CofC and Elon Draw 0-0, Postseason Hopes Remain Alive

Friday, October 21

Mt. Pleasant

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

10-6-2; 3-3-2

Elon

7-8-3; 2-4-2

OT 3

OT 4

Elon

Col. of Charleston

Photo by: Michael Wiser

CofC and Elon Draw 0-0, Postseason Hopes Remain Alive

10/21/2016 10:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score CAA Standings

By: Chris Chandler, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team (10-6-2; 3-3-2 vs. CAA) played the Elon Phoenix (7-8-3; 2-4-2 vs. CAA) to a scoreless draw Friday night, moving to 11 points in the CAA and spelling a virtual do-or-die scenario in Sunday's senior day showdown with William and Mary.

• After a feeling-out process that lasted for the entire first half, the Cougars finally turned on the faucet offensively and picked up the shot-total. Though they had 19 shots on the night, Elon's keeper Katelyn Fowler only had to make four saves on the evening. Lauren Killian made four saves of her own on nine shots from Elon, as both keepers earned shutouts. It was Killian's seventh solo-shutout of the year.

• Ali Frietas almost ended the game with five minutes to go in the second overtime, getting the ball in down low, but sailing it high. She finished with four shots on the night, while Jessica Schifer was credited with six.

"The team was really excited to start the game, and I think there were some nerves coming in," head coach Christian Michner said. "We didn't find our rhythm out there until the second half. Credit to Elon, they played really well and put us under pressure. We had enough chances to win it tonight, we just didn't find that goal."

The Cougars now find themselves in a tie for fifth place with UNCW at 11 points, and the entire CAA will finish the regular season out on Sunday. CofC is in a position to finish as high as fourth, or as low as eighth, meaning they can host a tournament game, can be the visiting team in a tournament game, or can miss the tournament altogether.

With a win Sunday over William & Mary, the Cougars would punch their ticket to the CAA Tournament as a four or five seed. A loss would almost certainly sink the College out of CAA Tournament contention, while a tie would in all likelihood trigger various and assorted tiebreak scenarios.

Outside of the Cougars' Sunday matchup, CofC will be rooting for Elon to win on the road at UNCW, which would preserve the College's chances at hosting the opening weekend. They will also be rooting for Drexel to beat Delaware, which would reduce the number of teams vying to surpass CofC in the standings. That leaves Towson visiting Hofstra. Whoever wins that game would rise to 12 points, which would pass the Cougars in the event of a CofC loss and tie the Cougars in the event of a CofC draw. The College has the tiebreaker against both teams, but in the event of a three or four-way tiebreak involving Delaware and or UNCW, things become a lot murkier. As Michner points out though, all of this uncertainty can be done away with simply by winning on Sunday.

"We're going to honor our seniors Sunday, and we're determined to do that by sending them out on a great note with a big win," Michner said. "We know we control our own destiny, so we're going to go in with that attacking mentality and play for three points on Sunday."

The Cougars will celebrate the careers of their seniors (Riley Narum, Lauren Killian, Alexa Gray, Sarah Blakely and Suzi Vallez) Sunday at 1 p.m. when they host the William & Mary Tribe (10-7; 4-4).