Samford 2, Coastal Carolina 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – With just over five minutes remaining in Sunday’s nonconference showdown with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, Samford’s Olivia Cole lifted a free kick high into the air from 45 yards out. The ball bounced near the top of the goalkeeper’s box and then jumped neatly into the top right corner of the net to give the Bulldogs their decisive 2-1 lead.
The game-winning goal at exactly 84:11 proved to be Cole’s first of the 2015 campaign and the second of her career.
Samford outshot Coastal Carolina (3-3), 22-4, on Sunday, but it was the Chanticleers that found the back of the net first.
Just minutes into the contest, Kayla Christian blasted a crossing pass from the left side of the field that was deflected and caromed 15 yards out to her Coastal Carolina teammate Daniella Famili. Famili, who proved to be in the right place at the right time, quickly one-timed a shot from 12 yards out and found the right corner of the net.
Not to be outdone, Samford abruptly answered with a goal of its own just 4:44 later.
The Bulldogs’ scoring play was initiated by junior Jermaine Seoposenwe as she gathered an errant Chanticleer pass 10 yards on the far side of midfield and streaked pass a trio of defenders. Once through the midfield, Seoposenwe found Taylor Borman heading toward goal and passed the ball ahead to her fellow junior.
Borman gathered the pass, adeptly split a pair of Coastal Carolina defenders and beat goalkeeper Becca Austin to the left side of the goal.
The Samford University soccer team will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Duke Blue Devils in a highly-anticipated matchup to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Stadium.
Furman 2, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Senior Stephanie DeVita converted on a pair of first-half goals as Furman claimed a 2-1 victory at Davidson in nonconference women’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats (1-3) jumped in front in the 11th minute when Dani Johnson nodded a loose ball in the box into the corner for her first goal of the campaign.
Furman (4-2) equalized at the 28:09 mark on a loose ball scramble in the box as DeVita poked a shot inside the near post for her fifth tally of the season. Less than five minutes before the break, junior Carlie Couch picked out DeVita with a cross and the senior lined a shot past Davidson goalkeeper Becca Ravitz at 40:36 for the go-ahead score.
DeVita’s goal marked her sixth in six games this season and 56th in her Furman career. She needs just one to tie Emily Turgeon atop Furman’s career chart and three to tie the SoCon career record.
Davidson outshot Furman 8-0 after the break, but Paladin goalkeeper Maggie Grisell made four of her seven saves in the final 45 minutes to keep her team in front. The Indialantic, Fla., native moved to 3-0-0 on the season.
Furman returns home to host Kennesaw State on Friday night. The match will be streamed live on the SoCon Digital Network.
Chattanooga 4, Alabama A&M 0
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s soccer team posted a 4-0 shutout Sunday afternoon against Alabama A&M at Bulldog Field to improve to 1-4. The Bulldogs remain winless at 0-4.
Sophomore Amanda Ortiz got the scoring stared early with a goal at the 1:49 mark of the game with an assist from sophomore Brandy Herrera. Ortiz picked up the pass and kicked it in with a small deflection off the keeper’s glove for the goal.
It would not be long before Ortiz sent a pass to junior Samantha Hogan, whose shot from the top of the box found the back of the net in the ninth minute to make it 2-0 UTC.
The Mocs got another score before the end of the period from senior Skylar Brewer at the 41:50 mark after a flurry of attempts from sophomore McKenzie Gregg were thwarted. Chattanooga went into intermission with a 3-0 lead.
Gregg would get a score with time winding down late in the game. Freshman Rachel Lindsey sent a pass to Gregg on the left side of the box and her shot got past the A&M keeper for the score at the 86:55 mark.
Chattanooga outshot the Bulldogs 28-8 with a 17-5 shots on goal advantage. UTC keeper junior Katie Emig recoded four saves in 76 minutes.
Chattanooga remains on the road next weekend for the Gardner-Webb tournament. The Mocs will face the host Bulldogs on Friday night at 4 p.m.
Western Carolina 1, Longwood 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina women's soccer halted a two-game losing streak with a 1-0 win over Longwood on Sunday at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
The Catamounts struck early, putting the ball into the back of the net in the eighth minute of the game. Sara Robinson took a pass from freshman Sayres McKenna about 10 yards in front of the box for the score.
Junior goalkeeper Carly Tinstman earned the shutout, her third of the season. She had five saves.
Western Carolina will spend the next month on the road, starting with a game at East Carolina on Friday at 7 p.m.
Mercer 0, Gardner-Webb 0 (2OT)
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Mercer University women's soccer team notched its second tie of the weekend after a second scoreless game, this time against Gardner-Webb on Sunday.
The statistics were fairly even throughout the match, as Mercer's only shots-on-goal advantage per period was a 3-2 mark in the first half. Each team placed two shots on goal in the second and one in the first overtime. Neither team had a shot on target in the second overtime period.
Jamilah Tejan led the Bears offense in the match, notching a team-high two shots on goal off a total of three shots.
Mercer led Gardner-Webb in shots, 20-13, and corner kicks, 9-4.
Katelyn Dimopoulos led Mercer with five shots, followed by Alexius Hill and Jamilah Tejan with three apiece.
Maggie Cropp made five saves while recording her second clean sheet of the season. Cropp has totaled 17 shutouts in her career, with a season high of six in 2012.
Mercer will return home for another four home games, first hosting Western Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. at Bear Field.
Kennesaw State 3, The Citadel 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel women’s soccer team took a hard-fought loss on Sunday afternoon, falling to Kennesaw State 3-2.
Neither team could break the deadlock in the first half and headed into halftime with the score 0-0. Kennesaw State (3-2-1) would score first after a Cassidy Kemp goal and then again eight minutes later off of a penalty kick to give the Owls a 2-0 lead.
Then in the 78th minute, freshman Katherine Arroyo broke into the scoring column for the Bulldogs off of a penalty kick to make the score 2-1. That goal was the first score of the year for The Citadel (0-6).
After another unassisted goal from Kemp, Kennesaw State would push its lead to 3-1. The Citadel still had some fight left as Andrea Davila snuck another one past the keeper to make the score 3-2 in the 87th minute. The Bulldogs had a couple more chances to even the score but never could make the final push and eventually fell 3-2.
Senior Sam Millspaugh got the start in the net for The Citadel and registered six saves. The Bulldogs had seven shots in the game and three corner kicks. KSU tallied seven corners. It was a physical game on both sides of the field with the Owls and Bulldogs combining for 32 fouls.
The Bulldogs will travel to Charleston Southern on Friday for a 4 p.m. kick off then return to W.L.I. Field on Sunday when they host Francis Marion. Opening kick is set for 1:30 p.m. and admission is free.
Navy 6, ETSU 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – In the first meeting in program history between the two teams, the ETSU women's soccer team was defeated by Navy, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
The Midshipmen got on the board first, 12 minutes into the first half, when Ash Fairow netted her first goal of the season with the assist from Megan Rogers.
The Bucs responded quickly as a foul by Navy gave ETSU a free kick on the right side of the box and in perfect position to score. That is exactly what freshman Irina Brutsch did as she rocketed the ball that weaved past the Navy defense into the left side of the net to tie the game up at 1-1. It was Brutsch's second goal on the year.
With seven minutes remaining, Navy regained the lead off the foot of Anabell Motley, who chipped it up and over junior goalkeeper Jasmine Elliott extending the Navy lead. The Midshipmen were at it again a couple minutes later as Natalie Dzhandzhapanya dished a nice back pass to Courtney Mason, who blasted a shot into the top right corner of the net, giving Navy the 3-1 edge at halftime.
It was all Midshipmen in the second half, scoring three goals on seven shots to earn the 6-1 victory, their third of the season.
ETSU hosts Marshall on Friday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. in their final home game of their five game homestand. It will be the first meeting between the two schools.
East Carolina 3, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women’s soccer team began a stretch of six home games in seven contests Sunday night with a 3-0 loss to in-state foe East Carolina at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.
The Spartans will play their final road game of the month of September on Thursday night when they travel to NC State for their second of three games against Atlantic Coast Conference foes.
East Carolina (2-3-1) took a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute as it took advantage of its best chance of the first half. Kendall Frey made a run down the right-hand side and was able to turn the corner on a UNCG defender. She sent her cross into the box, where Lana Spitler was there to head the ball past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Chloe Buehler for the 1-0 lead.
East Carolina came out of the halftime break and quickly added to its lead, finding the back of the net in the 48th minute of play as Frey and Spitler connected once again. This time Frey was able to turn the corner and drive down the end line against Buehler before passing it off to Spitler, who rammed it home for her second of the game and a 2-0 ECU lead.
East Carolina closed out the scoring in the 62nd minute of play. Frey again had her hand in the action as she sent a cross into the box, where Madeleine Watson flicked it on to the back post. Stephanie Seagrave was there making a run and one-touched it into the net for a 3-0 lead.