Oct. 31, 2006

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Lightning struck twice in the first half for fifth-seeded Western Carolina to give the Catamounts a 2-0 lead at halftime. After posting a third goal, the Catamounts weathered a College of Charleston storm over the final 10 minutes of the second half to hold on for the 3-2 win Tuesday night at Patriot's Point in first round action of the 2006 Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship.

Western Carolina was credited with two team goals on two separate occasions as passes from senior Keevy Harris careened off Cougar defenders and wound up in the net for own goals. The Catamounts added what they thought would be an insurance goal 30 minutes into the second half to lead 3-0, but back-to-back tallies by the Cougars inside the final 10 minutes set up for a sprint to the finish with WCU coming out on top.

With the win, Western advances to host the top-seeded UNC Greensboro Spartans at 7:00 pm on Friday, Nov. 3 at the Catamount Athletic Complex in the second of two semifinal matches. The first match pits the seventh-seeded Georgia Southern Eagles, who upset #2 Davidson on Tuesday, 1-0, against the third-seeded Furman Lady Paladins at 4:30 pm.

"Things were definitely interesting over the latter part of the second half," said head coach Tammy DeCesare following the match. "I think we set the tone in the first half, battled and showed we wanted the game. But, when we got the third goal in the second half, our youth showed up and caused a little relaxation. After their first goal, we started to panic a little and then they scored the second. But we regained our composure enough to run the match to the end and get the win.

"Alesha (Row) came up huge for us tonight and having her, along with (Meghan) Reilly and Keevy (Harris), on the field down the stretch with their senior leadership really helped. I hope we can come out Friday with the same intensity and try and not have any let downs against a very good UNCG side," added DeCesare.

Leading 2-0 deep into the second half, Western (10-7-3) pulled ahead by three when freshman Nikki Lombardo found Reilly with a crossing pass that the senior buried in the back of the net. As it turned out, the would-be insurance marker proved to be the game-winning goal.

Two of senior Keevy Harris' crossing passes found the net on Tuesday night as WCU downed the College of Charleston, 3-2.

Cougar sophomore Danielle Jordan did her best to keep Charleston alive, however, scoring less than five minutes after Reilly gave Western the three-goal advantage. Jordan gathered in a crossing pass from Teryn Schuetz within the penalty box and beat Row to break up the shutout. Less than five minutes later, Jordan assisted on freshman Jill Romanik's tally as she sent a corner kick into the box that Romanik redirected into the net that pulled the Cougars to within one with eight minutes to play. Yet, Row and the Catamounts stood tall over the remainder of regulation to advance to Friday.

For WCU, Row pulled her record up to 5-6-3 on the season, posting six saves in the win. CofC's Erin Smith suffered the defeat despite recording five saves on the night.

After out shooting the Cougars 7-1 in the first half, Western was out shot 9-to-4 in the second stanza but held an 11-to-10 overall advantage on the night. With a 4-0 advantage at halftime, the Catamounts also managed a 5-4 edge corner kicks with each one of CofC's opportunities coming after intermission.

Scoring Summary
1. 28:47 - WCU - TEAM (Unassisted)
2. 38:48 - WCU - TEAM (Unassisted)
3. 74:49 - WCU - Meghan Reilly (Nikki Lombardo)
4. 79:36 - CofC - Danielle Jordan (Teryn Schuetz)
5. 81:59 - CofC - Jill Romanik (Danielle Jordan)