UNCP Slips Past Pfeiffer, 2-1, In Opening Round Of NCAA Tournament Play

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – UNCP unleashed a dominating first half effort to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission, but the Lady Braves were forced to hold off a strong second half surge by Pfeiffer to slip by the Falcons, 2-1, Friday evening in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

UNCP (19-2-1), making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, also tallied its first postseason win and will advance to face regional host and 18th-ranked Carson-Newman (15-5-1) in Sunday’s second round at 1 p.m.. Pfeiffer (14-9-0), which advanced to NCAA Tournament play by winning the Conference Carolinas Tournament, had its season ended with the setback.

Melanie Cobb netted her 19th goal of the season in the first half, while Peach Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Britney Joiner tallied her team-leading fifth game-winning goal of the season midway through the second period. Ashleigh Rhoads helped Pfeiffer snap a scoreless streak of more than 180 minutes against the Lady Braves with her eighth goal of the season in the latter period.

Pfeiffer got nine saves in a brilliant performance from goalkeeper Jamie Alcala, with UNCP netminder Whitney Beverly registering two second half saves in the victory.

UNCP tallied the first six shots of the contests, and took a 15th minute lead when senior Nisa Akins fed Cobb a perfectly placed through ball, to which the Richlands native used a bit of razzle dazzle to poke through the Pfeiffer defense and fire a shot past Alcala. UNCP would find shots at a rarity for the remainder of the period, however, as a melee of physical play followed as the squads combined for 14 fouls in the final 30 minutes of the opening half.

Rhoads made Pfeiffer’s second shot of the game count with an equalizing score just less than four minutes into the contest, but the Lady Braves’ defense would stiffen the rest of the way out. Joiner, who missed much of the first half with injury, returned to be the hero of the outing when she collected a pass from fellow newcomer Kayla Peevy and sliced her way through a pair of Falcons before finishing off the scoring opportunity in the 67th minute.

Overtime Heartbreaker Ends Season for Bobcat Soccer, 2-1

COLUMBUS, Ga. – The Georgia College & State University soccer team’s (13-3-4) dream season came to a close tonight (Nov. 14), as the Bobcats lost to Catawba College (16-4-2) 2-1 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Columbus State University’s Walden Soccer Complex.

The Bobcats controlled the contest, but Catawba took advantage of two small defensive lapses, snapping a pair of goals to end Georgia College’s best season in program history.

Game couldn’t be decided in regulation, as Catawba’s offense sent a ball deep into Bobcat territory early in the first overtime session. A header caromed the wrong direction off a Georgia College defender, and eventually ended up at the feet of Catawba’s Alyssa Schoenberg. She took little time putting it in the right side of the net, past All-Peach Belt Conference (PBC) goalkeeper Mary Rob Plunkett (Augusta, Ga.) for the win. Laela Ghorbani recorded the assist.

The Bobcats struck first, as a pair of All-PBC second-teamers linked up. Sophomore Ally Treat (Fayetteville, Ga.) found classmate Kayla Emerson (Fayetteville, Ga.) cutting on the left side, where Emerson made one move to put Catawba goalkeeper Lindsay Webster on the ground
and cracked the net for the 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.

It took nearly 40 minutes, but in the 67th, Catawba answered. Erinn Wescoat scored off a Paige Harrington assist, again off a mis-head by the Bobcat defense. Wescoat’s goal held the game at 1-1 until Schoenberg won it in overtime.

Plunkett made two stops in four tries, while Webster stopped five of six in the win.

The Bobcats also say farewell to four seniors, as Hayley Ferrell (Hampton, Ga.), Kristen Moore (Newnan, Ga.), Mary Byrne (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Beth Coughlin (Douglasville, Ga.) have all spent the past four seasons, helping to build this program into a regional power. Forward
Jeni Day (Marietta, Ga.) is a senior academically, but has one season of soccer eligibility left.

This season the Bobcats enjoyed the best campaign in school history, setting school marks for wins (13) and goals against (10) while getting a league-high seven players on the All-PBC teams. Making their first trip to the NCAA Tournament, Georgia College also earned the first
national ranking in school history, reaching as high as No. 19, as well as the best region rank (4) and conference finish (3) in the school’s five years of varsity soccer.