MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- The College of Charleston women's soccer team opened Southern Conference play with a 2-0 victory over Appalachian State on Friday night at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium.

With the win, the Cougars move to 8-1-1 on the year, 1-0-0 in the Southern Conference, while Appalachian State falls to 4-3-1, 0-1-0 in the SoCon with the loss

“I thought that this was the best Appalachian State team that we have faced since I have been the head coach here,” said head coach Kevin Dempsey. “To come out and play much better than we had in our last two matches and pick up a conference win is fantastic. We're all very pleased in how everything went tonight.”

In the first half, the Cougars wasted little time to attack the net on offense and eventually broke through in the 28th minute when Katie Browne scored her first goal of the season to put Charleston up 1-0. Teammates Julie Romanik and Amanda Raymond were credited with assists on the goal.

In the second half, Appalachian State almost converted on one of their few scoring chances of the night, when Casey Clearly had a clear shot at the net. Charleston goalie Erin Smith, however, made a diving save on the play to keep the score at 1-0

The Cougars put the match out of Appalachian State's reach in the 72nd minute when Chrissy Caruso netted her first goal of the season on an assist from Megan Manthey.

At the end of the night, Charleston outshot the Mountaineers 13-4 in the match, as Appalachian State took just two shots in each period. Smith earned her fifth shutout victory in eight starts on the year and made three saves on the night.

The Cougars will return to action on Sunday, Sept. 26 when they host SoCon rival Western Carolina. The match is set to start at 1 p.m.