Furman 4, UNCG 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Stephanie DeVita netted two goals and added an assist, while senior India Robinson notched a goal and an assist to lead Furman to a 4-1 victory over UNCG in Southern Conference women’s soccer action at UNCG Stadium on Friday night.
The victory improved the Paladins to 11-3-2 overall and 5-1-2 in SoCon play. With the win, Furman clinched a top-four finish in the regular-season standings and home-field advantage in the quarterfinal round of the SoCon tournament on Nov. 2, at Stone Soccer Stadium. The loss dropped UNCG to 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-1 in the league.
Jamie Alexander, who set an NCAA record by scoring four goals in a span of 5:38 in Sunday’s win over Chattanooga, opened the scoring for the Paladins at the 15:27 mark. DeVita’s attempt inside the box was blocked into the path of Alexander on the right side of the box and the junior from Martinez, Ga., drilled a shot toward the roof of the net to give Furman a 1-0 lead. The goal marked Alexander’s eighth of the season.
With less than seven minutes remaining before halftime, DeVita bagged the first of her two goals on the night. Senior Alyssa Althoff slotted a pass to the Simpsonville, S.C., native inside the UNCG box and DeVita fired past Spartan goalkeeper Chloe Buehler at the 38:57 mark.
In the 67th minute, DeVita upped the Paladin lead to 3-0 with her 11th goal of the campaign. Robinson played a pass to DeVita, who finished at the 66:23 mark to move into sole possession of third place on Furman’s career goals list with 45. Robinson’s assist, her 15th of the season, marked the 48th of her Paladin career.
After Chesney White found the corner of the net at 70:54 to help UNCG avoid the shutout, Robinson capped the scoring by volleying a shot past Buehler at the 72:41 mark for her first goal of the season and the final 4-1 margin. Sophomore Carlie Couch was credited with the assist on the score.
Furman managed an 18-12 edge in shot attempts and 11-7 advantage in shots on goal. Junior Rose Hull stopped six shots to earn the victory in net, while Buehler made six saves for the Spartans.
The Paladins cap the regular season on Sunday afternoon when they face VMI in Lexington, Va. The 1 p.m. contest marks the first meeting between the Paladins and Keydets.
UNCG returns Sunday for its final home regular-season match against Wofford on Senior Day. Ashley Stokes will be honored before the game for her contributions to the program.
Mercer 8, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Mercer women’s soccer team rolled past Chattanooga, 8-1, on Friday night at Finley Stadium.
The Bears improved to 11-4-2 overall and 6-0-2 in Southern Conference play to reclaim the top spot in the standings. The Mocs moved to 1-15-1 on the season and 0-8 in league action.
Mercer took an early 1-0 lead when Washida Blackman found the back of the goal just 3:12 into the game. Blackman was assisted by Maddie Clark, who put the Bears up 2-0 in the 10th minute after getting the ball from Sarah Daane on a free kick and sending it into the goal. Mercer took a 3-0 lead when Brianna Stampler scored in the 27th minute. Stampler was assisted by Daane.
The Bears started the second half just as dominant and went up 4-0 when Sydney Brogden scored in the 54th minute off a deflected ball. The Mocs scored their only goal of the game and moved the score to 4-1 in the 56th minute off a Melanie Arredondo free kick from the right side.
Lauren Gassie scored two goals in 58 seconds to increase Mercer’s advantage to 6-1 in the 72nd minute. Gassie’s first goal was unassisted to the top right corner of the net and Stephanie Giangiuli assisted on the second goal.
Kim Murphy stretched the Bears’ lead to 7-1 in the 77th minute and again to 8-1 in the 86th minute. Murphy was assisted by Valeria Bermeo on the first goal and MacKenzie Stewart on the second.
As a team, Mercer outshot Chattanooga, 26-10, including 15-2 in the first half. The Bears also controlled the corner kick count, 6-3.
Both Maggie Cropp and Cristina Mursuli saw time between the pipes, with Cropp playing the first half and Mursuli on the field in the second. Mursuli made both of Mercer’s saves.
The Bears will conclude regular-season play on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT in Birmingham, Ala., when Mercer takes on Samford.
Chattanooga will close out the regular season Sunday afternoon at home against The Citadel. Prior to the match, the Mocs will honor its seniors, Crystal Mackezyk, Arredondo and Taylor Pannell.
Wofford 5, VMI 0
LEXINGTON, Va. – Hannah Washko had two second-half goals to help break open a close match and send the Wofford Terriers past the VMI Keydets, 5-0, in Southern Conference women's soccer action Friday at VMI's Patchin Field in Lexington.
With the win, Wofford clinched the No. 7 seed in the upcoming SoCon tournament.
With Wofford (6-9, 3-5 SoCon) holding a 2-0 lead early in the second half, Washko scored off a counter and a Mary Beth Bleekrode chip in the 58th minute for a 3-0 lead. She then added on in the 63rd minute, tallying off a rebound, for her second goal of the match and fourth of the year. Wofford added an additional score with just over 14 minutes remaining to account for the final margin.
The loss Friday, coupled with The Citadel’s loss at Samford, means that VMI will be the No. 8 seed for this year’s SoCon tournament, which begins Wednesday afternoon.
The action got underway with a bang on the clear, unseasonably warm day in Lexington, as the Keydets had the first threat. Kristen Whitehurst had a 1 vs. 1 with Kara Boggs, the Wofford keeper, less than two minutes into the match, but Boggs made a sliding save to preserve the scoreless tie.
That seemed to set the tone for the match, as Wofford turned the momentum from there. The Terriers got on the board in the 20th minute. Maureen Buff sent in a high, arcing pass over the defense and into the middle, where Annika Jansson settled the ball and scored from 12 yards out for a 1-0 Terrier lead.
Boggs stopped Killian Buckley at 30:21, and Wofford counterattacked in the 32nd minute. Vicky Hill played a cross to the left side of the box for Washko, who hit Bleekrode in stride in the middle for an open shot and a 2-0 Wofford advantage. That would be the score at halftime, thanks to six saves by Sydnie Bligh in goal. Bligh was pressed into duty in goal due to an injury sustained by Emily Marbury.
Wofford continued to push the pace in the second half, with Washko adding on at 57:04 and 62:56 to push the margin to 4-0. Buff tacked on the final score of the match in the 76th minute to account for the final margin.
The contest saw Wofford finish with a 29-2 edge in shots and a 6-4 advantage in corner kicks. Bligh made 12 saves in net for VMI, while Boggs stopped a pair of shots in the opening half for her only saves of the day.
Prior to the contest, the Keydets honored senior goalkeeper Kirsten Hancock with a brief ceremony and ceremonial kickoff. Hancock has battled thyroid cancer for the past 18 months, and the Keydets made Friday's game a "Shut Out Cancer Game" to honor Hancock and raise awareness of the disease.
VMI women’s soccer will return to action Sunday, taking on Furman at 1 p.m. at Patchin Field. Before the match, VMI’s seven seniors will be honored in an on-field ceremony that will start at approximately 12:40 p.m.
Wofford closes its regular season Sunday at UNCG at 2 p.m.
Samford 3, The Citadel 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For 45 minutes Friday, it seemed as if the Samford soccer team's hopes for a Southern Conference regular-season title might be dashed by a familiar culprit, but the Bulldogs came out in the second half of play and surged for three quick goals en route to a key 3-1 home victory over The Citadel Bulldogs held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Samford's senior class was honored prior to the match and with a win Sunday against Mercer, the Bulldogs' Amanda Abbott, Katie Danehy, Brittany Hoffman and Melissa Montgomery will be able to close out their careers as conference champions. That contest is slated for 2 p.m. (CDT) at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Samford (11-7, 6-2 SoCon) fell behind midway through the first half as The Citadel's Lea Raedle notched her fifth goal of the season with a tally in the 23rd minute. Raedle's score was set up by a perfectly placed crossing pass from Montana Hinson. The assist was Hinson's second of the season.
The Citadel (5-13, 1-7 SoCon) took a 1-0 lead into halftime despite being outshot by the Bulldogs, 8-3, in the opening 45 minutes of action.
Samford came out full speed in the second period and flipped into attack mode on the offensive side of the field.
The Bulldogs rattled off 14 shot attempts in the final period alone and quickly scored in the 54th minute to even the match at 1-1. Samford's equalizing goal came off the foot of sophomore Jermaine Seoposenwe, as she rifled home a shot into the top shelf from 20 yards out. The score proved to be Seoposenwe's seventh of the season.
Seoposenwe played a crucial role in all three of Samford's goals Friday. She scored the team's first goal at 53:45 and then assisted on the Bulldogs' final two scores. Seoposenwe leads Samford with 22 points this season (seven goals and eight assists).
Junior Ariane Lukens gathered a corner kick from Seoposenwe and knocked home the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute.
Lukens' score was her third of the season and her first game-winner of the 2014 campaign. She gave Samford its decisive 2-1 advantage at exactly 62:31.
The Bulldogs' Abbott came through in the clutch Friday with a key insurance score in the 69th minute of play. Abbott currently leads the team with eight goals this season and is ranked among the top five goal-scorers in Samford history.
The Bulldogs outshot The Citadel, 22-5, and won the corner kick battle, 11-2.
Samford goalkeeper Anna Maddox tallied the 11th victory of her promising career and tallied three outstanding saves.
With a win Sunday against Mercer, the Bulldogs would garner at least a share of the 2014 SoCon regular-season championship.
Mercer heads into the weekend undefeated in SoCon play and as the first-place team in the conference standings with a 6-0-2 record. The Bears defeated Chattanooga, 8-1, on Friday.
The Citadel closes the regular season Sunday at Chattanooga at 1 p.m.