Friday, November 6
Greensboro, N.C.
7:30 p.m.
Davidson College
at
UNC Greensboro (Semifinals)
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Wildcats Draw UNCG in Semifinals of SoCon Tournament This Weekend
11/5/2009 10:05:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson will be seeking its fourth Southern Conference tournament title, and first since 1996, in the program's 16-year history in the SoCon when the Wildcats head to Greensboro, N.C. for the 2009 league tournament, Nov. 6 & 8.
Davidson will take its six-game unbeaten streak into the Southern Conference Tournament when it squares off against top-seed UNC Greensboro on Friday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. In the first game, second-seeded College of Charleston will face third seed Samford at 5 p.m.
This weekend's games can all be seen and heard on SoCon.tv on soconsports.com.
The All-Time Series/Last Meeting
Davidson tallied its fourth win in the all-time series earlier this year with a win at Alumni Stadium. The Spartans hold a 19-4-1 mark.
The 'Cats started the month of October with a thrilling 2-1 win over UNCG, ending their 33-game unbeaten sreak in league games. Senior Lauren Conner chipped in a rebound shot in the six-yard box in 79th minute for her sixth game-winner to carry the Wildcats to the one-goal win.
This will be the fifth time both teams have faced each other in the tournament, with UNCG leading 3-1. The most recent meeting was in 2004 when Davidson scored a 3-2 win in the semifinals of the tournament.
SoCon Tournament History
The Wildcats are 14-11 in the tournament since 1994, the first year Davidson was a part of the SoCon. During head coach Greg Ashton's six-year tenure, the Wildcats are 4-5 and have now advanced to the semifinals four times.
Scouting the Wildcats
Fourth-seeded Davidson (10-9-1, 7-3-1 SoCon) enters the tournament coming off a month of October that saw the Wildcats go 7-1-1 ... they carry a six-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1) into the semifinals ... the 'Cats reached the tournament with a 2-1 dramatic win over Georgia Southern on Saturday ... after leading 1-0 most of the game, Southern tied the score at 1-all with just three minutes left, before Davidson got an own goal by the Eagles in the 87th minute for the thrilling win ... because the 'Cats defeated Elon earlier this season, they won the tie breaker as both teams finished 7-3-1 in the league ... four 'Cats earned first and second team All-SoCon honors ... junior Callan Elswick recently garnered academic honors with a nod on CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine All-District Third Team ... pacing the Wildcats to a successful month was the duo of Kyri Bye-Nagel and Blakely Low, who combined for 10 goals, four assists and 24 points ... they also combined for five game-winning goals ... Bye-Nagel is fourth in the conference in goals (8) and points (20) ... the 20 points marks the third straight year she has reached that number ... Low is close behind with seven goals and 16 points ... five other 'Cats also scored in the month as the team finished with 17 goals ... Davidson is tied for top honors in the SoCon with UNCG with 32 goals and leads the league with 302 shots ... goalkeepers Loring Ward and Jessie Baxa have started 10 games apiece, with each of them recording 31 and 36 saves, respectively ... Ward is coming off a 4-0 month that saw her earn a shutout and allow just four goals ... this will be the second time in the past three seasons the Wildcats have reached the semifinals ... they are a three-time regular season champion (1994, '96, '05) and three-time tournament champion (1994, '95, '96).
Scouting the Spartans
UNCG (13-6, 9-2 SoCon) captured its fourth straight regular season title after scoring a 1-0 win over Elon, Oct. 29 ... Tabitha Padgett scored the game-winner in the 71st minute to give the Spartans their fourth straight win entering the tournament ... finishing 9-2 in league play for first place, the Spartans are the host for the league tournament ... they closed the regular season 7-3 at home, suffering defeats to Wake Forest, Stanford and Samford ... besides playing Stanford, which was ranked fourth at the time, UNCG also played No. 11 Duke and No. 1 UNC earlier this season ... UNCG had four first-team All-SoCon picks ... seven players have multiple goals on the season, led by Kristin Players' seven ... she also has six assists for a team-best 20 points ... followed behind her is Padgett (8 gls./3 asts./20 pts.) and Lauren Hein (5 gls./4 asts./14 pts.) ... the Spartans as a team have a SoCon-best 46 assists ... last time out vs. the 'Cats, Jenn Partenheimer netted the lone Spartan goal ... between the pipes Kelsey Kearney is among the tops in the league in shutouts (8-2nd), goals against average (0.80) and saves (64).
A Look ahead
Should the 'Cats win, they would advance to the championship game to face either No. 2 College of Charleston or No. 3 Samford,?Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. If they advance to the finals, it will mark the fifth time in program history.
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