Furman 5, Chattanooga 1

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman poured in five goals in a 23-minute stretch, including four after halftime, en route to a 5-1 victory over Chattanooga in Southern Conference women’s soccer action on Sunday afternoon at Stone Stadium.

After Furman (9-2-1, 2-1-1 SoCon) fired over 20 shots at the Chattanooga net in the opening 41 minutes without a goal, sophomore Hannah Stanifer, who had already rattled the crossbar twice, put the Paladins in front at 41:39 on her fourth goal of the season. Stanifer, at the top of the box, received a pass from Caitlin Shelton and curled a 20-yard effort into the upper right-hand corner with her left foot to break the deadlock.

Following the restart, Shelton doubled Furman’s lead with her third tally of the season at the 46:49 mark. The Paladins pressured the Lady Mocs’ goal and Shelton ran onto a bouncing clearance to volley a shot into the left-hand corner past a diving Chattanooga goalkeeper.

Less than seven minutes later, freshman Stephanie DeVita added to her SoCon-leading goal total by heading a long Ali Simpson free kick back across the face of goal and inside the right post to give the Paladins a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute.

DeVita, who is the nation’s leader in goals scored among freshman, netted her 13th of the season less than 19 minutes later. India Robinson chipped a long ball over the UTC defense and DeVita won the race to the ball before slotting a shot between Lady Mocs keeper Lauren Thomas and the near post at 72:02.

Junior Dee Makris upped the Paladin lead to 5-0 at the 74-minute mark as Ellen Moore set up Kristin Fennegan on the right wing for a cross into the box. Makris took a touch and fired past Thomas from inside six yards for her second goal of the campaign.

Chattanooga (2-7-1, 0-4-0 SoCon) avoided the shutout as Tayler Shelby headed in a Hannah Wyatt corner kick at 75:05 for her first collegiate goal.

Furman attempted a school-record 49 shots, held a 49-5 edge in shots and compiled a 24-1 advantage in shots on goal on the afternoon. The Paladins earned 15 corner kicks, while the Lady Mocs were awarded three corners.

Freshman Rose Hull earned the victory in goal for the Paladins and Thomas suffered the loss for Chattanooga despite recording a career-high 19 saves, the fourth-most in a single game in school history.

The victory improved Furman to 19-0-0 all-time against Chattanooga and upped the Paladins’ 2012 home record to 7-0.

Furman continues its homestand on Friday when it hosts rival UNCG at 7 p.m. The Mocs return to home to host Appalachian State on Friday at 7 p.m. at Finley Stadium.

UNCG 2, The Citadel 1

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Lauren Hein scored two second-half goals to give UNCG’s women’s soccer team a comeback victory against The Citadel, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

With the victory, the Spartans improved to 6-6 overall and 3-1 in the SoCon. The Citadel fell to 3-7-1 with a 1-2-1 mark in the SoCon.

The Bulldogs lead 1-0 for nearly 73 minutes before Hein fired a perfect shot into the upper right corner to tie the match at 1-1. Senior Karin Sendel played Hein with a pretty pass to set up the tying goal.

Less than four minutes later, Hein headed home her second goal of the game off a nice cross from freshman forward Chesney White. Hein was able head the ball just over the Bulldog keeper to give the Spartans the sudden lead.

Freshman keeper Jamie Simmons made two saves and only had to deal with one shot in the second half.

The Spartans held a 6-3 advantage in first-half shots, but a late goal from The Citadel’s Mariana Garcia gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. The Citadel struck first in the 43rd minute as Garcia dribbled the ball past the Spartan defense and lobbed a perfect drop shot over Simmons to give her team the lead at the half.

The Spartans finished the game with 15 shots, including a 9-1 advantage in the second half.

UNCG heads to South Carolina to face Furman on Friday at 7 p.m. The Citadel will head home for a Thursday afternoon contest against Davidson.

Elon 2, College of Charleston 0

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University women’s soccer team took an early lead and never looked back on Sunday afternoon at Rudd Field, as the Phoenix blanked the College of Charleston Cougars 2-0 in a key Southern Conference matchup.

Elon improved to 3-6-4 (1-1-2 Southern Conference) with the victory, while CofC dropped to 3-8 (2-2 Southern Conference) with the setback.

Taylor Glenn put the Phoenix on the scoreboard in the 10th minute when Chelsey Stark burst through the College of Charleston defense up the middle and hit her rookie teammate on the left side of the box. Glenn’s strike landed in the back left corner of the goal to give Elon a 1-0 advantage. The goal was the first of Glenn’s collegiate career.

Stark gave the Maroon and Gold a 2-0 lead in the 61st minute when a shot by Raychel Diver was blocked in front of the goal by College of Charleston goalie Eli Sarasola directly in front of Stark. Stark proceeded to rip the shot into the back of the net for her first goal of the season to give the Phoenix a 2-0 lead.

The Cougars had a pair of great chances down the stretch to limit Elon’s lead to one goal, but Phoenix keeper Kate Murphy made two great saves to keep the shutout intact. Murphy ended the match with six saves and her third clean slate of the season.

The Cougars ended the match with a 13-10 edge in shots, but the Phoenix claimed an 8-6 advantage in shots on-goal. Elon also ended the match with a 5-2 edge in corners.

Elon returns to the pitch on Friday in Spartanburg, S.C., when it takes on the Wofford Terriers.

Georgia Southern 2, Western Carolina 1

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Georgia Southern’s women’s soccer team got back on track Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 victory at Western Carolina. The teams exchanged goals in the 64th and 67th minutes, but it was Sydnie Van Curen that clinched the victory with her 74^th-minute goal.

Georgia Southern came out swinging in the first half, outshooting the Catamounts by a 7-2 margin and holding a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal. GSU also led in corners, 6-1, but neither team was able to find the goal in the opening half.

Western Carolina grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute as Markie-Lynn Studnicky scored from five feet from a pass by Amanda Schwartz for her team-best fifth goal of the year.

Just over three minutes later, GSU responded with Alex Murphy’s first goal of the season. She headed the ball home inside the six-yard box off a free kick from Nora El-Shami. The assist was the third of the season for El-Shami.

In the 74th minute, the Eagles recorded the go-ahead goal as Van Curen finished off an Eagle counterattack that saw GSU march down the field and take a 2-1 lead. That goal proved to be enough for Georgia Southern to take the victory on Van Curen’s team-high fifth goal of the year.

Keeper Katie Merson had four saves for the Eagles and sophomore goalie Jennifer Lauer gave up two goals and had three saves for Western Carolina.

The win moved the Eagles back to .500 in conference play (2-2) as GSU improved to 6-3-3 overall. Western Carolina fell to 5-5-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the SoCon.

The Eagles open October on Thursday at College of Charleston at 7 p.m. before returning home to face The Citadel on Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field. Western Carolina hits the road for two weeks in Southern Conference action. First up in the four-match road swing is a meeting at Samford at 8 p.m. Friday.

Samford 3, Wofford 1

WOFFORD, S.C. – The Samford University women’s soccer team exploded for three second-half goals in a span of 12 minutes Sunday to earn a pivotal 3-1 come-from-behind victory on the road against the Wofford Terries in a key Southern Conference contest held at Snyder Field.

Samford (6-5-1, 3-0-1 SoCon) trailed 1-0 midway through the second half of play before Brittany Hoffman, Michelle Moll and Trine Taule all scored goals in a span of 11 minutes and three seconds. Hoffman, the Bulldogs’ sophomore forward from Knoxville, Tenn., tallied the equalizing goal in the 73rd minute. The score was Hoffman’s team-leading fourth goal of the 2012 campaign.

Less than five minutes later, Samford’s Moll registered the game-winning goal at 77:31, as she rifled home a shot from 10 yards out into the bottom left corner. The score was Moll’s second of the season, both of which have been game-winners.

Taule, the Bulldogs’ junior midfielder, extended Samford’s lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 84th minute of play. The score was her second of the season and was set up beautifully by Shanika Thomas, who sent in a perfectly placed crossing pass that Taule easily collected and blasted into the top right corner.

With Sunday’s 3-1 victory, the Bulldogs extended their undefeated streak against SoCon opponents to 18 consecutive matches. Samford has not been beaten by a league rival since Nov. 7, 2010, in the championship title game of the SoCon Tournament.

Wofford (6-5, 1-3 SoCon) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead against Samford as Mary Beth Bleekrode recorded her second goal of the 2012 season in the 14th minute of play. The Terriers’ unassisted goal was scored at exactly 13:14 in the match.

Despite being outshot 8-2 in the opening period, Wofford took a 1-0 lead into the half. Samford continued its shooting barrage in the second half and rattled off an additional 10 shots en route to three goals in the final 45 minutes of action.

The Bulldogs’ offensive attack was paced by Moll, who finished with a career-high eight shot attempts Sunday. Ariane Lukens and Hoffman followed with two shots apiece. Hoffman’s match-tying goal in the 73rd minute of play was assisted by Adrianne Mancino and was knocked home from 18 yards out into the left corner of the net.

Samford remained undefeated against Wofford and improved its all-time record in the series to 4-0-4.

Samford will next be in action Friday at 7 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs return home to Birmingham, Ala., for a meeting with the Western Carolina Catamounts to be held at the Samford Track and Soccer Complex. Wofford returns to the pitch Friday, when it hosts the Elon Phoenix in SoCon play. The match is set to kick off at 6 p.m.

Appalachian State 1, Davidson 0 (2OT)

BOONE, N.C. – It took more than 108 minutes, but Appalachian State’s women’s soccer team got its golden goal from sophomore Grace McCall, as her first career score clinched the 1-0, double-overtime victory over Southern Conference opponent Davidson on Sunday afternoon at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.

With the conference victory, the Mountaineers currently enjoy a three-match winning streak and improved their overall record to 6-5 and their conference mark to 3-1. The Wildcats fell to 4-6-2 on the season and 1-2-1 in the SoCon.

Appalachian found itself on the attacking end for the majority of the opening half, closing the first 45 minutes with eight shots compared to Davidson’s three. The Apps managed four shots on goal but could not find the back of the net as the teams went into halftime scoreless.

The teams continued their deadlock in the second half as both teams struggled offensively. At the end of regulation, App State controlled the shots on goal category, 5-2.

As the teams went into the first overtime, the Wildcats struck first with a quick shot from Rachel Stelter. Freshman goalkeeper Megan Roberson was able to make her third save of the match, keeping the Mountaineers alive.

After a scoreless first overtime period, the teams seemed content to settle for a draw until the Apps were awarded a corner kick in the 109th minute. Senior forward Meggie Graham lofted the ball into the box and McCall got a deflection, lifting to ball over Davidson goalkeeper Rachel Locke’s head for the game-winner. For McCall, it was just her fourth match played this season and her first collegiate goal.

The Appalachian State back line, led by senior Taylor Dunlap and junior Amy Werdine, was superb on the afternoon, allowing Davidson to only record three shots on goal. Roberson earned her second clean sheet of the weekend, closing the match with three saves.

The Wildcats had eight corner kicks but were unable to convert. They fired off 12 shots, putting three of them on goal, while the Mountaineers had 14 shots with seven on goal.

Locke took the tough-luck loss in goal, finishing with six saves, while Appalachian State’s Roberson finished with three.

The Mountaineers return to conference play as they begin a four-match road stretch beginning in Chattanooga on Friday. Kickoff from UTC is set for 7 p.m. The Wildcats wrap up a three-game road swing with a trip down to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel on Thursday at 4 p.m.