogs outshot Elon 4-1 in the two overtime sessions.
Sydney Branson played all 110 minutes for the Phoenix, tallying two saves.
Elon closes out the regular season on Wednesday at UNCG.
Samford will close out its 2013 regular-season schedule Wednesday as the Bulldogs return home to face the Chattanooga Lady Mocs. The contest will begin at 7 p.m. (CDT) at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Appalachian State 1, Francis Marion 0
FLORENCE, S.C. – Appalachian State topped Francis Marion 1-0 Sunday in its final nonconference match of the season.
Appalachian State (8-5-4) was able to get its only goal of the game in the 52nd minute of the game, when Merlin Beckwith sent in a cross from the left side of the box and Amber Miller was able to finish it off with a header goal. The goal for Miller was her first of the season, while the assist from Beckwith was her fifth of the year.
Starting in goal for the Mountaineers was junior Jordan Hatton and marked just the third start of her career and the first of 2013. Hatton made three saves on the day and earned her second career clean sheet in the contest.
The Mountaineers outshot the Patriots on the day 9-8, including six shots on goal to Francis Marion’s four. Appalachian held the edge in corner kicks 4-3.
Appalachian State will return to action on Wednesday when it travels to Western Carolina for the final game of the season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Cullowhee, N.C.