Cougars Travel to Furman for Thursday Night Matchup

Thursday, September 13

Greenville, SC - Stone Soccer Stadium

7:00 PM

College of Charleston

Furman

Cougars Travel to Furman for Thursday Night Matchup

9/12/2018 1:24:00 PM | Women's Soccer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (5-3-0) at FURMAN (4-2-0)
Game #9 • Thurs. Sept. 13, 2018 • 7:00 p.m. ET
Greenville, S.C. • Eugene Stone Soccer Stadium
Series: Charleston train 2-16-5 overall
Last: Nov. 3, 2012; Charleston lost 2-1 (SoCon Tournament Semifinal)

Watch: SoCon Digital Network
Stats: StatBroadcast.com

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team hit the road for a Thursday evening matchup at Furman. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in Greenville, S.C. as head coach Christian Michner and his squad look to extend their winning run to four games.

Scouting Furman
The Paladins are 4-2 on the season, 3-1 at home, picking up wins over Richmond, North Greenville, Presbyterian and Campbell. Most recently, Furman lost 1-0 on the road at Kentucky on Sunday evening. The Paladins also drew on the road with Clemson during their preseason slate. Picked to finish third in the SoCon preseason coaches poll, Furman return preseason All-Southern Conference selections Kellsey Weaver and Erin O'Hearn.

Series History
This will be the 24^th meeting in history between the programs with Charleston trailing 2-16-5 all-time. The teams haven't met since playing twice in the 2012 season with Charleston winning 1-0 at Patriots Point before falling 2-1 in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament to the Paladins.

Last Meeting with the Paladins
The Cougars lost 2-1 in the SoCon Tournament semifinals with Furman scoring in the 77^th minute to take the win. After falling behind early, McCallie Jones equalized for Charleston early in the second half before Furman edged ahead late to advance to the tournament championship.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
"We're excited to head up to Greenville to play Furman and renew our old SoCon rivalry. They've got an excellent program and are always one of the top teams in their league every year. Coach Burr has the Paladins playing good soccer and are always tough to play against. This will be a great test for my team on the road. While we are headed out to the upstate, our thoughts and prayers will be with everyone in Charleston and up the east coast affected by Hurricane Florence."

Notables
• Charleston are on a three-game win streak
• The Cougars have scored eight goals and only conceded one in the past three games
• Senior defender Meredith Tunney was named the CAA Defensive Player of the Week last week
• Talia Colchico scored her first goal of the season, a game-winner, against Winthrop on the road
• Leah Deutsch scored her second goal in two games and Mackenzie Crittenberger scored her first collegiate goal against Charleston Southern
• Meredith Tunney continues to be the only Cougar to play every minute of every game this season (731 minutes)
• Laura Ortega is five goals from tying the career program record and three points from the tied most in program history
• Preseason All-CAA selection, Maddy Brill-Edwards, got her first assist of the season against Coastal Carolina before getting her second against Florida International
• In her debut for CofC, freshman Hannah Farmer got her first career assist by setting up Laura Ortega in the 2-0 win over North Florida
• Kacey Smekrud scored her first collegiate goal on the road against Wake Forest
• Genevieve Henderson continues to climb the goalkeeper career record books in minutes played, save percentage and goals against average
• Senior forward Laura Ortega was named CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year
• Ortega and senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards were named CAA Preseason All-CAA selections

Last Time Out
The College travelled to Rock Hill, S.C., defeating Winthrop 2-1, behind Talia Colchico's game winner. The Cougars scored early, a Laura Ortega free kick diverted into the Eagles goal by a Winthrop defender. The Eagles came back in the second half, drawing level through a header, before Colchico scored the game winner by beating her marker and scoring from 25-yards.

Record Hunting
CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Laura Ortega continues to edge closer to program history. Ortega is five goals from tying the career record of 24 set by Kristin Rhyne (2003-05) and just three points from tying the points record (59, also set by Rhyne). Ortega is currently second in career points with 56, tied fourth in goals with 19 and is third all-time in assists with 18 (four from the career record).

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.