App State Shows Grit in 1-1 Tie Versus Arkansas State
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's soccer (2-7-3, 1-2-1 SBC) played to a 1-1 tie against a formidable Arkansas State (6-4-1, 2-2-1 SBC) team on Saturday evening at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
Appalachian showed resiliency and fight after falling to the visitors, 1-0, following a goal from Taylor Schneider in the 63rd minute. Taylor Ray stopped the shot, but the ball barely crossed the line. If it weren't for that score, the Black and Gold would be talking about an impressive win and getting back to .500 in conference play.
Appalachian had four shots on the target before the most important one of the match with just over five minutes left in regulation. Sarah Peatross was on the break down the middle of the field before finding a cutting Kat Greer on the left side of the box and then fired off an impressive shot past one of the Sun Belt's top goalkeepers in Megan McClure to the right corner for the score, tying up the match, 1-1.
For Greer, it was the fourth goal of the season and her third score in the past four matches, while all four of her goals have either given App the lead or tied up the match. Also, the assist for Peatross to Greer was the first of the season for the redshirt junior.
The Mountaineers attempted three more shots at the net including a near miss by Morgan Mosack in the first overtime period. App and Arkansas State wouldn't get a shot off at the frame in the final overtime stanza, leading to the first draw for either team in league action.
App State held a 13-10 edge in shots highlighted by a season-high eight shots on goal and a .615 shot on goal percentage. Also, Appalachian posted a season-high seven corner kicks.
Three different student-athletes in Lindsey Tully, Sarah Peatross, and Mosack registered multiple shots on goal with Tully staying aggressive as she totaled five shot attempts. Taylor Ray had a solid outing with five saves on 10 shots from the Red Wolves.
App didn't get the win but did pick up a point in the league standings to stay in a tie with Little Rock for seventh.
A quick turnaround is in store for App as it heads to Texas State for an 8 p.m. (ET) showdown against the Bobcats, who is second in the league with a 3-1 mark and have won their last two matches.
JAG SOCCER DOMINATES SECOND HALF, BLANKS GEORGIA SOUTHERN
STATESBORO, Ga. – The University of South Alabama soccer team scored four second-half goals in a 4-0 victory over Georgia Southern Friday night at a sloppy Eagle Field.
The Jaguars improve to 4-0 in the Sun Belt Conference and 6-4-1 overall, and are unbeaten in their last seven matches. The Eagles drop to 3-6-2 and 1-3.
GAME FACTS
-Much of the game was played in a massive downpour, and resulted in a flooded pitch
-The shots at halftime were tied at 5-5, but the Jags recorded the last three shots of the half
-It took 28 seconds after intermission for South Alabama to break the tie – freshman Deanna Green fed senior Tiina Trutsi into space in the penalty area, and Trutsi beat GS goalkeeper Lauren Karinshak into the right side of the net
-Sophomore Briana Morris doubled the advantage at 63:21 off a long pass from junior Hannah Godfrey for a 2-0 lead
-Freshman Ashleigh Pyle nearly made it a 3-0 contest, but her attempt from 12 yards out went straight to Karinshak
-Hardy recorded her brace in the final 11:04 of the contest
-Hardy's first came at 78:56 off a pass from junior Audrey Duren, and her second came after her shot deflected off an Eagle defender and looped over Karinshak
-All three of Georgia Southern's shots in the second half came in a 2 ½ minute stretch early in the second half – South Alabama outshot GS 10-3 after halftime
-The shots were 15-8 South Alabama overall and 9-2 in shots on goal
-USA sophomore Justice Stanford made two saves while Karinshak had five stops
NOTES
-Trutsi's goal, her fourth of the season, was her first since the Jacksonville State game on Sept. 3 – she temporarily tied Hardy for the team lead before Hardy's double
-The win tonight is South Alabama's first road victory of the season (1-2-1)
-USA is 4-0 in Sun Belt play for the second time in school history (2015)
-The Jaguars are 33-5-2 in conference games in the last four seasons
-Hardy's brace was her second of the season (Jacksonville State) and sixth of her career
-Hardy passes Tanya Allegretti for fourth place in USA history with 33 career goals, and Brandi Smith for fifth place with 79 career points
-South Alabama leads the series with Georgia Southern 8-1, and has not lost since 1996
-The Jags have outscored the Eagles 15-0 since GS joined the Sun Belt in 2014
-USA has scored first and outshot its opponent eight times in the last nine games
-Stanford has tied Bryna Warnock for sixth in career shutouts with 13
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
On getting the first road win of the year: "It was a tough location to play. I thought Georgia Southern, in the first half, did very well. They were organized and it made it difficult on us. We struggled to get settled in, but when we did, we started creating chances. The heavens opened up and we spent the last 45 minutes with a killer mentality. We said if we were going to be competitors and contenders to win the conference, and consider ourselves one of the top teams, we have to fight through those conditions. The referees were in control of the situation and we just kept going. We were willing to do whatever it took to get the job done."
On the field conditions: "We have rules in place from the conference, and I asked the referee at the start, because the skies were getting gray, if he'd checked the weather. He said we might get a bit of rain. I think it's important that it goes on record that the coaches are meant to talk and decide on a backup plan. About 35 minutes in, it started pouring and the field was saturated and you couldn't kick a ball. But at that point, it's in the referee's hands and he can call it at any given time. The field was waterlogged and hard to play on, but we scored four goals on that field. I think we sent a message, saying no matter what, we're going to play. The referees had the game under control, there were no malicious tackles, but that field didn't make it fair on either team."
On Rio's two goals: "She just came in and worked hard. There was nothing romantic or graceful about the way the ball hit the back of the net; I think Tiina's goal was the best out of them, but Rio came in in the second half and just worked hard. Good things happen when you work hard. The first half she was struggling to get into the game. I think examples have to be made of Tiina and Briana – those were two players that stood out today. They worked hard from the minute they got in until the end. We had to take Rio out to reevaluate then get her back in. Once she got back in, she was so effective. It would be great to have her more consistent week in and week out."
On dominating the second half: "The difference was mentality. We got on them a little bit at halftime and said we have to find a way to get this thing going. We're not doing what we came here to do. We just had to tweak the mentality. We made reference to a fighter versus victim mentality, and I think we came out in the second half with a fighter mentality. Not once did we ask the referee to stop the game or do anything for us. We didn't ask anyone for any favors tonight; we just got on with it. For us to come out and play the way we did, work hard the way we did, and refuse to leave the field until we got the job done, just speaks volumes for the girls. We wanted to play and we wanted to win. Simple."
UP NEXT
The Jaguars finish the weekend on Sunday at Troy with a 1 p.m. start.
Chanticleers Take Down Louisiana 3-0
Lafayette, La. - The Coastal Carolina women's soccer team defeated Louisiana 3-0, Friday evening, in Lafayette. The Chanticleers improve to 8-4 overall, 3-2 in conference. The loss dropped the Ragin Cajuns to 5-5-1 and 2-1-1 in Sun Belt action.
The Chanticleers got the eventual game-winning score of the match by Ambria Shutts, her first goal of the season. She put a shot past the diving goalkeeper on the cross from Abby Gashel for the 1-nil lead in the 40th minute.
Despite being outshot 11-to-2 and 4-to-0 on corner kicks in the first half, Coastal went into halftime with the score remaining at 1-0.
The Sun Belt's leading goal scorer, Daniella Famili, padded that tally with her eighth goal of the season to increase the lead to 2-0. Her shot came off the assist of Kayla Christian at the 49:53 mark.
The two switched roles to provide the 3-0 final. Famili (1 goal, 1 assist) earned her third point of the night as she fed Christian (1 goal, 1 assist) in the 52nd minute for her second goal of the seasoin.
Christian lead CCU with two shots. Famili, Shutts, Sunny Sigurvinsdottir, Brenna Leftwich and Montanna Hill each had one.
Coastal Carolina will next be in action on Sunday, Oct. 1, at noon (CT) as they travel to Little Rock, Ark. to take on the Little Rock Trojans.
Trojans Remain Unbeaten at Home, Defeating ULM 2-1
LITTLE ROCK – Quin Wilkes and Jaclyn Purvine helped give Little Rock a two goal advantage, then the Trojans withstood a late ULM charge to record their first Sun Belt Conference victory of the year, defeating the Warhawks 2-1 at the Coleman Sports Complex.
The victory pushes Little Rock's record to 6-5-1 on the year and gives the Trojans three crucial points in the Sun Belt Conference standings, improving to 1-1-1 on the season. Little Rock also remained unbeaten at home in 2017, posting a 6-0-1 mark at Coleman.
Wilkes opened up the scoring in the 22nd minute, eluding a double team at the top of the box, then spinning to her right to get past a Warhawk defender, firing a shot that slipped just under the crossbar and putting Little Rock up 1-0. The goal was part of another offensively-dominated half by the Trojans, outshooting the Warhawks 10-2 over the first 45 minutes.
Wilkes then had a hand in Little Rock's second goal of the night, taking an errant pass deep in ULM's zone in the 65th minute and heading a Trojan break. Wilkes fed a pass to Purvine shadowing on the left, who then rocketed a shot to the far side of the goal, beating a diving Warhawk goalkeeper to push the Little Rock lead to 2-0.
But the Trojan goal seemed to energize the ULM attack as the Warhawks upped their offensive intensity over the final 20 minutes, capped by their goal in the 72nd minute. ULM's Danielle LaFrance fired a long shot on net that hit the crossbar and ricocheted straight down where it was covered by Trojan goalkeeper Megan Swanson for what looked like her fourth save of the night. But the officials ruled the ball had crossed the goal line prior as ULM pulled to within one at 2-1.
Both Little Rock and ULM had a handful of chances over the game's final 20 minutes but neither were able to find the back of the net, giving Little Rock the hard fought victory.
For the game, the Trojans outshot the Warhawks 16-7, putting seven shots on goal. Liesa Siefert registered a team-high three shots on the night with Purvine, Wilkes, Morgan Smocovich, Erna Gudjonsdottir and Sairra Tucker each taking a pair of shots.
Defensively, Swanson recorded three saves on the night to earn the victory, improving to 4-5-1 on the year. Little Rock held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks while fouls were nearly even at 9-8, a combined 12 of which came in the second half as both teams' intensity increased.
Little Rock next returns to action Sunday, hosting Coastal Carolina to wrap up its three game home stand and stretch of five home games over its last six contests. Opening draw against the Chanticleers is set for 12 p.m.