CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team defeated Charleston Southern for the seventh straight time Friday afternoon at CSU Soccer Field. CofC downed the Bucs 1-0 behind a penalty kick from freshmen forward Jessica Schifer in the 35th minute and shutout from junior goalkeeper Lauren Killian.
When you're playing against rivals in your own city, they always play you tough,” said head coach Christian Michner. “Charleston Southern is a much improved team, Coach Terrill has done a great job of getting players in that really fit his system. They work hard for 90 minutes and it makes them a very difficult opponent. Our girls stepped up and made the plays we needed to win. We knew it wasn't going to be a pretty game but we were able to make some key adjustments that helped us get a victory.”
In the 35th minute, freshmen Raymara Barreto was fouled in the CSU goal box awarding CofC a penalty kick. Jessica Schifer buried her third goal of the season past CSU goalkeeper Alyssa Dellacqua to give The College a 1-0 lead ten minutes before halftime. Schifer now has a team leading three game-winning goals in 2015.
“I thought Raymara kept ball up the field for us all day and she certainly created the penalty kick when she was fouled in the box. Schifer, another freshmen for us, stepped right up and buried home the game-winner. I was very proud of the poise that was shown from my leaders and younger players throughout this match.”
The College (5-3) has moved to 15-5-4 all-time against the Bucs, most notably a 13-0-5 record in the series since 1998. The Cougars currently have a seven-game winning streak over CSU, six straight under Michner, with the last loss coming on Oct. 21, 1998.
“We talked about the tradition of this series, the rivalry, and how long it dates back. There were many amazing teams before I got here that took care of business and won the Silver Cup for the College of Charleston. I'm thankful we were able to keep it in our possession today and to have our sixth straight win against CSU since I've been here. Every game has been tight and I know next year's game will be tight. We are proud of the moment now and will celebrate this victory and tomorrow we will turn our focus towards Sunday.”
The Cougar defense settled down after allowing four corner kicks and five shots in the first 15 minutes of the match. CSU held advantages in shots on goal (5) and corners (5) but that did not faze goalkeeper Lauren Killian (3-1) who pitched her first shutout of 2015 and tallied five saves.
“It will take the same kind of commitment and focus we had in today's game if we expect to have success against The Citadel. It's another intercity rivalry, we know they are going to come out really fired up and ready to play. We know having momentum going into the CAA next weekend will be huge for us. If we win on Sunday, no doubt we win the city championship in terms of all the Division I teams in Charleston, but it also gives us great momentum going into the CAA opener against Delaware.”
The Cougars will play for the city championship when they host The Citadel on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m.
