Cougars Continue Road Travels at Delaware

Sunday, September 30

Newark, DE - Stuart and Suzanne Grant Stadium

1:00 PM

College of Charleston

Delaware

Photo by: J. Brett Bennett

9/29/2018 10:54:00 AM | Women's Soccer

COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (7-5-0; 2-1-0 CAA) at DELAWARE (2-8-1, 1-2-0 CAA)
Game #13 • Sun. Sept. 30, 2018 • 1:00 p.m. ET
Newark, Del. • Grant Stadium
Series: Charleston lead 3-1-1 overall
Last: Oct. 12, 2017; Charleston won 3-0

Stats: StatBroadcast
Twitter: @CofCWSOC

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The College of Charleston women's soccer team head north to Newark, Del., for a match against Delaware in the second of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association road-trip. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at Grant Stadium.

Scouting Delaware
The Blue Hens are 2-8-1 on the season, their single non-conference victory coming against Lafayette College. Each of the Blue Hen's CAA matches have been decided by a single goal, losses coming against Northeastern (2-1) and most recently Hofstra (1-0). Delaware defeated Elon on the road, 1-0 in overtime, behind junior Dani Kabat's team leading third goal of the season.

Series History
This will be the sixth meeting in history between the programs with Charleston holding a 3-1-1 series lead. The Cougars are also riding a three-game win streak against the Blue Hens, defeating them 1-0 in 2015, 4-2 in 2016 and 3-0 in 2017.

Last Meeting with the Blue Hens
Laura Ortega scored two goals in two minutes in the first half to help The College to a 3-0 win at Patriots Point Soccer Complex. Alyssa Beck set up Ortega in the 23^rd minute, who finished into the bottom corner before capitalizing on a Delaware error 90 seconds later to make it two. Ana Lesmes scored her first goal of the season in the second half to push the lead to three, Genevieve Henderson saving three shots to register her seventh clean sheet of the season.

Quotable – Head Coach Christian Michner
"After a good win away from home on Thursday night, we've got to be ready to do it again up at Delaware. This league is so tough and every opponent tests you a little differently, so the girls will have to dig in and do whatever it takes to get a good result on Sunday. We're in the midst of a tough stretch of games and we need to remain focused on achieving our goals. I'm happy with our first three CAA matches, but know we will need to continue to improve as the season moves on."

Notables
• Charleston are on a three-game win streak against Delaware
• Laura Ortega scored her third goal in three games to lead Charleston to a 1-0 win over Elon on Thursday night
• Ortega was named CAA Player of the Week last week after scoring two goals in two games and is now the sole all-time career points leader at the College of Charleston
• Ortega is also three assists from tying the program record of 22, four from taking the record outright
• Alyssa Beck got her second assist of the season against Elon
• Meredith Tunney continues to be the only Charleston student-athlete to play every minute of every game this season (1,111)
• 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
• On her debut for CofC, freshman Hannah Farmer got her first career assist in Charleston's 2-0 win over North Florida
• Kacey Smekrud scored her first collegiate goal on the road at Wake Forest
• Maddy Brill-Edwards got her first assist of the season against Coastal Carolina before getting her second against Florida International; she scored her first goal of the season against Charleston Southern
• Senior forward Laura Ortega was named CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year
• Ortega and senior defender Maddy Brill-Edwards were named Preseason All-CAA selections

Last Time Out
Alyssa Beck set up Laura Ortega for the game-winner as Charleston took a 1-0 road victory over Elon on Thursday night. Beck laid the ball into Ortega's path via a header, with the senior smashing into the roof of the net from six yards. Genevieve Henderson made three saves to claim her third clean sheet of the season with the Cougars winning their second conference game to move into fourth spot in the league's standings.

Record Breaker
CAA Preseason Co-Player of the Year Laura Ortega took control of the all-time points record by scoring two goals in two games last week. Ortega, 63 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. Ortega is two goals from tying the career record of 24 set by Kristin Rhyne (2003-05) and is third all-time in assists with 19 (three from tying 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.