Sunday's Women's Soccer Roundup

No. 1 seed Furman 2, No. 8 seed Western Carolina 0

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomore Stephanie DeVita netted two first-half goals to lead top-seeded Furman past eighth-seeded Western Carolina, 2-0, in the quarterfinal round of the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon on Seagraves Field at Stone Stadium.

The victory advanced the Paladins, 15-3-2, into the semifinal round of the tournament, where they will take on the winner of this afternoon’s Appalachian State at Samford match on Friday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m. at Wofford’s Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C. Western Carolina finished its season with a 10-9-1 record.

Following a script similar to the one that played out in Furman’s 1-0 victory at Western Carolina last month, the Paladins took the lead with an early goal from DeVita.  Sophomore Jamie Alexander created space for herself near the top of the box and fired a shot that caromed off of the left post to DeVita, who tucked away her shot at the 19:39 mark.

Furman doubled its lead with less than two minutes left in the half on DeVita’s team-leading 14th goal of the season.  Junior Catie Moore made a long run with the ball from Furman’s back line before DeVita played a give-and-go with India Robinson.  DeVita received the pass from Robinson and lined a shot inside the far, right post at the 43:42 mark to give Furman a 2-0 cushion.

The Paladins held Western Carolina scoreless in the second half by continuing to apply the pressure to the Catamounts as Furman rattled the crossbar twice.

Furman finished with an 18-11 shots edge and 6-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Sophomore Rose Hull recorded two saves for the Paladins to notch her sixth shutout and the team’s 11th clean sheet of the season.  Western Carolina’s Carly Tinstman stopped four shots in a losing effort.

The win gave Furman a perfect 9-0 record at Stone Stadium this season and upped the Paladins’ home mark to 21-1-2 since early October 2011.

DeVita’s pair of goals gave her 33 in her Furman career, which moved her past Anna Betton and into seventh on Furman’s career goals ledger.  India Robinson’s NCAA Division I-leading 17th assist, which came on Devita’s second goal of the day, moved her into a tie for second on the Paladins’ single-season assists chart and into a tie for fourth on the career assists ledger with 33.

 

No. 2 seed Elon 3, No. 7 seed Davidson 1

ELON, N.C. – Nicole Dennion scored two goals down the stretch to propel the Elon University women’s soccer team into the Southern Conference Championship semifinals with a 3-1 win over Davidson on Sunday at Rudd Field.

The second-seeded Phoenix advances in the tournament and will face sixth-seeded Wofford on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C., on the campus of Wofford College.

Trailing 1-0 at the half, Simi Dhaliwal headed in the equalizer for the Phoenix in the 63rd minute on a cross from Kimmie Krauss to even it up at 1-all.

Dennion put the maroon and gold on her back from there, as the sophomore forward from Ewing, N.J., scored the game-winner in the 86th minute after taking on Davidson’s defense and ripping a shot into the back left corner of the goal to give Elon a 2-1 lead.

But Dennion wasn’t done, as the Southern Conference Player of the Year nominee scored again in the 88th minute on a Dhaliwal pass to give the Phoenix insurance and a 3-1 lead.

Elon held the Wildcats in check from that point forward to secure the win and finish the year undefeated at home at 7-0-3. Overall, the Phoenix is unbeaten in its last nine matches, dating back to Oct. 6.

Davidson, the tournament’s No. 7 seed, took a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of the match after Becca Fisher struck a ball into the back of the right corner of the net from 18 yards out to give her squad momentum.

The ’Cats carried a one-goal lead into the locker room at intermission, despite Elon holding a 4-3 lead in shots and 1-0 edge in corners. Elon ended the match with a 7-6 advantage in shots, putting six on target to Davidson’s five.

Elon’s trip to the Southern Conference Championship semifinals is its fourth in the last five seasons.

 

No. 6 seed Wofford 0, No. 3 seed UNCG 0 (2OT; Wofford advances 5-4 in PKs)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wofford women’s soccer team defeated the Spartans of UNCG in penalty kicks 5-4 after a scoreless game in regulation to advance to the semifinals of the Southern Conference tournament. This is the first time that the Terriers have advanced to the semifinals in the Southern Conference tournament since 2002.

Sixth-seeded Wofford will face No. 2 seed Elon in the semifinals on Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C., on Friday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

UNCG finished the season with a record of 10-6-4. The Terriers sit at 8-4-6 heading into the semifinals at their home field.

In the penalty kick shootout, both teams had chances to win as each team picked five shooters to begin. UNCG took a 4-3 lead after a Zoe Fishman make, but Wofford’s Lucy Etro made her penalty kick to even it at 4-4. After a UNCG miss, Faith Lifer stepped up and nailed the game-winning PK after 18 combined attempts from both teams, sending Wofford into the semifinals.

In the second overtime, Wofford came alive, taking six shots in the period, including a shot from Annika Jansson that hit the post.

UNCG sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Simmons made three terrific saves to keep the Terriers off the board. In the 105th minute, Chloe Brackett blasted a shot from outside the box, but Simmons touched it over the goal for the save.

In the first overtime, UNCG sophomore Tracy Wolf put a shot on goal but Wofford keeper Kara Boggs came away with the save. Boggs made a career-high 15 saves, falling just one save shy of tying the school record for most in a game.

Simmons finished the game with six saves and had two keys stops during penalty kicks. Simmons earned her career-best ninth shutout of the year.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first half as the Spartans controlled possession and outshot Wofford 10-3 but couldn’t find the back of the net.

A minute into the half, UNCG sophomore Chesney White took a shot on frame, but Boggs turned away the shot.

Boggs would come up huge again, denying Wolf three times in a four-minute span. The biggest save was the first one, when she made a one-on-one kick save in the 74th minute.

In the 82nd minute, freshman Katelyn Mountjoy fired on goal but Boggs again was able to keep the Spartans scoreless.

 

No. 4 seed Samford 1, No. 5 seed Appalachian State 0

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – For the second time this season, the Samford University soccer team earned a hard-fought, one-goal triumph against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. In Sunday’s opening round of the Southern Conference tournament, the Bulldogs defeated the Mountaineers, 1-0, to advance to Friday’s semifinal round of competition to be held in Spartanburg, S.C.

With Sunday’s 1-0 victory, the No. 4-seed Samford (13-5-2) advanced to face top-seeded Furman on Friday at 5 p.m. The semifinal round and championship match of the 2013 SoCon tournament will be held at Wofford’s Snyder Field. Furman advanced to the semifinals by defeating Western Carolina, 2-0.

On the other side of the bracket, the homestanding Wofford Terriers will square off against No. 2 seed Elon at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Elon cruised past Davidson 3-1 on Sunday, while Wofford needed penalty kicks to upend the third-seeded UNCG Spartans.

The winners will advance to Sunday’s title match will be held at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Appalachian State (8-7-4) quickly rattled off a pair of shot attempts at Samford goalkeeper Melissa Montgomery. The Bulldogs’ defense continued to get stiffer throughout the match and didn’t allow a single Mountaineer shot attempt in the final 80:39 of the contest.

With its defensive back line basically impenetrable, Samford’s offensive attack gradually continued to take chances and attempted five shots in the first half.

Despite three or four really good scoring opportunities in the opening 45 minutes of play, the Bulldogs’ lone goal of the match actually occurred on an Appalachian State own goal.

On the game-winning score, Samford’s Diana Getzewich contested a key 50-50 ball near the midfield circle and the ball was sent up ahead to Hallie Georgi, who was streaking toward the goal from the right flank. On its way toward Georgi, the ball was inadvertently deflected by Mountaineer defender Nicole Steyl and caromed into the left side of the net.

The Bulldogs’ decisive goal was scored just 10 seconds before halftime.

Samford outshot the Mountaineers, 13-2, with five of its attempts being on-goal. The Bulldogs also dominated the stat sheet in corner kicks, 6-1.

Appalachian State’s goalkeeper Megan Roberson finished the match with three saves, while Mountaineer defenders were also forced to make a pair of stops. The Bulldogs’ offensive attack was paced by both senior Trine Taule and true freshman Olivia Cole, who registered three shots apiece. All three of Taule’s attempts were on-goal.

Earlier this season, in Samford’s regular-season meeting with Furman, the Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 decision on the road in Greenville, S.C. The loss snapped Samford’s 17-match conference road undefeated streak, which dated all the way back to Sept. 26, 2010.