Furman 2, Jacksonville 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Junior Stephanie DeVita and freshman Abby DeMare each netted a goal to lead Furman past Jacksonville, 2-0, in the non-conference finale for the Paladins Friday evening on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
With the victory, Furman finished its non-conference slate at 6-2-0, while the Dolphins slipped to 5-4-1 on the season.
After DeVita had rattled a shot off of the cross bar and had another attempt smothered by JU goalkeeper Sarah Sierra in the early portion of the first half, the Simpsonville, S.C., native put Furman in front with the eventual winning goal at the 33:32 mark. DeVita weaved through Dolphin defenders down the right side before hammering a shot across the face of goal and into the left-side netting for her team-leading fifth score of the season.
In the 83rd minute, Furman earned a free kick in front of the scorer’s table just inside the midfield stripe. Senior India Robinson lofted a cross into the box that was deflected into the path of DeMare at the top of the 18-yard box. The Irmo, S.C., product lined a left-footed shot into the back of the JU net with her first touch to double the lead and tally her first collegiate goal.
Junior goalkeeper Maggie Grisell, who entered the game in net to start the second half, preserved the shutout with a leaping effort to tip Kaitlyn Bassett’s driving shot towards the upper right-hand corner wide with under four minutes to play. Grisell and Paladin starter Rose Hull each notched two saves, while Sierra turned away seven shots for Jacksonville.
Furman finished with a 15-11 edge in shot attempts and 9-4 advantage in shots on goal. The physical match featured three yellow cards, including two on the Dolphins in the second half.
ETSU 5, USC Upstate 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Junior Hannah Short, the nation's leading goal scorer, recorded a hat trick and dished out an assist in ETSU's commanding, 5-0 non-conference win over USC Upstate Friday night.
At 8-1 on the season, the Buccaneers are off to the best start in program history.
Short, who leads the nation with 15 goals, has now scored in the Bucs' (8-1) last 10 contests dating back to last season, placing her tied for 7th all-time in the NCAA D-1 Women's Soccer Record Book for most consecutive matches with at least one goal. Only 11 other players have ever accomplished that feat.
Four other players share the category's seventh spot with Short, including two-time Olympic gold medalist, Abby Wambach, who was a three-time NCAA All-American at Florida.
Junior midfielder Sarah Zadrazil, playing in her first match for ETSU since Sept. 4, picked up right where she left off, dishing out two assists in the victory.
Zadrazil arrived back in the U.S., last night after helping the Austria National Team to a pair of victories in the UEFA Women's World Cup Qualifiers. She ranks second in the nation for assists per game (1.33), behind teammate Jasmin Dutton's mark of 1.38 assists per game.
Four other players found the scoring column for ETSU, as Molly Collinson recorded a goal and an assist. Kristi Davis scored her third goal of the season in the 87th minute.
Meanwhile, senior Emilee Engelhaupt and freshman Paolo Roversi each dished out one assist in the win.
Western Carolina 1, Middle Tennessee 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Freshman forward Chandler Arrowood scored her first career goal leading Western Carolina women’s soccer to a 1-0 win over Middle Tennessee Friday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
The Catamounts even their record across the board improving to 3-3-3 on the season. The game against Middle Tennessee closes out Western Carolina’s non-conference schedule. Middle Tennessee falls to 3-4-1.
At the 77:30 mark Western Carolina got the game-winning goal after pressing the Blue Raiders throughout the game. A ball played by senior Madison Lee and then to redshirt junior Kimberly Sullivan found an open Arrowood five yards from the box. Arrowood took the pass from the left side of the goal as Blue Raider goalie Kelsey Brouwer slide to the right. Arrowood took the shot on the left side and it sailed into the back of the net.
There were a total of nine shots in the game, five by Western Carolina and four by Middle Tennessee. The Catamounts goal attempts were solid looks at the goal with each of the five shots just a hair’s breathe from going into the net.
Over the course of the last four games, Western Carolina is 3-0-1. WCU has not allowed a goal in the last 286 minutes.
Western Carolina sophomore goal keeper Carly Tinstman notched her second consecutive shutout and improves to 3-3-2 on the season.
Samford 3, Austin Peay 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- The Samford University soccer team exploded for three goals in 13 minutes Friday as the Bulldogs rallied for a 3-1 road victory against the Austin Peay Lady Govs in a battle of former Ohio Valley Conference opponents held at Morgan Brothers Field.
Samford’s Amanda Abbott highlighted the triumph as she scored two of the Bulldogs’ three goals in a span of just two minutes and six seconds. After scoring the game-winning goal at exactly 29:08 in the first half, Samford’s speedy native of Marietta, Ga., notched her third score of the 2014 campaign just over two minutes later at the 31:14 mark to give the Bulldogs their decisive 3-1 advantage.
Samford (5-4) dictated a majority of Friday’s contest and handily outshot Austin Peay (1-7) by a final count of 19-9.
With their victory, the Bulldogs remained undefeated against the Lady Govs and improved their all-time record in the series to 6-0-1.
Austin Peay struck first Friday and garnered a quick 1-0 advantage in the match behind a fourth-minute goal from Gina Fabbro. On the score, Fabbro headed a pass from Claire Pultz into the lower left corner of the net from 15 yards out.
Despite falling behind early, Samford rebounded nicely in the 19th minute as sophomore Taylor Borman registered her second goal of the season with an equalizing goal to even the score at 1-1. On Borman’s score, she gathered a perfectly-placed crossing pass from junior Hallie Georgi and found the back of the net.
Samford tallied all three of its goals in the first half of play Friday. The Bulldogs’ offensive attack proved to be relentless in the opening 45 minutes of action as they outshot Austin Peay, 12-4, in the first stanza.
Defensively, Samford only allowed four shots on goal as true freshman Anna Maddox finished the contest with four key saves.
The Bulldogs’ Jermaine Seoposenwe paced Samford’s offensive game plan with six of the team’s 19 shot attempts. She also notched her second assist of the season as she helped initiate Abbott’s final goal of the evening.
Samford has played well on the road this year and notched its fourth victory when playing away from Birmingham, Ala. The Bulldogs boast a 4-2 record on the road this season and finished its current three-match stretch with an impressive 2-1 mark.
UNCG 3, High Point 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s soccer team used two second half goals to defeat rival High Point, 3-0, Friday night at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The Spartans improve to 3-4-2 on the season while the Panthers fall 3-1-2 with the loss. UNCG took 12 shots and only allowed seven to High Point in the victory.
UNCG opened the scoring in the 15th minute after junior Chesney White had a chance blocked leading to a corner kick. Senior Ashley Stokes played a perfect ball into the box where White gathered and fired into the back of the net for her team leading sixth goal of the season.
At halftime, the Spartans led the contest 1-0 and on the stat sheet with six shots to High Point’s four. Junior Kirsten Glad played the first 45:00 minutes making one save.
In the second half, the Blue and Gold quickly added to their lead just three minutes into the half as freshman Hannah Hoeksema found sophomore Rebecca Burrows who beat the keeper for her first goal of the season.
The Spartans added a late goal by freshman Melanie Spensiero in the closing minute of the second half. Sophomore defender Georgia Brown made a cross inside the box where Spensiero fired on net past the keeper.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Chloe Buehler played the second half making two saves. Buehler and Glad split the shutout for UNCG as the backline kept High Point off the board.
The Spartans took five corners and didn’t allow the Panthers to take any in the game.
Radford 1, VMI 0
LEXINGTON, Va. – An unfortunate deflection with just over 30 minutes to go led to the only goal of the game, as the Radford Highlanders squeaked past the VMI Keydets, 1-0, in non-conference women’s soccer action Friday at Lexington’s Patchin Field.
In the 57th minute, a long ball rolled into the VMI (1-6) defensive zone along the near sideline. Sydnie Bligh backtracked and let it roll, hoping to ensure a Keydet possession, but the ball continued to roll along the line. Bligh then attempted to clear the ball away, but the kick caromed off a Radford (2-4-1) player and immediately to the feet of Highlander Kara Wade. Wade had a near-breakaway as a result of the Keydets’ misfortune and scored easily, giving RU a 1-0 lead it would not relinquish.
The match was a physical, hard-fought battle throughout on the overcast afternoon, with numerous stoppages for injuries in the second half. Radford held a 14-9 edge in shots and a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks, while both VMI’s Emily Marbury and RU’s Katie McCormick made three saves.
The visitors controlled the pace early, but much of it was from outside the box. Radford did put the match’s first shot on goal, doing so in the 18th minute when Marbury stopped a Caitlin Annear try. That earned RU a corner kick and Hannah Duff nearly put the Highlanders ahead moments later, when she clanged a shot off the post from 12 yards out. The ball bounced away harmlessly to keep the match scoreless.
There would not be another shot attempt until the 33rd minute, when Allie Segura put VMI’s first try on net. She was turned aside by McCormick, however, as was Kristen Whitehurst in the 40th minute as the match went to halftime scoreless.
VMI’s momentum from those two offensive threats continued early in the second half, as Emily Adams put a shot on goal in the 47th minute and just moments later, Segura hit the crossbar to keep the match scoreless. Killian Buckley then put a try wide, and the next sequence led to Wade’s eventual game-winning goal.
Marbury turned aside Radford attempts in the 73rd and 75th minutes, and the Keydets put together offensive rallies late. Nicole Blixt missed wide on a header at 77:59, and in the 85th minute, Whitehurst missed high on one of VMI’s best chances all day. Adams executed a long throw from the sideline that made it into the box. Blixt got a foot on it and tipped it to Whitehurst, but the resultant shot was no good.
The Keydets had the ball as time ran out, but a Bligh service into the box was fielded by McCormick as time ran out, allowing the visitors to hang on for the win.
Georgia State 1, Mercer 0
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Mercer women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Georgia State on Friday night at the Georgia State Soccer Complex.
Mercer (4-4) had a couple of chances in each half, but was unable to convert any into goals. Brianna Stampler led the offensive attack for the Bears with four shots and Washida Blackman added two shots of her own, both on goal.
After a scoreless first stanza, Georgia State (2-4-3) scored the only goal of the match in the 57th minute when Ashley Nagy found the back of the net.
Mercer outshot Georgia State 14-10, and the Bears notched seven corner kicks, compared to the Panthers' one. In addition to the Mercer offense dominating statistically, the defense stepped up and kept Georgia State from getting too many chances at goal. Between the pipes, Maggie Cropp made three saves.
UAB 7, Chattanooga 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s soccer team got several late shots, but couldn’t crack the net, falling 7-0 to UAB Friday night at the West Campus Field. UTC drops to 1-7 on the year and the Blazers get their third win of the season to improve to 3-5.
All four of Chattanooga’s shots came in the second half with senior Crystal Mackezk making two. One shot was a free kick following a foul from about 25 yards out that was pushed over the top of the net by the UAB keeper for one of her three saves on the night.
The Blazers scored three goals in the first half, getting started in the 16th minute on Johanna Liney’s first of two goals on the night. Her second came in the 82nd minute off an assist from Paige Hanks. The two then switched roles with Hanks scoring her first goal of the season off an assist from Liney for the final 7-0 margin.
Chattanooga’s Amanda Ortiz and Clare Latham each got off a shot for the Mocs with both on goal. Freshman keeper Hannah Dunn recorded seven saves on the night, playing all 90 minutes in the net.
Florida Gulf Coast 3, Wofford 0
FT. MYERS, Fla. – The Wofford College women’s soccer team stood strong on defense throughout the first half, but eventually dropped a 3-0 decision to the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast at FGCU Sports Complex on Friday evening.
The Eagles’ Shannen Wacker struck home the eventual game-winner in the 48th minute on a Tabby Tindell assist. Tindell drove the ball into the box before sliding the ball over to Wacker for the one-tap finish.
After seeing action in the last game against Clemson, senior Shonte Campbell started in goal for Wofford with the injury of Kara Boggs. Campbell earned 10 saves in the Terrier loss, including four in the first half to send both sides into the break knotted at nil.
The Eagles were dominant, outshooting the Terriers 29-1, and earning nine corner kicks to Wofford’s two. The Eagles were a bit eager at times, getting called offside five times, while Wofford was limited to just one.
Tindell continued to be a challenge for the Terriers defense to handle. The sophomore forward struck home a pair of goals to secure FGCU’s lead. Eight minutes after Wacker’s goal, Tindell headed the ball home on a cross from sophomore midfielder Ashley Parks. Tindell then put the final nail in the coffin in the 73rd minute, taking on Campbell in a one-on-one situation, chipping over her head.
Wofford’s lone attempt on goal came on the foot of Hannah Washko. The freshman midfielder struck a shot towards goal in the 30th, that was thwarted by keeper Brittany Brown.