Oct. 19, 2007

Statesboro, Ga. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team overcame an early defecit to pull even and hold on for the 1-1 double-overtime tie with Georgia Southern Friday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga.

In the 80th minute of the match, freshman midfielder Bri Cunningham took a low crossing pass by teammate Lauren Atkinson in front of the goal and tapped in the equalizer. It was Cunningham's third goal of the season, putting her in a tie for the team lead. Atkinson's assist was her team-leading 5th, and her ninth point, also good for first place on the squad.

In the two overtimes, the Catamounts dominated every category except goals. They out shot the Eagles 5-2, and had three corner kicks to GSU's none. The statistical superiority in the extra periods was not an aberration, as Western finished the match with an 18-7 advantage in shots, and an astounding 13 corner kicks, only three off the school record. On the opposite end of the statistical spectrum, Georgia Southern (2-10-2, 1-4-2 SoCon) was unable to register a single corner kick in the entire match.

The Eagles took the lead in the match when at the 10:36 mark Jenny Anderson gathered a long pass from Ashley Trossaint on the right side of the goal and put her shot on the opposite side, just out of the reach of WCU goalkeeper Caitlin Williams and into the left corner of the net.

With the tie, Western puts their record at 8-7-1 and stays even in the Southern Conference with a 3-3-1 mark heading into the final stretch of their schedule. They are currently in fifth place in the conference standings with three matches to go. The team will be shooting to move up one place in the standings into fourth, which would give them a first round conference tournament game at home.

The Catamounts will close out the home portion of their regular season schedule this Sunday when they take on the Davidson Wildcats. Davidson currently occupies the fourth spot in the SoCon, one place ahead of the Catamounts. Sunday's match will also be Senior Day, and the six WCU seniors will be honored prior to the match. Kick off for the conference match-up is at 4:00 p.m. at the Catamount Athletic Complex. Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for children, and Free for WCU Students with their CatCard.