Nov. 4, 2005

Final Stats

Greenville, S.C. - Facing off for the second-time in six days, the Western Carolina Catamounts avenged a home loss on senior day with a 2-0, shutout win over the top-seeded Davidson Wildcats Friday afternoon in semifinal action at the 2005 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championships.

Western advances to the SoCon Championship match for the second-time in school history on Sunday afternoon to face the winner of the UNC Greensboro/Furman match at 1:00 pm.

After an early flurry for the Catamounts, Davidson, who ran through the SoCon unbeaten in the regular season, asserted itself with back-to-back scoring opportunities, including a free kick just outside the Western goal box. The ball was played back, and then fired on goal where junior Alesha Row made the stop.

Western countered less than five minutes later after being awarded a free kick just inside the Davidson goal box, but Thursday's hero, sophomore Heather Dittmer's offering was blocked by the Wildcat defense.

Late in the first half, Western scratched the scoreboard first, taking a 1-0 advantage with a score at the 36:15 mark. A throw in by junior Keevy Harris was played into the box in front of the Wildcat goal where sophomore Heather Dittmer bounced it to junior Meghan Reilly, In traffic, Reilly fired on goal, finding the back of the net for her second tally of the year to give WCU the 1-0 halftime advantage.

Davidson's Kara Koehrn, the leading scorer in the SoCon this season had three solid opportunities in the second half to knot the game, but two attempts sailed high with Row making a two-handed, grabbing save on the third.

After playing a large portion of the second half in the defensive end, Western notched an insurance goal just inside of 10 minutes to play in regulation. On the second-consecutive corner kick by sophomore Lauren Atkinson, Reilly tapped a ball towards the goal where senior Natalie Turgeon dropped it behind the Wildcat keeper to give the Catamounts the two-goal advantage. Reilly was credited with the assist, her third point of the match.

Sensing the urgency in the contest, Davidson turned up the wick down the stretch, blasting multiple shots from the offensive zone, with the final attempt scooped by Row as the final seconds ticked away. In all, the junior keeper from Fargo, N.D., made seven saves en route to securing her 12th shutout of the year, and 16th of her career.

Sunday's Championship game will be broadcasted LIVE by the Catamount Sports Network, exclusively on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5. The pre-game show will air 15 minutes prior to kickoff with Daniel Hooker and Josh Thompson on the call. The broadcast will also be available online at www.WWCUFM.com. Fans can also follow the match on GameTracker, presented by Carolina West Sports Medicine at www.CatamountSports.com.