DAVIDSON, N.C. — The College of Charleston got single goals in the first and second half, and held off a flurry of Wildcat shots throughout the evening in earning a 2-0 shutout win over Davidson on Thursday night in women's Southern Conference play.
Davidson, which finished the contest with a game-high 21 shots, 11 of them on goal, saw its two-game win streak halted as it fell to 2-3 in SoCon action and 5-9 overall. The 'Cats were hoping to close out a three-game homestand perfect after wins over UNC Greensboro and Elon last weekend.
Coming into this evening's game having won five of its last six games, CofC moved to 8-4-1 overall and kept hold of a spot atop the SoCon standings with a 4-1-0 mark.
Thursday's game started out with both teams trading possession through the first 30 minutes of the half. Davidson got off five of its 10 first-half shots during that time period, but could not punch one through.
Charleston then started working the ball down the field into Wildcat territory in the 32nd minute, and found the back of the net just a minute later with a chip shot over the hand of goalkeeper
Jessie Baxa (Bloomfield, Mich.).
On a throw-in by Katie Kerr on the near sideline into the 18-yard box, the ball was knocked into the air and then taken out of the air by Brittany Schneider, who popped a ball up off her foot that would slowly sail over the outstretched arm of Baxa, who was right at the goal line on the far post. The ball then bounced on into the back of the net for a 1-0 Cougar lead with 33:44 on the clock.
Four minutes into the start of the second period, the Cougars added an insurance goal and the final score of the contest.
Off a corner kick that was cleared out by the 'Cats' defense, CofC's Amanda Raymond gathered in the loose ball on the far side of the field, and sent a through ball into the center of the box. Hope Atkinson's then split two Davidson defenders to retrieve the ball and chipped a shot past
Loring Ward (Charleston, S.C.), who had come out to challenge the play, but misread it, allowing the second goal at the 49:52 mark.
With plenty of time on the clock, Davidson turned up the pressure and controlled possession the rest of the half, but just never were able to break through. The Wildcats had two good chances in the 69th and 71st minutes, when junior
Callan Elswick (Locust Grove, Va.) broke free in the box, but had her shot blocked by a Cougar defender who raced in and ran infront of Elswick's shot.
Then in the 71st minute, senior
Kyri Bye-Nagel (Hanau, Germany) drew a foul just outside the far left side of the 18-yard box that set up a free kick, which turned into a shot by junior
Allison Drutchas (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) that was saved by the Cougars' goalkeeper Sarah Wiggers.
Davidson kept Wiggers active in the box all night as she finished with 11 saves, and making numerous diving saves to halt any Wildcat scoring chances.
The Wildcats finished with a 21-5 advantage in shots and held a 5-1 edge in corner kicks.
Davidson hits the road where it will travel to The Citadel on Sunday, Oct. 11 for a 2 p.m. contest.
Scoring Summary
33:44 CofC Brittany Schneider (Katie Kerr)
49:52 CofC Hope Atkinson (Amanda Raymond)