College of Charleston
William and Mary
CofC W. Soccer Bested by William and Mary
10/5/2014 8:25:00 PM | Women's Soccer
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team dropped a 2-0 result to a highly talented William and Mary team in Colonial Athletic Association play at Patriots Point on Sunday afternoon.
The Cougars (5-8-0, 1-2-0 CAA) weathered the Tribe's heavy offensive attack as the defense bent but didn't break through the first half, but an own goal put the Tribe on the board early in the second period. W&M added a second goal 10 minutes later, and limited CofC's ability to possess the ball down the stretch to claim the result.
“William and Mary is a phenomenal program,” said head coach Christian Michner. “Coach Daly has done a great job over the years of building what's really a top 25 team in the country, and they played like it today. I think they beat us in nearly every facet of the match.
“Outside of the first three minutes, I thought they were by far the better team. They won most of the first balls; they were getting to goal; they created chances. It's unfortunate that we gave up the first goal on an own goal, but that happens. That's soccer. They were certainly the dominant team and my team can take away a lot of lessons from this 90 minutes.”
With the match in its infancy, CofC pushed forward and created an early scoring chance before the contest took any sort of form or shape. The effort earned a Cougar corner kick which was curled into the box by Sarah Cardamone and headed towards goal by Tracey Webster, but the freshman's effort trickled wide right.
Following the primary push, the Cougars were forced to settle in defensively as the Tribe established the possession game and dictated the run of play from that point forward.
Charleston produced a counter attack midway through the opening period, however, when Riley Narum created a turnover in the midfield and led Cardamone up field with an inviting pass, but Cardamone's shot leaked off to the right side as well.
The Tribe continued to display their offensive prowess and ability to possess and create chances, but the Cougar defensive corps was equal to the challenge in the first half as the teams went into the locker room nil-nil, thanks in large part to seven first-half saves by keeper Lauren Killian.
After the break, William and Mary resumed its goal-seeking mentality with the ball almost permanently implanted in the Cougars' defensive half.
The breakthrough came, perhaps unexpectedly, in the 54th minute on a throw-in deep in the Cougars' defensive end. The high-arching throw entered the box and took a large bounce in front of a crowd before a Cougar attempted to head it away from danger, but unfortunately the ball continued in its original direction, over the head of Killian, and into the far side of the net.
Less than ten minutes later, W&M padded its lead when Emory Camper made a diagonal left-to-right run which traced her through the top of the penalty area before she ripped a shot back across her body to the far-left corner. Killian, diving to her right, got a glove to the attempt but the ball still found its way inside the far post.
The Cougars endeavored to establish any sort of possession down the stretch, but the uphill climb proved to be too steep for any sort of comeback attempt.
Killian ended the afternoon with 9 saves which ties her career high. Cardamone and Narum, along with defenders Allison Sender, Claire Newman, and Hope Walker played all 90 minutes of a highly-physical contest which solicited 30 evenly-split foul calls from the officials.
Charleston returns to CAA play with a two-game road trip which will pit the Cougars against James Madison (Oct. 10) and Towson (Oct. 12) next weekend.
For all information pertinent to CofC women's soccer, follow the Cougars on Twitter (@CofCWSoc). The account provides photos, insight into the team's goings-on, and in-game observations and updates.
Players Mentioned
