Nov. 4, 2007

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Two halves and a pair of overtime sessions were not enough to decide the Southern Conference tournament opening round match between the visiting fifth-seeded Western Carolina Catamounts and No. 4 College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon. After ending 110 minutes of play in a 1-1 deadlock, the Cougars, aided by a 10-9 edge in tie-breaking penalty kicks, earned the right to advance with the win, 2-1, in the thrilling quarterfinal match-up held at Patriot's Point.

The loss eliminates the Catamounts (9-8-3) from the SoCon tournament, while the Cougars advance to play top-seeded UNC Greensboro next Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm at Alumni Soccer Stadium on the campus of Davidson College. It was also Western's first-ever loss to the Cougars in SoCon tourney play (2-1), with two of the three all-time matches needing overtime to determine a winner.

Trailing 1-0 early in the second half, Western was able to knot the game at one-apiece when sophomore Shanna Schmoker pounced on a ricocheted shot in front of the Cougar cage and buried a shot in the back of the net to even the game at one. Schmoker led the Catamounts with three total shots, two of which were on goal.

Continuing to press for the go-ahead marker, WCU had the best opportunity inside the 81st minute. Senior Lauren Atkinson received a crossing pass, heading the ball on goal, but Cougar goal keeper, Sarah Wiggers, was able to make a stabbing save to preserve the tie through regulation.

In the first overtime, the College of Charleston managed a pair of corner kicks and the lone shot of the 10-minute session as Morgan Benz, who had just substituted less than two minutes prior, fired a shot wide inside the final 60 seconds. It was the Catamounts who appeared to be the aggressors in the second overtime pressing for a pair of shots and three physical fouls. Just 46 seconds into double-overtime, sophomore Nikki Lombardo uncorked her lone offering of the contest, but it, too, sailed wide. Sophomore Rachael Shomper recorded WCU's final shot at the 106:05 mark, with CofC offering up one attempt late in the second OT, but the match remained tied at one and advanced to penalty kicks.

As per NCAA tie-breaking policy, five kickers from each side square off, one-on-one, with the opposition's goal-keeper in a best of five series. Senior Heather Dittmer scored on WCU's first kick, with the Cougars equaling the mark to stand tied at one. The Catamounts took a slight advantage on its second kick as sophomore Bri Cunningham was able to slip one past the Cougar keeper while WCU freshman Caitlin Williams recorded a big save for the Catamounts on the ensuing kick putting Western ahead, 2-1.

The next two kickers matched each other, with Western's Arlan Whittle and Schmoker each scoring to set up Lombardo for the win. However, the sure-footed, second-year starter sailed her offering with the Cougars beating Williams on their next attempt to extend the drama to one-for-one matching PKs.

For Western, its next five kickers - Nikki Collins, Jenny Matteson, Williams, Rebekah Mumm and Melissa Berry - each scored but were matched by the Cougars leading back to the top of the 10-kicker rotation. On the 11th attempt of the sudden victory session, Dittmer's shot was saved by Wiggers with Charleston native, CofC's Danielle Jordan beating Williams for the game winner.

It was the first-time in Western's nine-year program history that a match had been extended to penalty kicks. WCU dropped to 1-2 all-time in SoCon tournament play in overtime matches.

Charleston's Chrissy Caruso opened scoring in the 21st minute. The sophomore sent a free kick to the right corner where teammate Megan Manthey crossed the ball into the box. Upon delivering the ball, Caruso charged the net and was able to head in Manthey's cross for the early, 1-0, CofC advantage which it would hold until Schmoker's equalizing tally in the second half.

Western Carolina held a 12-9 advantage in shots, including a decided edge in the second half, 8-to-2. The Catamounts also held a slim, 4-3, edge in corner kicks. For the Cougars, Wiggers made six saves in the win, while Western's Williams tallied a pair of saves on the afternoon.

With Western being eliminated from the post-season tournament, it concludes the careers of six Catamount seniors; Lauren Atkinson (Marietta, Ga.), Melissa Berry (Matthews, N.C.), Bailey Culp (Richmond, Va.), Leah Daino (Statesville, Ga.), Heather Dittmer (Marietta, Ga.) and Rebekah Mumm (Asheville, N.C.). The 2007 senior class helped lead WCU to a 42-32-9 overall record over the past four seasons, including a school-record 18 victories during the magical 2005 SoCon Championship season in which WCU orchestrated the best-ever turnaround in conference history while also ranking first in the nation in the same category.