College of Charleston
Davidson
CofC Women's Soccer Drops Heartbreaker to Davidson in Double Overtime
11/8/2009 9:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team dropped a double-overtime1-0 heartbreaker to Davidson in the Southern Conference Championship game on Sunday before 160 fans in Greensboro, N.C. With the win the Wildcats earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars played more minutes than any other team in the conference bracket this weekend, earning a 0-0 2OT tie in the semifinal match and advancing over Samford on penalty kicks (6-5) before Sunday's double-overtime contest.
Flink slipped one past CofC freshman goalkeeper Katie Tate with a header that clipped the crossbar and bounced to the near post at the 108.27 mark. Tate had one hand on the ball but it had already crossed the line to give the Wildcats the victory.
Tate totaled seven stops on the weekend, including four against the Wildcats on Sunday. Additionally, she made a big contribution to the Cougars' win on Friday by stopping a penalty shot and allowing the team to pull ahead on junior Morgan Benz's kick.
Sophomore Hope Atkinson led Charleston's offensive effort on Sunday, blasting three shots and nearly scoring in the second minute of action. Rebounding a shot by Benz, she attempted to slip around Davidson goalkeeper Jessie Baxa. Baxa managed to trap the ball and save the Wildcats from falling instantly behind.
After an early substitution, freshman Liz Miller drilled a pair of shots that were blocked by Wildcat defenders in the 18th minute.
Davidson (12-9-1) picked up the pace in the waning minutes of the first half, striking three times in the final six minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Katie Tate made two stops, halting a shot from 23 yards out and then diving to catch a strike from the left corner in the final two minutes of the first half.
Entering the second half, freshman Alyssa Bearden rifled a shot off a pass from sophomore midfielder Hannah Gmerek at the 47:11 minute mark which was blocked by a Wildcat defender. Two minutes later freshman Sarah Schaidle attempted a header but was blocked by Baxa.
College of Charleston (12-7-2) shifted to defense for a large portion of the second half. Tate blocked a long-range shot by Blakely Low in the 61st minute of action. Davidson had several chances to score, including a free kick from just outside the box, but the Cougar defense held them off, driving the game into overtime.
There was little action in the first overtime with only one shot from Davidson in the 93rd minute. In the second overtime period, Tate trapped a low shot by forward Kyri Bye-Nagel. Atkinson made the Cougars' final shot of the tournament, skimming just high one minute before Davidson made the final strike.
Seniors Emily Morgan and Julie Romanik and junior Benz were selected to the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team.
Charleston finished its season with a tie for the most conference wins (eight) and the highest seed in the conference tournament in school history.
