Oct. 7, 2007

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina women's soccer team, behind the strength of 39 shots and their normally stingy defense, defeated The Citadel, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the Catamount Athletic Complex.

The Cats (7-6-0, 2-2-0 Southern Conference) went up early when only six minutes into the match when sophomore forward Shannon Fowkes took a crossing pass by Kellie Oberholtzer and fired a shot from 16 yards out into the far corner of the goal. It was Fowkes' third goal of the season, tops on the team.

The score would remain 1-0 until the 54 minute mark of the second half, when The Citadel's Emily Haller seemingly surprised the Catamount defense with a chip shot from the left side of the goal that looked as if it would be too high until it snuck under the goalpost for the score, tying the match at one.

Western would hold strong until 11 minutes later when Catamount midfielder Rachael Shomper took a rocket of a shot from the top of the 18 yard box that caught the upper left hand corner of the net, far out of reach of the Bulldog goalkeeper, for the game-winning goal. Kellie Oberholtzer recorded the assist for both goals on the match, giving her a total of three for the season, second best on the team.

The final score, while low, does not indicate the offensive dominance displayed by WCU in the match. Despite The Citadel (3-9-0, 0-4-0) having almost their entire team packed in on defense, the Catamounts still managed to fire off 39 shots, the most since the inaugural WCU Soccer team took 49 shots back in 1999. The shots were generated by Western's ability to keep the ball in their side of the field for almost the entire match. Coach Tammy DeCesare said that the Bulldog's emphasis on defense helped to determine the strategy for the Cats.

"When we face a team like this, we have to be more patient," she said. "One of the things we tell the girls is to go to the goal as fast as possible as they are coming on defense, and when we win it, we should be in front of the net or getting a shot within two or three passes. Anything longer than that, and we're making our job much more difficult."

Defensively, the Catamounts kept The Citadel from creating much of an offensive rhythm by attacking the Bulldog forwards before they could establish their intent. The Citadel could manage only four shots on the match, one in the first half. WCU goalkeeper Caitlin Williams only had to make one save in picking up her fifth victory of the season.

Even when The Citadel was able to tie up the match, the WCU defense did not panic, and kept their game plan in tact until the offense could regain the lead.

"We did well today," said Coach DeCesare. "We did well enough when our backs were against the wall to come out with a win. I'm proud of the girls for the effort, and now it's time to head to Charleston."

As mentioned by Coach DeCesare, the Catamounts will travel down south to face the College of Charleston Thursday night. Kick off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. They will then return home for a date with Chattanooga next Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Catamount Athletic Complex.