Charleston Begins CAA Championship Against Drexel

Friday, October 26

Harrisonburg, Va. (@ James Madison)

1:00 PM

College of Charleston

#5 Drexel University

10/25/2018 11:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer

#4 COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (10-7-1; 5-3-1 CAA) vs. #5 DREXEL (7-6-5, 4-4-1 CAA)
Game #19 • Fri. Oct, 26, 2018 • 1:00 p.m. ET
Harrisonburg, Va. • Sentara Park
Series: Charleston trails 1-5 all-time
Last: Sept. 23, 2018; Charleston lost 2-1 in double overtime

Watch: CAA.TV
Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @CofCWSOC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – In their third consecutive Colonial Athletic Association Championship appearance under head coach Christian Michner, the College of Charleston women's soccer team begins CAA quarterfinal action on Friday afternoon with a 1 p.m. matchup against No. 5 Drexel in Harrisonburg, Va.

Charleston, the No. 4 seed, earned the highest CAA seed in program history with a 5-3-1 conference record and have won five of their last nine matches with the last 11 games also decided by one goal or less. The quarterfinal game, held at the No. 1 seed James Madison, will be streamed live on the CAA TV network with live stats also available.

Scouting Drexel
The Dragons finished fifth in the CAA with a 4-4-1 record, closing out the regular season with a three-game unbeaten streak to finish on 13 points. A 0-0 draw at Towson was followed by a road win over Northeastern and home win over Elon to propel the Dragons into the CAA Championship picture after opening the conference slate with a 1-3 record. Notable non-conference games for Drexel include a double overtime 0-0 draw with No. 25 Princeton and a 1-0 win over Maryland. Nine of the Dragons 18 games this season have also gone to either overtime or double overtime.

Series History
This will be the seventh meeting all-time and the second this season between the programs. Drexel hold a 1-5 overall record over Charleston, the last two games being decided in overtime. The last victory for the Cougars came back in 2015 with Drexel winning three straight since then.

Last Meeting with the Dragons
On the opening weekend of CAA play, a goal late in double overtime stole the win for the Dragons. Laura Ortega opened the day's scoring with her second free-kick in two games, a 30-yard effort from the left wing that found the top right corner in the 55^th minute. The Dragons pulled level with a header with 90 minutes unable to separate the teams. Overtime and double overtime followed with Drexel capitalizing on a ball between the Charleston defenders to score the golden goal and take the three points.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
On making the CAA Championship field…
"We're excited to be at this stage in the season with another chance to compete for a CAA Championship. This group has been laser focused since the start of our 2018 cycle, which started in January... A lot of hard work and effort to get to this moment of the season and I'm proud of how they've performed day in and day out under pressure and in tough environments. We've been very consistent with our performances and it's why we've been so successful this season."

On the quarterfinal game against Drexel…
"Drexel will be a huge challenge for us in the quarterfinal as the double overtime loss to them on the opening weekend still stings. They're a well-coached, very organized team that is tough to break down. We will have to be smart with our possession and take our chances when they come. I know this team is ready to play and I'm excited for them as well… It should be a tight one on Friday afternoon."

Notables
• Senior forward Laura Ortega was named the 2018 CAA Player of the Year
• Ortega earned First Team All-CAA honors, Rachel Kim tabbed second team, Raymara Barreto third team and Hannah Farmer all-rookie honors
• The College have the highest CAA Championship seed in program history after finishing with a 5-3-1 conference record
• Charleston have reached ten wins for the third time under head coach Christian Michner
• Charleston have won four of their last seven matches
• Laura Ortega is the all-time points and all-time goals leader in Charleston history
• Ali Freitas scored her first goal of the season against Northeastern
• Meredith Holton recorded her first win of the season in goal against the Huskies
• Hannah Farmer scored her first collegiate goal against Towson
• Rachel Kim and Raymara Barreto scored their first goals of the season at Towson
• The Cougars last 11 matches have been decided by a single goal or less with CofC holding a 6-4-1 record over those past eight games
• Ortega was named CAA Player of the Week on Sept. 24
• Ortega is two assists from tying the program records of 22
• Meredith Tunney continues to be the only Charleston student-athlete to play every minute of every game this season (1,601)
• Tunney was named CAA Defender of the Week on Sept. 10
• Charleston picked up their first win over William & Mary in program history on Sept. 20
• Maddy Brill-Edwards got her first assist of the season against Coastal Carolina before getting her second against Florida International

Last Time Out
Charleston fell to Hostra 1-0 in the final regular season game of 2018. The Pride scored inside five minutes to take the three points with the loss confirming Charleston as the No .4 seed for the upcoming CAA Championships.

Player of the Year
Senior Laura Ortega was voted the 2018 CAA Player of the Year after a stellar final season as a Cougar. The forward from Aranjuez, Spain, becomes the first women's soccer student-athlete to be named player of the year in program history and the first back-to-back first team all-conference selection since Kristin Rhyne was named All-SoCon First Team in 2004 and 2005. Ortega earned a spot on the All-CAA First Team after leading Charleston to a 5-3-1 CAA record, scoring a team leading eight goals, a conference leading four game-winning goals and tallying four assists for 20 overall points. The senior from Aranjuez, Spain, broke the all-time goals and points records this season, with 25 and 70 respectively, and is currently two assists away from breaking the all-time assists record of 22.

All-Conference Nods
Junior defender Rachel Kim earned second team honors, her first career award, by helping anchor a Charleston defense that averaged a 1.17 goals against average and allowing the third lowest goals over the season in the conference (21 through 18 games). Barreto earned a spot on the third team after being instrumental in a Charleston team that reached 10 wins for the third time under head coach Christian Michner. Hannah Farmer earned all-rookie honors after solid displays off the bench appearing in all 18 games and scoring her first collegiate goal on the road at Towson.

Record Breaker
CAA Player of the Year Laura Ortega took control of the all-time points record by scoring two goals in two games on Sept. 20 & 23. Ortega, 68 career points, tied the record with a last-minute game-winning free-kick against William & Mary. She then took control of the record book with a 35-yard free-kick against Drexel on Sept. 23., before adding to her own record against Elon and most recently James Madison. Ortega also broke the all-time goals record with a game-winner against UNCW to move onto 25 goals. She is also two assists from the all-time assists record at Charleston.

Cougars Summary
The College was picked to finish sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association by the league's coaches. Charleston returns 24 letterwinners, including nine starters, while adding 11 newcomers to the roster. The 2018 squad will be led by 2017 All-CAA selection Laura Ortega who led the offense last season with eight goals and five assists; good for 21 points. Senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards is a Preseason All-CAA selection alongside Ortega who is also the Preseason Co-Player of the Year.