Furman 1, Georgia State 0 (OT)
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Junior Stephanie DeVita converted from the penalty spot in the 99th minute to lift the Furman women’s soccer team to a 1-0 overtime victory over Georgia State in the season opener for both teams on Friday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first overtime period, Furman freshman Rachel Shah curled a corner kick into the box that was cleared into her path. After the midfielder collected the loose ball, she dribbled across the upper left-hand corner of the 18-yard box where the ball popped up off of her foot and struck a Georgia State defender. The referee signaled a hand ball and DeVita buried the penalty kick into the left side of the net at the 98:19 mark to give the Paladins the 1-0 win.
Furman managed a 14-7 edge in shot attempts, including a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal for the match. DeVita created the best threat in the opening minutes of the match after beating her defender down the right wing, but her shot was smothered by Panther goalkeeper Brie Haynes. The Simpsonville, S.C., native came close again in the second half with a pair of headers that just cleared the crossbar and Shah narrowly missed giving Furman the lead midway through the second period when her shot across the face of goal was deflected wide of the post for a corner kick.
Georgia State registered just one shot on goal and only three total shots after intermission. Furman’s Rose Hull notched one save to claim the shutout, while Haynes stopped six shots for the Panthers.
The Paladins continue their homestand on Sunday afternoon when they host Auburn. Kickoff at Stone Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
The Citadel 1, USC Upstate 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Lea Raedle found the net off a rebound in the 63rd minute for the only goal of the game, giving The Citadel a 1-0 victory over USC Upstate in the women’s soccer season opener for both teams on Friday at WLI Field.
The Bulldogs won their home opener for the fourth time in the past six seasons and defeated the Spartans for the third time in four all-time meetings.
Despite being outshot 10-8, the Bulldogs had the better of the scoring opportunities. A hard shot by Ana Mesa was thwarted on a diving save by Upstate goalkeeper Ellen Bright in the 16th minute, and Karina Schneider was just high on a shot early in the second half.
The Citadel finally got on the board with 27:15 remaining in the game. Mady Riegel, one of three freshmen in the starting lineup, fired a shot that was saved by Bright in the lower right corner, but Raedle was on the spot to corral the rebound and tuck it past Bright to break the scoreless deadlock.
Raedle picked up where she left off a year ago, when she led the Bulldogs with seven assists and also scored five goals for a team-high 17 points and was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team.
Riegel, who was credited with two shots in her collegiate debut, was joined in the starting lineup by fellow first-year players Ray Brown and Shannon Weston. Three more freshmen – Tori Zeltner, Tinslee Dilday and Caroline Cashion – saw extensive action.
Naomi Carter, who led the SoCon with 141 saves last season, stopped four Upstate shots, while Bright made five saves. In addition to holding their slim advantage in shots, the Spartans also took eight corner kicks to five for the Bulldogs.
The Citadel hits the road on Sunday for a 6 p.m. game at Coastal Carolina before opening a four-game homestand against South Carolina State next Friday at 4 p.m.
Wofford 3, Gardner-Webb 2 (OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College women’s soccer team recovered from a 2-1 deficit with two unanswered goals to defeat Gardner-Webb in an overtime thriller, 3-2, in Friday evening’s season opener.
After 90 minutes, Wofford (1-0-0) and Gardner-Webb (0-1-0) were tied at 2, sending the first game of the season into overtime. Seven minutes later, Wofford celebrated its first victory, as Chelsea Turner crossed the ball in from the left side of the box, where sophomore forward Faith Lifer struck home the golden goal, her first of the season.
Senior Maureen Buff lived up to preseason expectations. The preseason all-conference selection scored both of Wofford’s goals in regulation. The first leveled the game at 1 in the 42nd minute, while the second sent the Terriers to overtime with just 17 minutes to spare.
Wofford swept Gardner-Webb statistically, dominating the shooting margin 24-11 and earning eight corners to the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ one.
The victory gives Wofford three wins in their last four season openers. The Terriers also defeated the Runnin’ Bulldogs in their 2012 season opener, 1-0.
Goals came early in the match. Shelby Hooe began by scoring for the Runnin’ Bulldogs in the 13th minute on a well-placed, lobbed through pass from defender Bri Nagle. Hooe found herself in a one-on-one situation with the keeper when she put the ball low and just out of reach.
The Terriers responded almost 30 minutes later, when freshman midfielder Hannah Washko ripped a shot on goal from just outside the penalty box. The goalie, Amy Schmitt, deflected the initial attempt before Buff rebounded the ball into the upper left corner for the equalizer. The game remained level into the half.
In the 67th minute, sophomore GWU forward Brandi Arey received a low pass in from forward Ashley Carmean, striking the top left corner for her first goal of the season.
Just six minutes later, Buff pulled through for the Terriers once again. An initial shot was deflected by keeper Krista Chauvin and gathered by Mary Beth Bleekrode. The junior crossed the ball into Buff, who then was able to beat the keeper on a low-placed shot and knot the game up.
Buff’s second equalizer brought the game to overtime, where Lifer propelled the team to victory.
Senior Kara Boggs earned her first win of the season in goal, while Chauvin’s record drops to 0-1-0.
The Terriers take to Snyder Field again on Sunday, where they will compete against Presbyterian College. The match begins at 6 p.m.
VMI 2, Howard 1
LEXINGTON, Va. – Freshman Emma Quirk scored early and senior Allie Segura broke a 1-1 tie with a penalty-kick goal in the 73rd minute, sending the VMI Keydets past the Howard Lady Bison, 2-1, in women’s soccer action Friday at Patchin Field. The matchup was the season opener for both teams and was VMI’s first women’s soccer match ever played as a member of the Southern Conference.
After Howard (0-1) had equaled Quirk’s 24th-minute goal with a 50th-minute tally, the Keydets (1-0) mounted a counterattack in the 73rd minute. A VMI player was pulled down inside the box in a scrum, resulting in a yellow card to HU’s Treschelle Gibson-Serrette. Segura took the resulting penalty kick and easily drilled it into the upper right-hand portion of the goal for the eventual game-winner and her first career goal.
The other key story was in net, where Sydnie Bligh moved from back line to goalkeeper and made six saves in her collegiate debut at the position. Her counterpart, Kyra Dickinson, was credited with one save.
With the victory, VMI grabbed its first season-opening win since defeating these Lady Bison 4-3 in 2011, and it defeated Howard for the third time in four season openers between the clubs. The Keydets have now won back-to-back home openers for the first time since 2007-08.
The opening 10 minutes of the contest, played on a warm, exceptionally humid afternoon, were played at a slow pace. It was Howard that had the first quality chance. Rasheeda Ansari had an 11th-minute shot that was turned away with a Bligh dive, and Ansari also had a 12th-minute one-on-one opportunity go just wide of an open back post.
Bligh also made a save in the 22nd minute, and on the counterattack, Kristen Whitehurst sent a long cross to the far side of the box and the right of goalkeeper Dickinson. Quirk was on the other end and finished with her right foot, putting the Keydets up 1-0 with the goal in her collegiate debut.
That was the score at halftime, as Bligh’s four saves helped negate Howard’s 9-3 edge in shots. The visitors answered in the 50th minute, however, when Nikanya Clark found Nia Walcott in the middle of the field, near the top of the box. Walcott fired a low line drive that Bligh was able to tip, but the ball eluded the VMI keeper for a goal to tie the contest at 1.
From there, the contest settled down and the teams began to use their benches more frequently. There were 15 substitutions made over the next 20 minutes of game action, as each side looked to avoid issues from the potentially overwhelming humidity.
The Keydets finally got back on the board in the 73rd minute, when Segura notched the eventual game-winner off the penalty kick. Howard pushed forward immediately after the score, but shots at 74:22 and 75:56 were both off the mark. Bligh then turned aside an Ansari header in the 77th minute, and that would be the final Howard shot of the match as the Keydet defense preserved the 2-1 win.
VMI women’s soccer is back in action Aug. 29, taking on the Youngstown State Penguins in Youngstown, Ohio. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
ETSU 3, Radford 2
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The ETSU women’s soccer team staved off a second-half Radford rally to earn a season-opening, 3-2 victory Friday night in front of a home crowd of nearly 800.
The Buccaneers (1-0-0) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, scoring twice in the match’s opening 35 minutes.
Sophomore forward Simona Koren struck first for ETSU, scoring a 25th-minute goal off a set from fellow sophomore Molly Collinson. Koren’s goal was the first of her ETSU career.
Following the score, play was suspended due to lightning sightings in the area. After a 30-minute delay, play was resumed, with ETSU picking up right where it left off.
Less than 10 minutes after the delay, sophomore defender Hannah Short gathered a well-placed free kick from Jasmin Dutton and beat Radford freshman goalkeeper Katie McCormick to send the Bucs into intermission with a 2-0 lead.
The Highlanders (0-1-0), who won the Big South regular-season title each of the past two seasons, began the second half strongly, scoring just 22 seconds into the half on a goal by freshman defender Jordan Lundin.
ETSU sophomore midfielder Cecilia Re earned a chance to extend the Bucs’ lead in the 60th minute after drawing a yellow card on Radford’s Kim Harkins. Re, who was 1-for-1 on career penalty kicks entering the match, had her attempt saved by McCormick.
However, just a few minutes later, freshman defender Garazi Murua converted a header to push the Bucs’ lead to 3-1. Murua scored the goal, the first of her collegiate career, after a Dutton free kick was deflected by the Radford keeper off the crossbar.
Radford’s Lundin continued her stellar collegiate debut, scoring on a penalty kick in the 78th minute to cut the Highlanders’ deficit to one goal at 3-2; however, the Bucs held Radford to just two more shots the rest of the way en route to sealing the 3-2 victory.
The game was a physical bout throughout, featuring five yellow cards: three for Radford and two for ETSU.
With the result, ETSU extended its win streak versus Radford to five matches. The Bucs have not suffered a loss to the Highlanders since Sept. 3, 2006. Radford has not beaten ETSU in Johnson City since 1997.
UNC Asheville 2, Chattanooga 1
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior women’s soccer player Crystal Mackezyk cut the lead in half Friday night, but the Mocs couldn’t get the equalizer, falling to UNC Asheville 2-1 in the season opener for both teams at Greenwood Field.
Freshman Emily Moseley took the pass from Chattanooga keeper freshman Hannah Dunn in the 78th minute and dribbled down the right side. She sent a long pass to classmate Amanda Ortiz down the right side line. Ortiz sized up the field quickly and sent the ball to the middle and a waiting Mackezyk, who lofted a shot from outside the box over the Bulldog keeper for the score to make it 2-1 at the 77:09 mark of the game.
The Bulldogs scored their first goal in the 19th minute off a free kick from Kaitlyn Eckert on the left side. Her kick made it into the box to teammate Amanda Dailor, who headed it in at the 18:43 mark. The second goal was scored quickly in the second half.
There was a scramble for the ball on the left side of the goal in the box. The ball was sent to an open Kennedy Garrett on the right side just beyond the 6-yard box. She got around her defender and sent a shot to the far post for the score to make it 2-0 in the 47th minute.
UNC Asheville controlled the ball throughout most of the game, but UTC stepped up offensively late in the game in an attempt to knot it up. The Bulldogs outshot Chattanooga 26-7 with 13 shots on goal compared to six for the Mocs.
Chattanooga keeper Lauren Thomas made six saves and was in the net for both UNCA scores. She made several athletic saves, even coming out of the net to take the ball of a Bulldog player’s foot.
Both teams substituted their keepers in the 66th minute and Chattanooga’s Dunn was tested several times and made five saves for the Mocs. With less than 20 minutes, she punched out a shot, but the Bulldogs couldn’t capitalize, chipping the ball over the crossbar.
In the 75th minute, UNC Asheville hit a short corner and then served it into the box. Chattanooga was able to block the shot, but the Bulldogs managed to gather it up for a shot. Dunn, however, stretched out and gathered in the save.
Chattanooga returns to action late Sunday at Austin Peay. The game time was changed to 6 p.m. Eastern time.
Charlotte 1, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After a close battle, UNCG fell just short in the 2014 home opener against Charlotte, 1-0, Friday night at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
UNCG falls to 0-1 on the season and Charlotte opens 1-0 with the late game victory.
In the 81st minute, Martha Thomas fired a shot just over the reach of redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chloe Buehler to give the 49ers the eventual game-winning goal. Rebecca Beatty played a nice pass to Thomas to pick up the assist on the goal.
Earlier in the second half, junior Chesney White had a chance in the 75th minute but Annika McHenry made the save.
White led the team with four shots in the contest, while sophomore defender Georgia Brown had two chances.
Buehler made three saves in her first start as a Spartan after transferring from Penn State. McHenry made four saves to earn the shutout for Charlotte.
In the first half, UNCG and Charlotte ended 0-0 but the Spartans took seven shots, including three on frame. The 49ers were held to just three shots with none coming on goal.
The Blue and Gold had a great chance in the 16th minute when Brown had a shot on goal, but McHenry made the save. Less than a minute later, junior Katherine Rodriguez fired a shot, but McHenry made the stop.
UNCG had some great chances in the first half, and in the 28th minute White had a header shot hit the left post. Brown had another shot on goal in the 33rd minute, but McHenry made her third save of the half.
The Spartans finished the game with nine shots and earned five corner kicks.
The Blue and Gold will head to Athens, Ga., to face SEC foe Georgia on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Cincinnati 2, Samford 1 (OT)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – At exactly the 3:16 mark in overtime, the Cincinnati Bearcats’ Emily Elsbrock scored the game-winning goal to lift her squad to a 2-1 victory Friday against the Samford Bulldogs in a season-opening contest held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
With Friday’s last-second setback, Samford (0-1) suffered its first defeat at home since Oct. 18, 2013, when the Bulldogs were upset by The Citadel, 3-2.
Last season, Samford finished its 2013 campaign with a brilliant 9-1-1 home record.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead Friday as sophomore forward Malcanisha Kelley tallied the ninth goal of her young, up-and-coming career. She has already scored nine goals in only 22 career matches.
On Friday’s score, Kelley was set up beautifully by South African phenom Jermaine Seoposenwe, who crossed it perfectly from left to right in front of the goal. The play was started as Seoposenwe gathered a forwarding pass from Olivia Cole on the left flank, dribbled at the keeper for 15 yards and then sent the ball over to a wide-open Kelley.
Kelley then fired the shot into the right corner of the net from 10 yards out to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage in the 14th minute of action.
Samford’s opening goal seemed to wake up the traveling Bearcats, as they picked up the pressure and looked to take advantage of a counterattack.
At 20:14, Cincinnati’s (1-0) strategy paid off as the Bearcats’ Jaycie Brown gathered an errant Samford pass and sent it just ahead of an offside to Laura Rose in the middle of the field. Rose, with a one-on-one with Bulldog goalkeeper Anna Maddox, was able to find the right corner of the net.
Rose’s first goal of the season tied the match at 1-1 in the 21st minute of play.
Following the early fireworks from both offenses, the teams seemed to settle into a steady pace of play and registered few true scoring chances for the remainder of regulation.
In overtime, Samford never really found an opportunity to get on track defensively before Katy Couperus quickly sent a timely forwarding pass ahead to Elsbrock on the left sideline. Elsbrock was then able to take a few strides to her right and lifted the ball into the top left corner of the goal for the game-winning score.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 5 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs travel to Columbia, S.C., for a huge early season showdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks to be held at the Eugene E. Stone III Stadum.
Eastern Kentucky 1, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina’s women’s soccer team (0-1) dropped its home opener to Eastern Kentucky University (1-0) 1-0 Friday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
After a scoreless first half, it was an action-packed second period.
At the 70:10 mark, EKU got on the scoreboard after Western Carolina was called for a foul on its side of the field. Mikayla Brillion took the kick after the foul and sent it to the left side of the goal, where Emmi Carroll was waiting. Carroll took a shot and sent it into the right side of the net for the score.
Western Carolina kicked into the offensive in the final 20 minutes of the game fighting for a score to knot the game. The Catamounts battled missed opportunities including a beauty of a chance by junior Sara Robinson, who had an open look about 15 feet out that sailed high over the goal.
Markie-Lynn Studnicky got a sweet look inside the box but the shot attempt was saved by EKU goalie Anna Hall at 84:54. In the closing minute of the game, the Catamounts took a flurry of shots, including a pair of solid looks by senior Caitlyn Bradham and sophomore Haven Leland, both of which were blocked.
Western Carolina returns to action at 2 p.m. Sunday hosting East Carolina at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
Vanderbilt 1, Mercer 0
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Mercer women’s soccer team dropped its 2014 season opener to the Vanderbilt Commodores, 1-0, on Friday evening at the VU Soccer Complex.
Vanderbilt (1-0) scored on a penalty kick in the 67th minute, finding the back of the net for the only score of the evening. All told, the Commodores fired off 25 shots, including eight on goal.
Facing a Southeastern Conference opponent in enemy territory, Mercer (0-1) managed to record only four shots and just one shot on goal. Senior Lauren Gassie led the Bears with three shots, while senior Tess Patton added one of her own.
In the cage for the Bears, junior Maggie Cropp made three saves in the first half, and later sophomore Christina Mursuli came in for the second stanza and recorded four saves of her own.
The Bears continue their two-game road trip with a game on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky. Mercer opens the home slate of its season on Friday, Aug. 29, against Gardner-Webb at 6 p.m. at Bear Field.