Aug. 30, 2009

Tough Defense Leads No. 1 Tar Heels Past Spartans

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Defense ruled the day on both sides as No. 1-ranked North Carolina defeated UNC Greensboro 1-0 in women's soccer action at Fetzer Field Sunday afternoon. The Tar Heels got the goal they needed in the 57th minute from senior midfielder Nikki Washington in improving to 3-0.

The Tar Heel defense posted its second consecutive clean sheet after posting a shutout victory over UCF on Friday night. The back line of Rachel Givan, Kristi Eveland and Whitney Engen played brilliantly in front of senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, who recorded who first solo shutout since the 2007 season.

Carolina finished the 2009 Carolina Nike Classic with a record of 2-0, while UCF and UNC Greensboro both finished 1-1 and Duke finished 0-2. On Friday, UNCG defeated Duke 1-0 while Carolina defeated UCF 4-0. On Sunday, UCF upset the 11th-ranked Blue Devils 3-2 while Carolina turned back UNCG 1-0.

Cavaliers Roll to 7-0 Win Over Hofstra

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The No. 14 Cavalier women’s soccer team recorded its second consecutive impressive victory of the weekend, downing Hofstra 7-0 Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. Virginia broke open the game with five goals in a 10-minute span early in the second half and cruised to their most lopsided victory in four seasons.

The Cavaliers opened the scoring in the sixth minute of play. Jess Rostedt (Kent, Ohio) sent a cross that found Lauren Alwine (Elizabethtown, Pa.) alone on the back post, who tapped in her second goal of the season.

Virginia outshot the Pride 25-6 in the contest and had a 4-3 corner kick advantage. Chantel Jones (Midlothian, Va.) made two saves to record her second shutout of the season and the 15th of her career. Krysten Farriella and Kylie Shuster made five and two saves respectively for Hofstra.

Hutchinson's Goal Lifts Wake Forest to 2-1 Win

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest senior forward Jill Hutchinson scored her fourth goal of the season in the 65th minute to lift the Demon Deacons to a 2-1 victory over Loyola (Md.) on Sunday afternoon at Spry Stadium.

The Demon Deacon defense did a stellar job of preventing Loyola from having any quality chances in the second half. The Greyhounds only attempted one shot in the second 45 minutes. Wake Forest was forced to play a player down for the final nine minutes after Fountain received a red card, but Loyola could not take advantage of the shorthanded Deacs, failing to attempt a shot in the last nine minutes.

Wake Forest easily out-shot Loyola, holding a 12-2 advantage. The Deacs had five shots on goal compared to one for the Greyhounds. Wake earned seven corner kicks, compared to two for Loyola.

Virginia Tech defeats Lehigh 1-0 at Villanova Classic

VILLANOVA, Pa. - The Hokies (2-1-0) claimed victory over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (1-1-0) in their second and final game of the Villanova Classic on Sunday morning. Junior forward Marika Gray was the scorer for the Hokies, netting her first goal of the season and first since returning from injury.

The Hokies dominated the ball for most of the first half and took eight of their 14 total shots during that time. Gray got things going for the Hokies in the 32nd minute of play, just after Kelsey Mitchell’s header off a Kelsey Billups corner kick missed wide right.

Tech continued to fire in the second half but could not connect. Freshman Kelly Conheeney finished the game with three shots, while four other starts recorded two shots apiece.

Florida State Downs Stetson 3-0

DELAND, Fla. - Fifth-ranked Florida State (3-0-0) registered its third consecutive shutout with a 3-0 victory over Stetson (2-2-0) Sunday afternoon in DeLand, Fla. After playing to a scoreless first half, the Seminoles came out with three goals in the second 45 minutes to run their regular season road unbeaten streak to 12 (9-0-3) straight games.

Redshirt sophomore Jessica Price recorded two goals including the game winner in the 47th minute to keep the Garnet and Gold unbeaten on the year. The two goals by Price capped an outstanding weekend in which the Libertyville, Ill., native registered nine points on three goals and three assists.

Florida State has outscored the opposition 17-0 to start the year tying the school record for the most goals scored through the first three games joining the 2007 squad who outscored opponents 17-3. FSU finished the game out shooting Stetson 25-3, while holding the advantage in corner kicks with an 11-1 edge.

No. 11 Duke Falls, 3-2, to Central Florida

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 11 Duke women's soccer team closed the weekend at the Nike Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C., with a 3-2 loss to Central Florida on Sunday at Fetzer Field. The Blue Devils lost their second straight contest to fall to 1-2 on the season, while Central Florida improved to 2-1.

Duke opened the contest firing at Central Florida as the Blue Devils took the first six shots of the contest. After Central Florida had its first shot attempt of the match in the 22nd minute, Duke's Jane Alukonis and KayAnne Gummersall had shots prior to the Blue Devils notching the first goal of the contest by Cody Newman in the 29th minute.

Alukonis and Duke sophomore Chelsea Canepa each took shots in the last two minutes of the game but Knights' keeper Lynzee Lee saved both attempts. Central Florida outshot Duke 10-8 in the second half, but Duke held a 19-12 advantage for the contest.

Tiger Women's Soccer Team Falls to UAB in Double Overtime Sunday

BIRMINGHAM, AL - The Clemson women's soccer team fell to the University of Alabama-Birmingham by a score of 3-2 in double overtime on Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, AL. For the second straight game, freshman forward Maddy Elder scored two goals in the Tiger effort. Clemson falls to 1-1 on the season, while UAB improves to 4-0.

Elder put Clemson on the board less than four minutes into the game. She was assisted on the goal by sophomore defender Ashlynne Bass. Alabama-Birmingham's Danya Barsalona netted a goal in the 40th minute of play and the teams went into halftime with the score knotted at 1-1.

The Tigers struck first in the second half, taking a 2-1 lead at the 61:50 mark with Elder's second goal of the game, and her fourth of the season. The Blazers' Tiffini Turpin scored in the 83rd minute to tie the score at 2-2 and send the game into overtime.