Samford 1, ETSU 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – With only 3:30 remaining in Friday’s Southern Conference showdown at ETSU, Samford’s Malcanisha Kelley provided the heroics for the Bulldogs as she headed home a cross from junior Taylor Borman to earn the thrilling 1-0 road victory held at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
Not only did Kelley’s goal move her into a tie for the school’s all-time goals-scored record of 26, as well as the single-season record of 11, but it also clinched Samford’s second straight SoCon regular-season championship.
Samford (13-4, 8-0 SoCon) has been victorious in 11 consecutive conference matches and has not allowed a league foe to score in the regular season since Oct. 17, 2014. The Bulldogs also extended their current winning streak to nine consecutive matches and secured the No. 1 seed in the upcoming SoCon Championship.
Samford’s current winning streak marks its longest since 2011, when the Bulldogs rattled off 10 straight victories.
Additionally, Samford set the school’s record for longest shutout streak Friday by extending its mark to 763 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. The Bulldogs snapped the school’s previous record of 730 minutes, which was set in 2009 when current assistant coach Alyssa Whitehead was starring in goal.
The Bulldogs’ goalkeepers this season, Anna Maddox and Katie Peters, have been rotating starts and have combined to record nine shutouts while only allowing 13 goals in 17 matches. On the season, Samford has outscored its opponents by a total of 40-13.
Maddox played all 90 minutes in Friday’s shutout win over ETSU (9-7-1, 4-3-1 SoCon) and registered three big-time saves in the triumph. With the victory, Maddox improved to 7-1 on the season and notched her fourth shutout.
The back-to-back SoCon regular-season champion Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 1 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs continue their two-match road trip against the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at the Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, North Carolina.
ETSU will return to action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when it hosts rival Chattanooga in its final game of the regular season.
Furman 4, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Junior Carlie Couch netted her first career hat trick as Furman erased a 1-0 deficit en route to a 4-1 victory over The Citadel in Southern Conference women's soccer action on Friday afternoon at Washington Light Infantry Field.
With its fifth consecutive win, Furman improved to 13-4-1 overall and 6-1-1 in SoCon play entering Sunday's regular-season finale at Mercer. The Citadel dropped to 1-17-0 overall and 0-8-0 in the SoCon.
Emilie Valenciano put the Bulldogs in front in the 20th minute when she floated a shot from the right side of the box into the far left side netting for her first goal of the season. Furman answered at 30:01 as Couch exploded by several defenders down the left flank and slotted a low shot to the right-hand corner to knot the match at 1-1.
The Paladins took the lead at 63:56 when Amani Bright fed Jamie Alexander and the senior fired in her fourth goal of the season to stake Furman to a 2-1 advantage. Less than two minutes later, Couch rounded the defense again and punched a shot past Citadel goalkeeper Kim Mora to up the margin to 3-1 at the 65:53 mark.
Couch capped the second-half scoring outburst with her third goal of the afternoon and sixth of the season at the 76:53 mark. The Tifton, Ga., product collected the ball on the right side of the box and fired a shot that deflected off of Mora's hands and into the side netting at the near post to provide the final 4-1 scoreline. The hat trick was the first for a Paladin since Stephanie DeVita bagged three goals at VMI on October 26, 2014, and just the third by a Paladin since 2010.
Furman managed a 26-2 shots advantage and outshot The Citadel 12-0 in the second half. The Paladins finished with a 13-1 edge in shots on goal.
Senior Maggie Grisell earned the victory in goal for Furman to up her record to 12-2-1.
The Citadel closes its regular season Sunday when it hosts Wofford at 2 p.m. The game will also serve as senior day, with festivities beginning at approximately 1:45 p.m.
Western Carolina 2, Chattanooga 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina earned its seventh shutout of the season Friday, blanking the visiting Chattanooga Mocs 2-0 at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
After a scoreless first half, Western Carolina posted two goals in the early going of the second half to take the 2-0 lead, and eventual win, over Chattanooga to snap a two-match losing streak.
Redshirt senior Kimberly Sullivan scored the first goal for the Catamounts from an assist by freshman Sayres McKenna at 50:13. The Catamounts took a 2-0 lead when McKenna took a pass from the right side of the net from senior Markie-Lynn Studnicky and sent it into upper right side of the net just past the goalkeeper.
McKenna scored her second goal of the season and notched her team-leading seventh assist. Sullivan scored her third goal of the season.
Redshirt senior keeper Lauren Martin earned her second shutout of the season and improved to 2-1-1 on the season.
Chattanooga senior keeper Lauren Thomas was pressed into service when the Mocs’ starter suffered an injury just as UTC finished pregame warmup. Thomas snared the one shot she faced in the first half and grabbed four more in the second half.
Western Carolina's win and Wofford's loss Friday night gives the Catamounts a two-point lead over the Terriers and pushes WCU up to sixth place in the league standings.
Western Carolina closes the regular season hosting Samford at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Catamount Athletic Complex. The Catamounts will honor their eight seniors Sunday prior to the game.
Chattanooga will wrap up its regular season Sunday at ETSU at 2 p.m.
Mercer 2, Wofford 1
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University women's soccer team squeaked past Wofford with a late goal on Friday night to register a 2-1 win at Bear Field.
Wofford scored first with a Carlyn Fralick goal in the eighth minute, but Maddie Clark equalized in the 23rd minute with a header off a long serve from Haleigh Svede. The score remained tied, 1-1, until the 87th minute, when Katelyn Dimopoulos sent the ball to the back of the net from just a few yards out after getting the rebound from Jamilah Tejan's shot that hit the post.
Dimopoulos scored her sixth goal of the season and the ninth of her career. The score was also her fourth game-winning goal this season, which earns her a spot on Mercer's single-season game-winning goals top-10 list. She is tied for third with several players.
Clark scored her fourth goal of the season and the 13th of her career. Clark also fired off a team-high four shots on the night, tying Dimopoulos.
Svede dished out her second assist of the season, and it was also the second assist of her career.
Tejan took a pair of shots for Mercer, with her final shot serving as an assist on Dimopoulos' goal. The assist was Tejan's third of the season, as well as the third of her career at Mercer.
Maggie Cropp made one save and allowed one goal as the Mercer defense held Wofford to just two shots on goal.
Sarah Daane recorded three shots, all on target, in her 90 minutes on the field. Daane was one of five Bears to play the entire match.
Wofford held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
Mercer improved to 8-6-3 (5-2-1 SoCon), while Wofford moved to 4-7-4 (2-4-2 SoCon).
Mercer will close out the regular season on Sunday at 2 p.m. against Furman. The match is set to kick off at Bear Field, following a Senior Day ceremony for Mercer's three seniors.
Wofford closes the regular season at The Citadel on Sunday at 2 p.m.