Samford 5, Memphis 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With an incessant rain storm in the area Friday, thunder and lightning delayed the second half of Samford’s highly anticipated matchup with the Memphis Tigers by an hour and 35 minutes. Luckily for the Bulldogs, they boasted their own version of thunder and lightning on the field as Jermaine Seoposenwe and Malcanisha Kelley accounted for three goals and six assists in a thrilling 5-1 victory over Memphis held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
In Friday’s win, Samford (2-1) exploded for a season-high five goals and snapped its three-match losing streak against Memphis (1-1). The triumph proved to be the Bulldogs’ first over the Tigers since 2007.
Kelley tallied a pair of goals Friday and has already struck the back of the net five times in three matches this season.
Seoposenwe handed out a school-record four assists Friday. The Bulldogs’ junior native of Cape Town, South Africa, has already tallied seven assists this season and broke her previous single-game record of three. Seoposenwe is in good shape to top her single-season record of 13 assists, which was recorded last year.
Memphis scored its lone goal Friday in the 26th minute of the first half as Valerie Sanderson sent a rebounded shot into the left side of the net for her first score of the season.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Sunday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against Wake Forest in another high-profile matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
ETSU 1, Tennessee Tech 0
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Inside Summers-Taylor Stadium, the ETSU women's soccer team grinded out a 1-0 victory in their home opener against Tennessee Tech on Friday night. Senior Sarah Zadrazil scored the lone goal for the Bucs.
Zadrazil scored her third goal of the season 15 minutes into the second half to give ETSU the 1-0 advantage. After a cross pass from freshman Irina Brutsch was blocked, the ball landed right in front of Zadrazil, who chipped it up and over the goalkeeper to give ETSU the lead.
The Golden Eagles were not able to get by junior Jasmine Elliot, who earned her third win of the season, extending her record for career wins to 17. Elliot recorded yet another shutout, the second of the season and seventh of her career. She is now third in ETSU history for career shutouts.
The Blue & Gold will be back in action at home on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 1 p.m. when they welcome NC State.
Mercer 2, Charlotte 1
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University women's soccer team defeated Charlotte, 2-1, on Friday night at Bear Field to open the home portion of the schedule with a victory.
After battling back and forth for much of the first half, Mercer took a 1-0 lead when Valeria Bermeo found Jamilah Tejan with a cross and Tejan finished to the right side of the net. The Bears put the game away with a second goal from Tejan after she fired the ball in the net from 15 yards out following a corner kick in the 51st minute. Charlotte scored on a penalty kick in the 66th minute and Mercer kept the 49ers from knotting the score in the final 24 minutes.
Maggie Cropp played for nearly 62 minutes in goal, recording one save.
Mercer will host Appalachian State on Sunday, Aug. 30, at 2 p.m. at Bear Field.
Furman 2, North Greenville 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Seniors Jamie Alexander and Stephanie DeVita bagged first-half goals as the Furman women’s soccer team recorded a 2-0 shutout of North Greenville on Friday night on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium.
After DeVita, Carlie Couch and Alexander had each come close to scoring in the opening minutes of the game, it was Alexander who created her own opportunity in the 35th minute. The Martinez, Ga., stripped the ball from the feet of a Crusaders defender and rifled a shot to the right corner for her first goal of the campaign.
Less than four minutes later, DeVita eluded her defender near the top of the 6-yard box and headed home a Rachel Shah corner kick at the 38:20 mark to double the Paladin lead. The goal marked DeVita’s fourth of the season and 54th career goal in 67 matches. She needs three to tie Emily Turgeon atop Furman’s all-time scoring ledger and five to reach Tara Chiasson, a former Georgia Southern standout, atop the Southern Conference career list.
Furman (2-1-0) returns to action on Sunday when it travels to face the Auburn Tigers at 2 p.m. ET.
Wofford 0, Gardner-Webb 0 (2OT)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford women’s soccer team played two overtime periods for the second consecutive game, this time drawing even at Gardner-Webb at Friday night by a final score of 0-0.
Four Terriers played all 110 minutes of the match, including goalkeeper Alex Carroll, defenders Katherine Whisenhunt and Hanna Socha and midfielder Emily Gaid. Two more players, defender Kendall Stanley and midfielder Lucy Etro, each played just over 100 minutes in the match. The Bulldogs also had four players play all 110 minutes and two more play over 100.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities to score in the match, with the two teams taking a combined 39 shots and 17 of them on goal.
The Terriers (0-1-2) next take the field on Friday, Sept. 4, when the team travels to Presbyterian College. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.
No. 23 Kentucky 3, UNCG 0
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UNCG women’s soccer team opened its swing through the Bluegrass State on Friday evening as the Spartans dropped a 3-0 contest to No. 23 Kentucky at the Bell Soccer Complex. The Spartans will continue their road weekend Sunday afternoon when they take on Eastern Kentucky on the road.
Kentucky opened the scoring in the eighth minute of action. Courtney Raetzman sent a through ball behind the Spartans’ defense, where it found Jade Klomp, who was one-on-one against redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Chloe Buehler. Klomp was able to poke it past a diving Buehler for the early 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 2-0 before halftime as Raetzman found the back of the net in the 38th minute of play.
Kentucky rounded out the scoring in the 77th minute of play as Swift found the back of the net after getting behind the Spartans’ backline.
Northern Kentucky 4, The Citadel 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel was handed its first home defeat at the hands of Northern Kentucky 4-0 on Friday.
Abby Koger was solid in the net for the Bulldogs (0-3), tallying nine saves. The freshman now has 33 saves in this young season.
Koger was one of five Bulldogs to play the entire game along with Ray Brown, Tinslee Dilday, Sam Waarum and Kim Maldonado.
Northern Kentucky (3-0) took a 2-0 lead into the half and then tacked on a pair of goals late in the second half to give the Norse the 4-0 win. Northern Kentucky tallied 24 shots in the game.
The Bulldogs will return to W.L.I. Field on Sunday when they take on Stetson at 1 p.m.
Navy 2, VMI 1
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Navy's Meghan Hegarty scored with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending the Mids to a dramatic 2-1 win over the VMI Keydets in nonconference women's soccer action Friday night.
The Keydets (1-2), who had trailed since the 45th minute, tied the match in the 77th on a goal by freshman Olivia Cotton. In the 84th minute, however, Navy's (2-1) Eleanor Pratt passed the ball from the top of the 20-yard box to the near post. It found Hegarty's foot there for her first goal of the year and the eventual 2-1 Navy victory.
Goalkeeper Darien Dunham was a key factor in the match, making 10 saves to combat a 29-6 Navy edge in the shot category. Taygan Grundy made three saves for Navy.
VMI women's soccer will return to action Friday, Sept. 4, when the Keydets travel to Radford to take on a former Big South foe, the Radford Highlanders. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Kennesaw State 1, Chattanooga 0
KENNESAW, Ga. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Kennesaw State on Friday night at Fifth Third Stadium in nonconference action.
Kennesaw State’s goal came in the 47th minute on a header off a corner kick from Ida Hepsoe to Abby Roth to make it a 1-0 and prove to be the game winner.
Kennesaw State outshot the Mocs 19-3 with six shots on goal.
The Mocs return home to host former Southern Conference foe Elon on Sunday. The match is set to kick off at 1 p.m.