UNCG 3, High Point 1
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Freshman Katelyn Mountjoy scored two second half goals to give UNCG a convincing 3-1 victory against in-state rival High Point on Friday night at Vert Stadium.
UNCG improved to 4-1 on the season, while the Panthers fell to 0-3 on the year.
In the second half, Mountjoy scored back-to-back goals three minutes apart. Mountjoy collected a cross from sophomore Candice Forbes and put home her first collegiate goal. Three minutes later, Mountjoy struck a ball just outside the box and found the lower right corner for goal No. 2 of the game.
UNCG finished the contest with nine shots that included three from sophomore Chesney White, who finished with a goal in the first half.
High Point would not go away, scoring a goal in the 79th minute after Kelli Joline found a rebound and scored to make the score 3-1 UNCG.
In the 19th minute, UNCG took an early lead after junior Ashley Stokes crossed a ball into the box, where White headed home her second goal of the season.
In the 16th minute, White put a strong strike on goal but High Point keeper Ivy Cocklereece made the save.
UNCG took four shots in the first half and sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Simmons made two saves to keep the Panthers off the board.
Simmons finished with six saves, allowing her first regulation goal of the season. Simmons has 27 saves and has allowed just two goals in 480:50 played this season.
UNCG hosts Georgia in its home opener Sunday at 2 p.m. at the UNCG Soccer Stadium. The Spartans are promoting the game as a Gold Out for fans to wear gold to support UNCG women’s soccer fight against childhood cancer.
Georgia Southern 2, Stetson 1
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern earned the breakthrough win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Stetson at home ground. The Eagles improve to 1-3-0 on the season as freshman Jennifer Wittick scored twice to open her collegiate scoring account.
The victory was not only Georgia Southern’s first win of the season, but it was the first Division I victory for head coach Brian Dunleavy.
After a nervy opening quarter of an hour, Georgia Southern posted a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute off the head of Wittick. She got on the end of a through ball played in by Jessie Eberhardt. The goal was Wittick’s first official collegiate goal after the freshman’s tally last Sunday at High point was erased when the match was abandoned.
The Eagles went 2-0 up in the 23rd minute on Wittick’s second goal of the evening. McKenna Storey started the play by winning the ball at the midfield stripe. She played a long ball to Wittick, who clinically finished from 13 yards.
Stetson struck back just 41 seconds later with a goal by Alyssa Welsh. A corner kick was knocked around the penalty area and ultimately finished by Welsh from 4 yards out to cut the Eagle advantage to 2-1.
That, however, would be all the scoring as the Eagles finished out the match without much drama.
Georgia Southern won the shots battle, 10-6, and held a 6-2 lead in shots on goal.
The Eagles will be off for the next week and return to action against Charleston Southern on Friday at 7 p.m. at Eagle Field.
Southern Methodist 3, Davidson 0
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Southern Methodist’s Shelby Redman had a goal and an assist in helping push the Mustangs past Davidson, 3-0, Friday evening at Alumni Stadium in women’s soccer action.
SMU (3-2) scored a pair of goals in the first half and tacked on one more by Redman in the second half to win its third game of the season. Also scoring was Taylor Brag and Kelsey Gorney, with Jessica Bartol and Courtney Smith adding assists.
The Wildcats fell to 0-2-3 on the year and had their three-game shutout streak snapped. Rachel Locke finished with five saves in goal to give her 25 on the season.
Davidson put three of its seven shots on goal, with Jenni Isaac’s shot in the 6-yard box coming the closest to going into the back of the net off a corner kick. SMU finished with 13 shots, putting eight of them on goal.
Davidson wraps the weekend up by hitting the road for a 1 p.m. contest at Clemson on Sunday. The teams played to a 1-1 tie at Alumni Stadium last year.
Texas 2, Samford 0
AUSTIN, Texas – After coming off back-to-back home victories against Tennessee and Auburn, the Samford University women’s soccer team ran into a tough road test Friday as the Bulldogs dropped a 2-0 decision against the Texas Longhorns in front of 605 burnt-orange clad fans at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
With the loss, Samford (2-2) moved to 0-2 on the road this season and 0-2 all-time against Texas (2-2-1). On Aug. 23, the Bulldogs opened their 2013 campaign with a 2-0 setback at Memphis. Samford’s first meeting with the Longhorns occurred Aug. 22, 2008, as the eighth-ranked Texas posted a 4-0 season-opening win.
On Friday, in the Bulldogs’ first of two road matches this weekend, Texas received first-half goals from Kelsey Shimmick and Gabby Zarnegar.
Shimmick, a 5-foot-7 sophomore forward from Grapevine, Texas, gave the Longhorns an early 1-0 lead in the 18th minute as she connected on an improbable bicycle kick for her first goal of the season. Shimmick’s game-winning score was assisted by freshman defender Isabelle Kerr.
With Shimmick’s goal at 17:24 in the first half, Samford goalkeeper Katie Peters had her scoreless streak snapped at an impressive 261:49 minutes. Since allowing a pair of first-half goals at Memphis in her first collegiate match, she has registered back-to-back shutouts against SEC foes Tennessee and Auburn. Heading into Friday’s contest, Peters owned a stellar 0.67 goals-against average this season.
Texas’ second goal occurred in the 36nd minute of play and was scored by Zarnegar on a left-footed kick from just inside the 18-yard box. Zarnegar’s goal gave the Longhorns a 2-0 lead in the match and was assisted by both Katie Gernsbacher and Brenda Saucedo.
Following Texas’ second goal in the first half, Samford’s defense fell into a rhythm and buckled down to keep the Longhorns scoreless for the remainder of the match.
The Bulldogs finished Friday’s contest with seven shot attempts and strung together a few good scoring chances. True freshman Malcanisha Kelley paced Samford with four shots, while Alissa Hansen, Amanda Abbott and Olivia Cole each rattled off a shot apiece.
Samford will next be in action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs conclude their two-match Texas road swing against the UTSA Roadrunners in another tough nonconference contest. Sunday’s matchup will be held at the UTSA Rec Sports Complex (1,000) in San Antonio.