Oct. 28, 2007

Final Stats

Elon, N.C. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team battled through 110 minutes of play and came away with a 0-0 draw against the Elon Phoenix Sunday afternoon in Elon, N.C. The Catamounts dominated the offensive statistics in the match, firing 22 shots to Elon's six, including a 4-1 advantage in the two overtimes. Freshman goalkeeper Caitlin Williams kept Elon off the board to record her fifth shut out of the season.

The match was a showdown of two offensive styles on opposite ends of the spectrum. WCU is known for a high possession time, highlighted by precise passing and lots of shots on goal. This is shown in the Catamounts holding a season-long advantage in shots of almost 100 over their opponents, 252-157. Elon, on the other hand, is a team built on offensive speed. Much like a fast break in basketball, they rely on quick turnarounds from the defensive end to try and catch the opposing team off guard and use their speed to attack. Western was able to put together good play on both ends of the field in the match, not forgetting their defensive assignments while also keeping the offensive pressure on Elon, with a quality of play that Head Coach Tammy DeCesare called the "best soccer we've played in weeks, from start to finish."

"We just had to play smart, and stay organized," Coach DeCesare said. "We have to remember that when we do go forward and attack, that we attack with a purpose. I thought the girls did a great job of creating chances and putting numbers forward while also making sure we were never too exposed in the back."

Although they were unable to put one in the net, the Catamounts had a number of quality chances in the match. Just before halftime, senior Heather Dittmer had one of her four shots on the game go just wide of the net. In the second half, Nikki Collins took a long crossing pass in the air and headed it so close to being in that a number of WCU supporters in the crowd began to celebrate what they thought was a goal. Freshman Bri Cunningham was an offensive force all match long, with two chances that highlighted her performance. The first close call came with 24 minutes left in regulation, when her attempt that was out of the reach of the Elon goalkeeper ended up ricocheting off of the crossbar. She also had the best opportunity from either team in the overtime periods, when her shot from five yards out was blocked just before it crossed the line into the net.

Nikki Lombardo led the Cats with five shots on the day, followed by Dittmer and fellow senior Lauren Atkinson, both of whom moved up on the WCU career shots taken list. Dittmer currently sits in fourth place all-time, with Atkinson coming in at number seven. They weren't the only ones taking aim on the record books in this match. With her shut out, Caitlin Williams is now tied for the third-best single-season shut out mark in WCU history, and is on pace to finish the year in the top five for save percentage and goals against average.

With the draw, Western's record stays at .500 for the season, at 8-8-2, and moves to 3-4-2 in the Southern Conference. Elon sits at 5-10-2, and 3-5-1. With rival Appalachian State losing on Sunday, the Catamounts also moved up in the SoCon standings. Going into their regular-season finale, WCU is currently fifth in the conference, and only needing a win at Wofford on Wednesday afternoon to secure that spot for the conference tournament. Kick off for the match in Spartanburg is set for 6:00 p.m. After Wednesday, the Catamounts will find out the next day where they will be going for round one of the 2007 Southern Conference Tournament. To find out who they will be facing, log on to catamountsports.com, your home for continuous updates and results from all WCU athletics.