Sept. 24, 2010

Box Score

CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina women's soccer (3-5-1, 0-1 SoCon) dropped its opening Southern Conference match of the season, 2-1, to The Citadel (5-3-1, 1-0 SoCon) Friday at the Catamount Soccer Complex.

"We never got going in the match," said Head Coach Chad Miller. "The Citadel brought the game to us tonight and we couldn't handle the surge."

The Catamounts withstood a steady salvo from The Citadel early, with the match remaining scoreless for over half the first 45 minutes.

It was the Catamounts who struck first in the dueling match, when junior Emily Lynn scored her first goal of the season at the 33:30 minute mark. With the Bulldogs goalie Laura Serafino being drawn away from the net at the front of the box, Lynn saw her opening, sending a scoring strike from 15 yards out.

Western Carolina wasn't afforded a chance to savor the goal, and 1-0 lead, as The Citadel struck quickly with a goal of its own. Just 14 seconds after the Catamounts took the lead, in the match, the Bulldogs' Jillian Meyer worked her way to the net and sent a shot past WCU goalie Caitlin Williams for the score.

"We broke the cardinal rule of soccer after a score," Miller said. "We let them come back down and score."

Early in the second half, The Citadel broke the 1-1 tie with its second goal of the match. At the 59:24 mark, Vanessa Aponte watched as Williams moved away from the goal leaving it vulnerable. A host of Catamount players attempted to back Williams as she was pulled up into the box but Aponte took advantage and scored from the left side, just to the corner of the goal.

Although Williams gave up two goals in the match, she withstood a barrage of Bulldog shots throughout the match. The Citadel had 26 shots in the match and Williams posted 12 saves against them.

"Caitlin Williams kept us in the match," Miller said. "She did what is expected from a senior goalkeeper."

Western Carolina ended the match with six shots. Lynn had two shots in the match and freshman Christine Kaznowski led with three. Kaznowski had two shots in the first 20 minutes of the first half that were two great looks at the goal. Both shots by Kaznowski were scrambles near the goal, but the Citadel managed to block both attempts.

The Catamounts return to action on Sunday hosting Southern Conference foe College of Charleston. Match time is set for 2 p.m.