College of Charleston
Western Carolina
W. Soccer Grinds Out Overtime Win at Western Carolina
10/20/2012 1:51:00 AM | Women's Soccer
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team solidified a 3-2 overtime win at Western Carolina in Southern Conference play on Friday evening. The Cougars jumped out to a 2-0 lead and weathered the Catamounts' comeback before McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) scored the game winner in the 98th minute.
“We came out ready to play early and had complete control of the first half,” said head coach Christian Michner. “We knew that Western Carolina would come out and fight in the second half and make it difficult to play, and they did just that. Credit goes to them for battling back in.
“The difference in overtime was our senior leadership going into the extra period. They had a lot to say to their teammates about grinding it out and McCallie Jones scored a world-class goal to win it for us.”
Freshman forward Jackie Weston (Mooresville, N.C.) scored her first goal as a Cougar to give CofC the early lead in the sixth minute, marking the 10th time the Cougars have scored first in a match. Weston netted the ball on a corner kick sent into the box by KateTwohig (Charleston, S.C.).
The Cougars padded their lead in the 41st minute indirectly off another corner kick play. On this play, Sarah Cardamone (Downingtown, Pa.) sent the ball into the box and Jade Reynolds (Oxon, England) converted the goal after WCU failed to clear the ball to safety.
The Cougars took the 2-0 lead into the intermission after the two corner-kick conversions on five such first-half opportunities.
The Catamounts reinserted themselves into the match in the second period, however, and freshman striker Markie Studnicky scored her eighth and ninth goals of the season to equalize the match.
CofC has been plagued by an 18-7 second-half goal disadvantage this season.
Studnicky first scored in the 60th minute after receiving a pass in the box from Laura Greb and then equalized the match in the 81st minute off an individual effort from the top of the penalty area.
The Catamounts came out firing in the overtime period and sailed a pair of shots over the crossbar in the first minute. CofC overtook control of the play afterwards, and Jones found some space on the right side and tucked her third goal of the season into the net to undo WCU's comeback effort.
The win goes a long way to sure up the Cougars' postseason fate, but the race is still wide open with several teams vying for the privilege to extend their campaigns past the regular season. The Cougars currently sit in a four-way tie for the third seed with two games left to play. Eight teams make the SoCon Tournament with the top four seeds hosting opening-round matches.
“That's the thing in this league,” said Michner. “Any team can win on any given night and everything is so tight with so many teams within a point or two of each other in the standings. We could still be one of the teams to host; we could have to go on the road; or we could miss out completely. So, we still have work to do.”
CofC continues the season with a Sunday afternoon tilt at Appalachian State, one of the teams the Cougars are tied with, and end the season at home against crosstown rival the Citadel on Wednesday, Oct. 24.
