Lauren Conner (’05)
September 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Junior Lauren Conner (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) knocked in her fifth career game-winning goal in the early stages of the second period and the Wildcat defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way in leading the Davidson women’s soccer team to a Southern Conference opening, 3-2, win over rival Furman on Thursday evening at Stone Soccer Stadium.
The win was Davidson’s fifth in the past seven meetings against Furman, and its second straight on the road after taking a 1-0 decision last year during the regular season. The Wildcats open SoCon play1-0-0 for the seventh year in a row and improve their overall mark on the season to 3-2-3.
Furman, who was riding a three-game winning streak, fell to 6-3-1 overall (0-1-0 SoCon), and dropped its first home decision of the season.
Conner was joined in the scoring column by sophomore Amanda Flink (Richardson, Texas) and freshman Stephanie Gerow (Houston, Texas) in leading Davidson to a season-high in goals.
“The team fully deserved the result tonight,” said head coach Greg Ashton. “After establishing ourselves in the first 15 minutes, but then to fall behind on two occasions, we showed tremendous resilience to battle back against a strong Furman team away from home. The second half was a very tight affair, and I was very pleased and proud of the team in the way we scored and then our composure to finish out the game. This is just the beginning of what will be a very competitive SoCon slate of games.”
Coming out as aggressive as they started the game, junior Courtney Hart (Ashland, Mass.) set up the game-winner by sending a nicely placed long through ball to the center of the field to fellow junior Kyri Bye-Nagel (Hanau, Germany), who then drove the ball into the box and chipped a pass to the corner of the endline near the right goal post after colliding with the Paladin goalkeeper. Conner raced to the loose ball, outhustling a Furman defender, and slide a perfect shot to the far post for the game-winning goal.
Senior defender Chloe King (Wellesley, Mass.) and the rest of her Wildcat defensive teammates took care of the rest in shutting down the Paladin attack the rest of the way for the win.
Having some recent frustrating results, Davidson looked to create some more offensive opportunities with a more aggressive approach to start the game. The ‘Cats controlled possession for the first 15 minutes, getting off two early shots on goal.
However, Furman was the first to strike when defender Ashley Creavalle drove down the field into Wildcat territory and then dished the ball off to a streaking Rachel Fry on the left corner of the 18-yard box. Fry gathered in the pass and fired off a shot to the near post for her third goal of the season with 15:21 on the clock.
The lead would be short lived thanks to the head of Gerow, who continued her early season scoring surge in the 26th minute with her third goal in the past five games to knot things up at 1-all. Davidson worked the ball down the near sideline when senior Melanee Smith (Bloomfield Township, Mich.) crossed the ball to the far side of the box. After two Wildcat shots were blocked, Gerow neatly redirected the ball into the right-hand corner side netting with her head.
After Alexa Jones of Furman gave her team a 2-1 lead with a flicked header to the far post off a corner kick at the 36:05 minute mark, Davidson came right back just over two minutes later with its second goal of the contest. Smith drilled a free kick just past midfield and sent a through ball into the far side of the 18-yard box where a streaking Amanda Flink met the ball with a powerful header into the left-hand corner for her first goal of the season, and fourth of her career, to knot things up at 2-2 heading into halftime.
The Wildcats got off eight of their 12 shots for the game in the first half, putting seven of them on goal.
In her first collegiate start, freshman Jessie Baxa (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) recorded the win between the pipes.
The Wildcats wrap up their two-game road trip on Sunday when they visit the Terriers of Wofford in Spartanburg, S.C. for a 2 p.m. contest. Davidson went 1-0-1 last year against Wofford, including a 2-1 quarterfinal win in the SoCon Tournament.
Scoring Summary
15:21 FUR Rachel Fry (3) (Ashley Creavalle)
26:53 DAV Stephanie Gerow (3) (unassisted)
36:05 FUR Alexa Jones (3) (Sara El-Shami)
38:58 DAV Amanda Flink (1) (Melanee Smith)
51:01 DAV Lauren Conner (2) (Kyri Bye-Nagel)
Bohn, ‘Cats rally past Northern
September 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Less than 12 hours after traveling to Dillsburg to see its unbeaten classmates in football, the Wildcat soccer team returned to Dillsburg to dismantle the Polar Bears 5-1 in a Mid-Penn nondivisional contest.
Mechanicsburg (5-2 Keystone, 7-3 overall) fell behind early but rallied behind four consecutive goals from forward Andrew Bohn to decide the contest by the halftime whistle.
The Wildcats and Polar Bears went after each other over the first fifteen minutes as the ball went end to end but very few shots took place as both defenses met the challenge.
Northern (3-2-1 Colonial, 5-6-1 overall) stepped out of the division to play its northern neighbor and took advantage of the first break in the game. On a whistle which appeared to be going the other way, the official signaled the ball as a restart in the Bears’ direction, Danny DiPrima stepped up and curled a perfect shot into the upper 90 on the near post. Wildcat keeper Shane Cowoski got his fingertips on the shot but it was perfectly placed to give the Bears a one-goal advantage.
“That would have been a great save by Shane but the ball was hit well and it was a great shot,” said Wildcat coach Tony Lougee.
Mechanicsburg struck back and took advantage of an always-hustling Bohn.
Northern keeper Sean Kleckner was busy as he had several saves in traffic off of Wildcat corners. John Arnold and Garrett Murphy ran to the corners and forced the Bear defense to clear balls over the line to slow the attack down.
Bohn led the way as he was able to beat Kleckner to a feed from Matt Steele and knocked it into the net for the equalizer.
It didn’t take long for Bohn to give his team the lead as he pounced on a loose ball from a Kleckner stop on Arnold to dent the back of the net.
Less than a minute later, Bohn tallied a natural hat trick as he again jumped on a Northern misplay to knock it home and the lead was 3-1.
Murphy led Bohn with a through ball and Bohn didn’t miss as the Wildcats increased the lead to three goals just before the half.
One of the keys at this point was the Wildcats’ ability to one-touch the ball around and send the ball across the field and also down the sidelines. The runners were able to beat the Bear defenders and send crosses into the box.
Cleckner had numerous saves, six to be exact over a fifteen-minute stretch that Bohn utilized to tally all four of his goals.
The Wildcat midfield led by Steele, Cort Hutchison, Craig Foer, and Murphy as well as Matt Dunn and David Strausbaugh among others really controlled the midfield and set the pace for the attack.
Leading 4-1 at the half, Strausbaugh got a goal early in the second half as he ran to a loose ball created by a save on an Arnold blast and found the open net for the final goal.
Northern started to create some chances in the second half and actually forced back-up keeper Ryan Green to make five saves — two of the diving kind. He also had to knock a blast over the top from Kyle Hejmanowski.
“I don’t ever remember scoring four goals, maybe JV but not on the varsity level, and definitely not four in a row,” said Bohn. “We broke down the sides well and our outside mids were able to get to the corners and cross the ball.I was able to knock them in today. Arnold can beat anybody to the corner and off the dribble. He draws defenders with his speed. Matt Steele and our defenders played well as a team.”
“It didn’t have to be that tough today,” said Northern coach Troy Sauers. “We started out well in the first fifteen minutes and fought with them and played smart. I think we were fortunate to get the goal, but it was a great goal on a free kick. Then it seemed like we were shocked or surprised we were in the game and we kind of stopped playing. Credit to Mechanicsburg, they are a good team and they took advantage. Physically they were faster to the ball and when they won the ball they made very good decisions. They took advantage of all of the mistakes we made today.”
“I thought we were a bit out of sorts for a few moments early but the kids responded well to the goal, said Lougee. “Andrew is a terrific athlete and he is fearless in the box and I think we are starting to realize our roles and we can give him the opportunities. He will make something happen. John Arnold has had a tough year with injuries but he has a couple of games back and he’s starting to create chances. Defensively, we struggled early but we got it together and Dunn, Scott Inderbitzen and Alex Holbert played well as a unit to keep their dangerous forwards under control. We’ll just put forth our best effort every night and see how things happen. Tuesday will be a good test to see how far we have come this year.”
Gaetano Panuccio (’08)
September 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Rutgers Upsets No. 6 UC Santa Barbara
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Sophomore Dilly Duka (Montville, N.J.) scored two goals and freshman Gaetano Panuccio (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) added the game-winner as the Rutgers men’s soccer team (3-1-1) rallied from an early deficit to hand No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (3-1-0) its first loss of the season on Friday night at Yurcak Field.
Despite the wet weather conditions, 1,112 fans braved steady rains to witness the Scarlet Knights put the first blemish on UC Santa Barbara’s undefeated season. The Gauchos entered the contest 3-0 and was ranked nationally by several media outlets. The win was RU’s first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 18 USF on Oct. 20, 2007.
“UC Santa Barbara is a great team,” said head coach Bob Reasso. “[Chris] Pontius is very worthy of being a Hermann Trophy candidate. He was exceptional and they have good players all over the park.”
“I proud of our guys,” Reasso added. “This is a very young team and I think they grew up a lot tonight. It’s a shame we had bad weather so we didn’t have the crowd we should have, but I think these fans will be back to see this team play. I thought they were wonderful tonight.”
The rain began several hours before the game and cast a relentless shower over the field throughout the match, creating a very slippery and unpredictable surface. With unsure footing, players were continually sliding across the soggy ground which affected either side’s ability to get into a solid rhythm.
“Maybe the water helped us a little bit because it slowed their game down, but you still have to score goals and get down to business,” said Reasso. “On the balance of play, I thought we were doing more passing than they were. They got their first goal because we didn’t do a good job marking but after that, I thought we sorted everything out and we came out ahead.”
UC Santa Barbara took a first-half lead on a goal by Alfonso Motagalvan in the 13th minute. The Gauchos maintained their lead into the intermission; however, Rutgers made a few adjustments during halftime and was able take over the play in the second half.
Three minutes into the second stanza, RU’s halftime moves paid off as Duka evened the score at 1-1. Showing off his great ball handling ability and propensity to score goals, Duka dribbled past several defenders and delivered a shot from 20 yards out, past UCSB keeper Trond Helge Takset to tie the game.
“Once that goal went in, it lifted the team so much,” said Reasso. “We evened things up and then it was down to heart. This is my 28th year at Rutgers and we’ve never had better chemistry. I’ve always had great guys and great teams all along but this is the best chemistry we’ve ever had.”
UC Santa Barbara responded in the 68th minute with a goal from Danny Barrera to take a one-goal lead but it was short-lived as Duka again found the back of the net with the tying score in the 74th minute.
“Dilly was exceptional,” said Reasso. “I thought there were two quality players out there tonight worthy of being Hermann Trophy candidates. Pontius was tremendous for them and if he’s a Hermann Trophy candidate then Dilly certainly is too.”
Rutgers was awarded a free kick from just outside the right side of the penalty area. Senior Kevin McFadden (Midlothian, Va.) stood over the offering but decided to lay it off to Duka who drove the shot low, through the wall and into goal as RU tied the game at 2-2.
“I’ve been working out extra, doing two-a-days with a few other players on the team and we knew we had to come into this game and be leaders,” said Duka. “We’re a young but we stepped up. We came together and won this game on all heart. This win is a huge confidence booster for us.”
The Scarlet Knights continued to apply pressure on the Gauchos defense as RU controlled much of the possession in the second half and it was another set piece that helped provide the team with its game-winning score.
Sophomore Aly Mazhar (Cairo, Egypt) took a free kick outside the box and sent a line drive directly at the Gauchos’ goalkeeper. Takset was able to get a hand on it and stop the initial shot from going in goal, but he was unable to corral the ball and maintain the tied game.
With the deflected shot lying just in front of the goal, Panuccio made a break for it and tapped home the first score of his young Scarlet Knight career.
“I was just there to finish the ball, my team made the goal happen,” said Panuccio. “Aly [Mazhar] had a great strike, the goalie bobbled it and I was in the right spot to finish the ball. The goosebumps and butterflies I got were amazing. Anyway you win is exciting for me. I can’t say enough about my team, we’re brothers, we’re a family and we fought for each other tonight. That’s why we won the game. We played with heart and it’s a great feeling to know that we can go out there and fight for each other.”
Reasso was extremely pleased with the play of his young striker.
“Goal scoring instincts are not something you can coach,” said Reasso. “You either have it or you don’t. We didn’t coach Gaetano to get in that position; he read the game and got himself in a position to finish. It’s a credit to him, he’s an outstanding young man and I thought he was tremendous tonight.”
After ending its season-opening five-match homestand against UCSB, Rutgers will look to open BIG EAST action with a road game at Pittsburgh on Friday, Sept. 19. Reasso believes that the team’s tough non-conference schedule has done well for preparing his squad for what lies ahead in a challenging conference slate.
“You can’t find a better game than this to prepare for BIG EAST play,” said Reasso. “I can’t say enough about how well coached UCSB is and what a great team they are. We try to build the season up to a crescendo so that we have a tough matchup like this and then a week to prepare for the BIG EAST. You can ask for a better sendoff that this.”
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Lyndi Keiser (’05)
September 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Keiser and Acuna each score a goal in 2-1 win over Elmira in women’s soccer
ELMIRA, NY – Senior Lyndi Keiser and freshman Ashley Acuna each scored unassisted first half goals to lead Mansfield to a 2-1 win over Elmira College in a non-conference women’s soccer game Thursday afternoon in Elmira.
Keiser scored the game’s first goal in the 12th minute playing a shot on a breakaway into the upper left corner of the net from five yards out. It was her fourth goal of the season and 27th of her career.
Acuna gave Mansfield a 2-0 lead knocking a lose ball into the left side of the net in the 29th minute for her second goal of the year.
Elmira closed the gap to 2-1 when Jenna Willington hit a goal 15 minutes into the second half.
Samantha DeLiere played goalie in the first half for Mansfield and recorded one save while freshman Kylee Jones played the second half with three saves.
Mansfield held a 16-10 shot advantage.
The game marked the first time the nearby schools played a women’s soccer match.
Mansfield improves to 2-3 on the season.
Bobby Warshaw (’07)
September 14, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Defense Holds Strong in Stanford Win
Moore earns second consecutive shutout
Sept. 14, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO – Bobby Warshaw’s second-half goal stood up for Stanford, which earned a 1-0 victory over host USF in a nonconference men’s soccer match Sunday night.
Warshaw first-timed a short centering pass from T.J. Novak with his right foot inside the near post in the 54th minute. It was the second goal of the season for the sophomore.
The goal was set up by midfielders Michael Strickland, who played the ball forward, and Thiago Sa Freire, who made a dummy run that froze the defense just long enough to allow the ball to reach Novak.
Novak, a senior, was one of several Stanford players to take on new roles in the match, starting at forward for the first time since his freshman year. Coach Bret Simon wanted to see what problems Novak, who has played midfield and defense, could create with his speed.
On the backline, sophomore Kevin Huang and freshman Tommy Ryan made their first collegiate starts, with Simon looking to take advantage of their ball-winning ability against a USF team (0-4) that would be fired up in its home opener.
“Everybody fought hard and together,” Simon said. “It was a good confidence-builder. The focus was good for the full 90 minutes. That’s something we’ve been building toward.”
Stanford prepared for Negoesco Stadium’s artificial turf by training at the Mayfield Park turf fields in Palo Alto. That may have contributed to Stanford’s ability to adapt to the quick pace.
The pitch played right into the style of the quick Sa Freire, who had a strong match at midfield.”Everybody was fighting for everybody today,” Sa Freire said. “It was a good team win.”
The victory was the second consecutive for Stanford (2-1-1), which gathers momentum heading into a showdown with visiting Creighton, ranked No. 2 by Soccer America and No. 3 by the NSCAA, on Friday (8 p.m.) in match to be televised nationally by Fox Soccer Channel.
Junior goalkeeper John Moore earned his second consecutive shutout and extended his scoreless streak to 266 minutes. Much help came from the play of senior defenders Ryan Imamura and Tim Jones, who was making his 50th consecutive start.
Moore made four saves, and made the defensively play of the match by swiping the ball away from the feet of a USF player on a rebounded shot during a scramble in front of the net in the 58th minute.
He earlier made a diving save of a point-blank shot at the near post.
Stanford ended its streak of three consecutive losses to USF, and earned its first victory over the Dons since 2001. The match was part of the four-team Bay Area Classic. Stanford plays Santa Clara in their next match of the tournament, on Sept. 27.
Stanford 1, USF 0
Stanford 0 1 – 1
USF 0 0 – 0
Stanford: Warshaw (Novak), 54th minute.
Records: Stanford 2-1-1, USF 0-4.
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Mechanicsburg edges Gettysburg
September 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Matt Steele’s penalty kick with five minutes to play — awarded when a Gettysburg player used his hand to swat away a loose ball — lifted Mechanicsburg to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Warriors in a Mid-Penn Keystone Division scrap at the Northside Cage.
Andrew Bohn also connected for the Wildcats, who spotted Gettysburg an early Zach Tarbox finish. Shane Cowoski made two stops in goal for Tony Lougee’s Mechanicsburg club, two fewer than Gettysburg’s Ben Szoke.
Greencastle-Antrim slipped past host Boiling Springs in a Capital Division scrap, turning Kyle Crider’s first-half score into a 1-0 victory. Seth Sprague made 13 stops in goal for the winning Blue Devils, one more than the Bubblers’ sizzling Brad Schaufert.
Schaufert has piled up 62 saves in his last three outings.
Halifax pinned up its fifth straight victory, routing Schuylkill 2 playmate Williams Valley 5-1 behind a pair of Matt Schwalm goals. Sean Weir, Alex Erdman and Austin Sacks also found the goal for the Wildcats; Corey Merwine netted the Valley’s lone score.
Scott Sajac’s penalty kick with 8:31 gone in overtime lifted Trinity over Bishop McDevitt 2-1 in a non-leaguer at Skyline Sports Complex. Breton Asken buried a direct for the Shamrocks, matching an early McDevitt score posted by Devin Bolton.
Greenwood downed Bermudian Springs, riding second-half scores from Kyle Fronk, Jordann Ferguson and David Myers to a 3-1 victory. Gilberto Zuniga potted the lone finish for the Eagles, who grabbed a 1-0 lead early in the second stanza.
And Tri-Valley dropped a 5-2 non-league decision at Shamokin despite goals from Anthony Tran and Nick Harman.
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Recent News
- Mechanicsburg soccer rallies in second half
- Wildcats dominate Maidens
- Wildcats back on track
- Megan Keiser (’08)
- Lauren Conner (’05)
- Bohn, ‘Cats rally past Northern
- Gaetano Panuccio (’08)
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