Mercer 7, Alabama A&M 0
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer women’s soccer team used a well-balanced attack to defeat Alabama A&M, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at Bear Field. Seven different Bears scored off of 37 shots, including 17 shots on goal.
Washida Blackman got things started for Mercer in the 10th minute, when she fired on to the right side of the net and put the Bears up 1-0. Tess Patton found the back of the net next for Mercer, off an assist from Maddie Clark in the 17th minute. Lauren Gassie scored 30 seconds later, assisted by Stephanie Giangiuli and Patton, to stretch Mercer’s lead to 3-0. Sydney Brogden rounded out the scoring in the first half, firing one in off an assist from Patton in the 23rd minute.
Haleigh Svede scored first for Mercer in the second stanza, putting the Bears up 5-0 off an unassisted shot in the 51st minute. Giangiuli scored off a free kick in the 62nd minute and Annie Barrett used a header in the 83rd minute to push the score to 7-0.
The Mercer defense held Alabama A&M to just seven shots and goalkeeper Maggie Cropp made four saves to keep the Bulldogs from taking advantage of their rare opportunities at goal.
Next up, the Bears hit the road to take on Georgia Southern on Friday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. in Statesboro, Ga. Mercer returns to Macon on Sunday, Sept 7, at 1 p.m. to host Houston.
The Citadel 2, NJIT 1
CHARLESTON, S.C – Lea Raedle and Karina Schneider both scored their second goals of the season in the first half, leading The Citadel to a 2-1 victory over NJIT in women's soccer action Sunday at WLI Field.
The Bulldogs improved to 3-1-0 and are undefeated and untied through their first three home games for the first time in program history while allowing only three goals in the process. Last year's team started the year with three wins and two ties in its opening five home contests.
The Citadel continues its four-game homestand next week with games against Richmond on Friday at 4 p.m. and North Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Citadel dominated play in the first half, outshooting the Highlanders (1-3-0) by a 13-1 margin. After a couple of scoring chances were turned aside by NJIT goalkeeper Samantha Bersett, the Bulldogs finally broke through in the 29th minute.
Raedle took a feed from Vanessa Aponte, made a nice move past a defender and beat Bersett to the goalie's right from 20 yards out to break the scoreless tie. With just 1:33 left before halftime, Caroline Cashion dropped a perfect corner kick into the box, and Schneider headed it in to make it 2-0 at intermission.
Schneider scored in her second consecutive game, also contributing a goal and an assist in Friday's 3-2 win over South Carolina State. The assist for Aponte increased her school-record total to 17, while freshman Cashion had the first assist and point of her young career.
The Highlanders were kept off the scoreboard until making the game interesting in the waning seconds. With just 1:35 remaining, Carly Berdan took a lead pass from Dana Schules and went on a long run, culminating with a one-on-one opportunity against Bulldog goalie Naomi Carter, which she converted.
NJIT had one last opportunity to force overtime just 33 seconds after the Berdan goal, but Rebecca Tustin was wide of the net and the Bulldogs held on for the victory.
The Citadel finished with an 18-9 advantage in shots and 8-4 in corner kicks. Carter finished with four saves, while Bersett had three in the opening half and backup Karen David made two over the final 45 minutes.
ETSU 3, Campbell 2 (2OT)
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – For the second consecutive match, the ETSU women's soccer team outlasted its opponent in double overtime, and for the second consecutive match, junior defender Hannah Short provided the game-winning goal.
Sunday, the Buccaneers (4-0) defeated Campbell, 3-2, in double overtime to advance to 4-0 on the season.
ETSU outshot the Fighting Camels (1-2), 24-12, en route to earning the Bucs’ fourth consecutive win to start the 2014 campaign. The Buccaneers also started 4-0 during the 2003 and 2012 seasons.
Short scored a pair of goals Sunday: the equalizer in regulation to force overtime (71'), and the game-winning goal (103'). With the goals, the Bristol, England, native pushed her season total to a team-best five scores, surpassing her last season's mark of four goals.
Assisting on Short's first goal was senior defender Jasmin Dutton, who leads the Bucs with six assists on the year. Freshman forward Paolo Roversi assisted Short's game-winner. The assist was Roversi's first career collegiate point.
ETSU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, as Sarah Zadrazil scored a 16th-minute goal off a pass from sophomore midfielder Molly Collinson.
Samford 2, Georgia State 1
ATLANTA – The Samford University soccer team closed out its weekend road stretch with a perfect 2-0 record Sunday as the Bulldogs earned a 2-1 victory against the Georgia State Panthers behind an impressive two-goal performance from sophomore Heather Lacy. The key nonconference duel was held at the GSU Soccer Complex.
Samford (2-2-0), which defeated Jacksonville State on the road Friday, 3-2, improved its record when playing away from home to 2-1 this season. The Bulldogs’ lone loss on the road in 2014 occurred last week against No. 14-ranked South Carolina, 2-0.
Both of Samford’s goals were scored Sunday by Lacy and were assisted by fellow sophomore Taylor Borman. Lacy, a transfer from Ole Miss, scored her first goal of the match in the 14th minute.
Then, just over 10 minutes later and following an equalizer from Georgia State’s Whitney Ravan, Samford’s Lacy added the game-winning score at 33:54. On the decisive goal, Borman sent a pass high into the box that was deflected by a pair of Panther defenders. Lacy then pounced on the loose-ball opportunity and fired a one-timer into the bottom left corner of the net for the goal.
A native of nearby Cumming, Ga., Lacy competed Sunday in front of a large contingent of friends and family, and definitely did not disappoint the hometown crew.
Lacy’s first goal was tallied at exactly 13:16 in the first half as she headed home a brilliant crossing pass from Borman. Lacy, who also scored a goal in Friday’s win at Jacksonville State, now leads the Bulldogs in scoring this season with three goals.
Borman leads the team with three assists this season. Only a sophomore, she was one of nine underclassmen to start Sunday against Georgia State.
The Bulldogs outshot the Panthers, 16-5, and outnumbered Georgia State (0-3-1) in corner kicks, 7-0. Samford’s true freshman goalkeeper Anna Maddox finished the game with one save.
Following Lacy’s second goal of the first half, the Bulldogs took a 2-1 lead into halftime.
In the second half of play, Samford’s stingy defense only allowed the Panthers to attempt three shots. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the final 45 minutes of action as the Bulldogs were able to close out their key 2-1 road win.
With Sunday’s victory, Samford remained undefeated against Georgia State and improved its all-time record against the Panthers to 7-0-1.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs welcome the Belmont Bruins to the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium for a key early season matchup.
Western Carolina 1, High Point 1 (2OT)
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Western Carolina battled back from a 1-0 deficit against High Point to tie the match in the second half, ending the game at a 1-1 stalemate in double overtime Sunday.
It was the second straight tie for the Catamounts (0-2-2) after ending in a draw Friday, 1-1, at Longwood. The pair of games was part of Western Carolina's six-game road swing.
Down 1-0, Western Carolina tied the game in the 59th minute on a goal by Caitlyn Bradham. The Catamount's Markie-Lynn Studnicky beat HPU keeper Jordan Beets to a ball into the box and touched it wide before crossing it across the face of goal. Beets got a hand on the cross but couldn't clear it as it fell to the feet of Bradham in the 6-yard box.
High Point (1-0-2) controlled possession in the first half and broke through for the first goal of the game in the 29th minute on a header by redshirt sophomore Kelsey Perrell. The Panthers earned a corner that redshirt freshman Bailey Beattie delivered into the box to the near post. Perrell flashed across her marker and flicked a header over the WCU keeper for her second goal of the season.
Sophomore goal keeper Carly Tinstman started the game for Western Carolina and gave up the first-half goal. Junior transfer Taylor Erickson took over goalkeeping duties in the second half and both overtimes to pick up her first decision with the tie.
Western Carolina continues its road swing Sept. 5 when the team travels to Lipscomb University for an 8 p.m. EDT matchup.
Coastal Carolina 1, Wofford 0
CONWAY, S.C. – The Wofford College women’s soccer team held strong on defense until the 78th minute, when Coastal’s Kacey Kelley sent home the match’s lone goal to give the Terriers their first loss of the season on Sunday afternoon.
The goal came on an assist from Brianna Panico, who lobbed a ball that was seemingly going out of bounds over senior keeper Kara Boggs, leading Kelley to tap in the goal.
The loss brought the Terriers to 3-1-0 on the season.
The game began with a relentless attack from Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers were dominant in the first 10 minutes, making multiple attempts on goal. The Terrier defense was impressive, with senior Mary Kathryn Macklen blocking multiple shots.
Wofford showed promise in the 11th minute, with sophomore Faith Lifer making a run on goal before being snuffed out by an opposing Chanticleer.
Coastal continued their attack in the 13th minute, as Chanticleer forward Ellie Taylor found herself in a one-on-one situation with Boggs. Taylor let the ball fly from about 10 yards out, but Boggs dove on the ball for one of her six saves of the game.
The Chanticleers kept pushing, but Boggs and the Terrier defense stood strong. In the 23rd minute, Coastal forward Kelley made a capable attempt on goal, lobbing the ball before Boggs punched the ball away. The Chants took a corner and Coastal’s Rylie Johnson tried to head the ball home before being stifled by the Terrier defense.
The match stopped 32 minutes in when Coastal’s Kelley and Boggs collided in the midst of another clutch save for the Terriers. Kelley had beat the defense before Boggs slid in to the grab the ball and Kelley crashed into the ground.
The two teams played back and forth, both taking shots on goal, but entered the half scoreless.
Both teams entered the second half more energized. The Chants took a promising corner in the 49th minute, with Johnson trying to head the ball home before an impressive defensive save by freshman defender Rachel Fenner.
Eight minutes later, Coastal gave the Terriers another scare with a barrage of shots, but the team remained steady in back once again. Coastal’s Camille Christi ripped two shots in succession, with one being blocked before Wofford’s Chelsea Turner blocked a sure goal to keep the game level.
The second half continued with both teams battling back and forth until the 78th minute, when the Chants’ Kelley scored.
The Terriers’ best chance to equalize came in the 85th minute on a breakaway from Lifer. The sophomore took a shot on goal from a small angle that ran just wide of the net.
Boggs dropped to 3-1-0 on the season after allowing the game winner, while Coastal’s Faith Fairley earned a win for 3-1-0 in 2014.
The Terriers get some rest, with their next match on Friday, Sept. 12, when they take on Winthrop. The match will take place on Snyder Field with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.
Gardner-Webb 7, Chattanooga 2
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga kept Gardner-Webb in check through much of the first half but couldn’t hold off the Bulldogs, as the Mocs fell 7-2 at Finley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Bulldogs scored just once in the first half on a goal from Jessica Ferguson in the 40th minute that was assisted by Tori James. The second half saw Gardner-Webb snare two goals in the first seven minutes to make it a 3-0 game with back-to-back scores from Brandi Arey.
Chattanooga junior Logan Higgins cut into the lead off a corner kick. The Mocs’ Clare Lathem sent a shot into the box in front of the net, but the ball was deflected off the crossbar and back outside the 18-yard box to Higgins, who lofted a shot over the crowd and into the net to make it 3-1 in the 53rd minute.
Gardner-Webb’s Brooke Kelly had the ball along the end line in the 61st minute and pushed the ball to Chattanooga’s keeper, who bumped it into the goal to make it a 4-1 game. UTC senior Crystal Mackezyk added another goal to her league-leading total on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute, cutting the Bulldog’s lead in half.
Gardner-Webb added three more goals in the final 17 minutes from Shelby Hooe (Kelly), Jessica Ferguson (unassisted) and Annie Ross (Whitley Bowman) for the final 7-2 tally.
Chattanooga will head to Chattanooga State in the pre-dawn hours on Labor Day to volunteer with the annual FCA 5K Road Race. The team will be back in action next Sunday hosting Lipscomb in a 6 p.m. kickoff at Finley Stadium.