ETSU 8, The Citadel 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The ETSU women’s soccer team on Sunday erupted offensively to remain unbeaten in Southern Conference play as the Bucs earned a commanding 8-0 victory against The Citadel.
Before the game, the 2015 senior class of Alexa Passingham and Sarah Zadrazil was honored for its accomplishments. The duo then proceeded combine for four goals and three assists in the contest.
The Bucs started fast as Zadrazil scored on a pass from fellow senior Passingham just 27 seconds into the game. Just three minutes later, Zadrazil was at it again, this time assisting freshman Irina Brutsch for her third goal of the season, giving ETSU an early 2-0 lead.
Passingham got in on the action, scoring two goals in a matter of four minutes. Her second goal came off an assist from junior Molly Collinson.
ETSU scored four goals in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Blue & Gold headed into halftime with a 5-0 lead as the Bucs earned an own goal after a cross into the box was deflected off a Bulldog defender and into the net.
The Bucs started the final 45 minutes just as quickly as the first half as Zadrazil netted her seventh goal of the year just four minutes into the second half. The St.Gilgen, Austria, native raced down the right side of the field weaving through Citadel defenders, placing the ball in the back left corner of the net to give ETSU a 6-0 lead.
A pair of firsts was a result of the final two goals in the last 30 minutes of the game. In the 55th minute, freshman Delaney Griffin scored her first collegiate goal after an assist from Zadrazil. Then it was a freshman duo hooking up for the eighth and final goal of the afternoon as Michaela Daniels found Rachel Harbin for Harbin’s first collegiate goal.
Junior goalkeeper Jasmine Elliott recorded her fourth shutout of the season and ninth of her career, tying the career record for shutouts in program history.
With four games left in the 2015-16 campaign, the Bucs hit the road next weekend for a showdown at Furman on Oct. 16 before concluding the weekend on Oct. 18 at Wofford. ETSU returns to Johnson City for the final regular-season weekend, hosting Samford on Oct. 23 and rival Chattanooga on Oct. 25.
The Citadel will hit the road again when it takes on VMI at 4 p.m. on Friday and then UNCG at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Mercer 1, Western Carolina 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Mercer University women's soccer team notched a 1-0 win over Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
After a scoreless first half, Katelyn Dimopoulos had a chance to put the Bears up in the 52nd minute with a penalty kick, but the ball went high. However, Dimopoulos made up for it less than six minutes later when she found the back of the net off an assist from Maddie Clark. Clark got the ball on the right side and dribbled down to the endline before serving it in to Dimopoulos to finish. Mercer held on to its 1-0 lead for the final 22 minutes to pick up its third straight win over WCU.
Maggie Cropp made six saves for the Bears and recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season. She faced 12 shots from the Catamounts as she anchored the Mercer defense to its second shutout in conference play.
Cropp tallied six saves for the second straight game as she recorded her fourth complete game shutout this season.
This marked the first road win for the Bears this season, as they have played a majority of their games at home. Mercer is now 1-2-2 while on the road this year.
Mercer now has a 3-1 advantage in the series with Western Carolina and has won each of the last three meetings. All three of Mercer's wins have been one-goal decisions.
Mercer improves to 6-5-3 (3-1-1 SoCon) on the season, while Western Carolina moves to 6-6-2 (2-3 SoCon).
Mercer will hit the road again next weekend as it faces UNCG on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. in Greensboro, N.C.
Western Carolina returns to action Friday at Wofford at 6 p.m.
VMI 2, Chattanooga 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – First-half goals by Blake Cashin and Olivia Cotton boosted the VMI Keydets as they defeated the Chattanooga Mocs, 2-1, in Southern Conference women's soccer action Sunday afternoon.
The Keydets (5-9, 1-4 SoCon) jumped ahead in the 10th minute, when Cashin intercepted a pass in the UTC zone and scored for the third time this season. Cotton added her fourth goal of the season in the 22nd minute, and for the second time in three matches, the Keydets limited their opponents to just a penalty-kick goal as VMI held on for the 2-1 win.
On the day, the Keydets held a 14-11 edge in shots, including 9-7 in tries on goal. Chattanooga (3-10-2, 1-4-1 SoCon) had six of the match's eight corner kicks. Darien Dunham made six saves for the Keydets, and Molli Miller had seven stops for the Mocs.
The Keydets pressed early on, testing Miller twice in the first 5:23 before Cashin broke through at the 9:26 mark. VMI continued to control the pace of the contest and got on the board again at 21:34. Cotton had a header off a corner that was saved by Miller, but the ball came free off a rebound and Cotton put it in the back of the net for a 2-0 Keydet lead.
That was all VMI would need, but McKenzie Gregg scored on a penalty kick goal in the 61st minute to cut the Keydet margin in half at 2-1. UTC had a final rally in the final five minutes, but Dunham stopped a Rachel Giampapa header on the match's final shot on goal to ensure the VMI win.
VMI women's soccer will return to action Tuesday, as the Keydets make up a game with Furman. Kickoff at the Charlotte Soccer Academy in Charlotte, N.C., is set for 2:30 p.m.
Prior to the game, the Mocs held Senior Day ceremonies for its eight seniors: Skylar Brewer, Sarah Ghale, Logan Higgins, Clare Latham, Loryn Queen, Lauren Thomas, Alanna Warrick and Hannah Wyatt.
Chattanooga will close out the regular season with three road matches, beginning with Samford on Friday night in Birmingham, Ala. The game is set to kick off at 8 p.m.
Samford 1, UNCG 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With less than 14 minutes remaining in Sunday’s Southern Conference showdown against UNCG, Samford’s Sara Smeltzer gathered a long forwarding pass from senior Alissa Hansen and fired the game-winning goal into the right corner of the net. Smeltzer’s decisive tally lifted the first-place Bulldogs to a crucial 1-0 victory held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Smeltzer delighted her hometown crowd Sunday by scoring her third goal in three days. On Friday, the Briarwood Christian alumna tallied the Bulldogs’ final two scores in a record-tying 7-0 triumph against VMI. Smeltzer has now scored four goals this season and is tied for third place on the team in the category.
Smeltzer’s game-winning goal was set up by Hansen, who powered a high, hooking pass deep into the goalkeeper’s box. Chloe Buehler, UNCG’s starting goalkeeper, made an effort to corral the long pass, but the ball slipped through her hands and bounded outside to the right of the goal.
Smeltzer streaked to the spot and rifled a shot back to her right and into the corner of the net.
The goal proved to be Smeltzer’s second game-winner of the season.
With Sunday’s victory, Samford (11-4-0, 6-0-0 SoCon) extended its winning streak to seven consecutive matches and remained undefeated in SoCon play in nearly an entire calendar year since Oct. 17, 2014. The Bulldogs have been triumphant in nine straight regular-season conference matches.
UNCG (5-8-3, 3-2-1 SoCon) suffered its first loss in four outings and fell to 4-4-3 all-time against the Bulldogs. Samford has won the last two meetings in the series, both of which occurred by a 1-0 score.
Keeper Katie Peters notched her 10th start of the season Sunday and registered her fourth shutout. She boasts an impressive 0.85 goals-against average and improved to 7-3 this season.
The Bulldogs earned their sixth consecutive shutout and extended their unscored-upon streak to 583 minutes, dating back to a 5-2 road victory at Kennesaw State on Sept. 20. Since then, Samford has earned consecutive shutouts against Furman, 2-0, Wofford, 1-0, The Citadel, 5-0, Mercer, 1-0, VMI, 7-0, and UNCG, 1-0.
Samford has yet to allow a goal in SoCon play this season and is outscoring league opponents by a total of 15-0. The Bulldogs’ six-match shutout streak is the program’s longest since stringing together a seven-match stretch to open the 2009 campaign.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs play host to Southern Rail rival Chattanooga in a Senior Night showdown to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to arrive early as Samford’s three seniors, Hallie Georgi, Kinsey Sessions and Alissa Hansen, will all be honored with a special pre-game ceremony Friday.
The Spartans return home for the remainder of the regular season, beginning Friday when they host Mercer (6-5-3, 3-1-1) at 7 p.m.
Wofford 6, South Carolina State 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women’s soccer team scored two goals in the first half and four in the second as the Terriers defeated the South Carolina State Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon 6-0 at Snyder Field.
Two minutes into the match, forward Brianna LaFontant notched her first goal of the season, setting the tone for the rest of the match. She was able to get an open opportunity that forced Bulldog keeper Haley Austin out from the box. Austin was able to save LaFontant’s first shot, but the ball squirted out and LaFontant nailed home the second shot for her first goal of the season.
Midfielder Brooke Leftwich scored Wofford’s second goal in the 27th minute. Midfielder Hayley Younginer crossed from the left side to Leftwich, who shot the ball into the net for her first collegiate goal.
The Bulldogs (1-8-1) created two scoring opportunities about 30 minutes into the first half. Midfielder Justine Zepeda had two shots on goal in a six-minute stretch that Terrier goalkeeper Mayson Liner was able to save to preserve the 2-0 halftime lead.
One minute into the second half, the Terriers created another scoring opportunity. Forward Katie Beuerlein brought the ball up the field and crossed it into the box, where midfielder Hannah Washko was able to put a foot on the ball and score her second goal of the season.
The Terriers would add three more goals in the second half. Younginer scored her third goal of the season in the 59th minute, tying her for the team lead with midfielder Mary Beth Bleekrode.
Senior forward Carlyn Fralick scored her first goal of her career in the 68th minute. LaFontant crossed the ball from the right side to find Fralick, who put home the shot into the middle of the net.
Freshman Karly Diltz added the final goal for the Terriers at the 75th minute, her first of her collegiate career. Midfielder Mary Katherine Bradley notched her first collegiate assist on Diltz’s goal.
Overall in the match, Wofford outshot South Carolina State 27-6 and took seven corners compared to the Bulldogs’ two corner attempts.
Liner was credited with the victory in the match, saving two shots while playing the first half. Alex Carroll replaced Liner at halftime and made one save in 45 minutes of action.
Austin suffered the defeat for the Bulldogs, saving 13 shots over the full 90 minutes.
Wofford (3-6-3) enters the final stretch of SoCon regular-season competition, with four matches left before the SoCon tournament. The team next plays Friday at home against Western Carolina at 6 p.m.