BOONE, N.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team dominated in its Southern Conference opener in beating Appalachian State, 4-0, at the Appalachian Soccer Complex on Friday Night.
The win moves the Cougars to 4-5-0 (1-0 SoCon) while the Mountaineers fall to 3-4-1 (0-1 SoCon).
"Our team was really focused on getting results tonight," said head coach Christian Michner. "We looked great on both ends of the balls and were able to capitalize with some great goals tonight. It's no secret that we've scored a lot of goals this season, but we've also allowed too many. Tonight we were extremely focused on both ends and the result was positive."
Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) sparked the Cougars with a pair of goals in the opening 26 minutes of the game to put CofC up, 2-0.
The first came in the 15th minute with an assist from Maryam Buazza (Katy, Texas) and the second was in the 26th minute with Kelly Gautreaux (Mandeville, La.) notching the assist.
The goals were Schaidle's third and fourth of the season, tying her for the team lead with Buazza and Sloane Levin (Hamburg, Mich.)
Levin picked up assists on both of CofC's ensuing goals, the first scored by Morgan Benz (Clifton, Va.) and the second by Hannah Gmerek (Anderson, S.C.)
Katie Tate (Piedmont, S.C.) played the entirety of the match in net and made nine saves en route to the shutout.
Statistically, the teams were even for the match. The Mountaineers actually held a 14-12 shot advantage and benefited from six corner opportunities compared to five for the Cougars.
The win extended CofC's unbeaten streak against the Mountaineers to seven games.
"Tonight we got a great all-around effort from out whole team," said Michner. "We needed everyone to be on the same page and that's exactly what we got."
The Cougars will continue SoCon play with a Sunday afternoon bout with Western Carolina at 2 p.m. at the Catamount Soccer Complex. The Cougars are 4-9-2 all-time against Western Carolina but haven't lost to the Catamounts since 2007.
"We did what we needed to do tonight but now our attention shifts to Western Carolina," said Michner. "If we can roll over this same mentality I know we'll have success despite the tough environment."
