Davidson College Athletics
Elon
Davidson Opens W. Soccer SoCon Tourney at Elon Sunday
10/31/2013 4:46:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
2013 Digital Media Guide
Live Stats at Elon
Live Video
Game Notes: #11 at Elon, SoCon Tournament (pdf)
Q&A with Former Wildcat Ann Todd
DavidsonPhotos.com
DAVIDSON, N.C. — The Davidson women's soccer team begins their quest for the program's fifth Southern Conference Tournament title Sunday afternoon when they travel to play Elon in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m.
It's the 10th straight year the Wildcats have advanced to the tournament, which takes the top-eight teams in the league standings.
The Matchup
Davidson opens the SoCon tournament with a trip to Elon Sunday in a matchup of seventh seed vs. second seed in the quarterfinals. This is just the second time either team has faced each other in the tournament, with Davidson taking a 2-0 win in 2005.
The All-Time Series/Last Meeting
Davidson holds a 12-7-1 mark in the all-time series vs. the Phoenix, but is just 2-2-1 in the last five meetings. The Wildcats came back from 2-0 deficit in the first half last time out vs. Elon, but gave up a pair of goals in the second half to fall 4-2 in their last home game of the season, Oct. 20.
The Wildcats earned a scoreless draw last year at Elon during the regular season.
Scouting the Wildcats
Davidson (6-10-4, 4-5-1 SoCon) earned the seventh seed with a 2-0 shutout win on the road Wednesday at Georgia Southern ... Zoe Hayes netted her first goal and Dani Johnson tacked on an insurance goal in the second half ... it was Johnson's second goal in as many games, while Hayes netted her first of the year ... both goals were on free kicks ... the Wildcats finished 3-4-2 on the road ... they went 1-3-1 in their last five games, with the final three contests begin on the road ... Sarah Tuggle leads the team with four goals and nine points ... Johnson is tied in goals with four, having scored three of them on penalty kicks ... Stephanie Piperno is tied for second on the team in points (2 gls, 3 asts) with Ashley Finke (3 gls, 1 asts) ... Becca Fisher leads the team with 45 shots ... Rachel Locke earned her career-best sixth shutout Wednesday night in goal ... she finished with seven saves to push her personal-best to 97, which is the most since Bevin English had 86 in 2007 ... she is third in the SoCon in saves, while also ranking third in shutouts ... this is the Wildcats 10th straight season making the league tournament ... Davidson has gone 2-1-4 in overtime contests ... the 'Cats are playing their 20th and final season in the SoCon before moving to the A-10 ... Davidson was picked to finish fourth in the SoCon preseason poll ... the Wildcats return 21 letterwinners, including 10 starters ... head coach Greg Ashton, in his 10th season, collected his 100th career win at?Davidson in a 4-3 triumph at Francis Marion, Oct. 13 ... the soccer program is celebrating its 25th Anniversary, 1989-2013.
Scouting the Phoenix
Elon (11-2-6, 5-1-4 SoCon) finished the regular season with a 2-2 draw at UNCG Wednesday ... it was the Phoenix second tie in a row after a 1-1 draw vs. Samford, Oct. 27 ... Elon went 3-0-2 in its final five games ... Nicole Dennion is tied for the SoCon lead with 31 points on a SoCon-best 13 goals and five assists ... Jennifer McGorty is tied for eighth with 19 points (7 gls, 5 ats) ... Elon as a team has scored 51 goals (2.68 per game), tops in the league ... it ranks second with 43 team assists and has 145 total points, tops in the SoCon ... the Phoenix went unbeaten at home with a 6-0-3 record, including a 3-0-2 mark in conference ... Elon entered the (NSCAA)/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Southeast Region Poll, earning a No. 10 ranking, Oct. 29 ... Elon was picked to finish fifth in the preseason league standings ... head coach Chris Neal is in his sixth season at the helm ... he was last year's SoCon Coach of the Year.
Next on the Schedule
Should the Wildcats win, they would advance to the semifinals against the winner of Wofford and UNCG, Nov. 8. The semis and final will be held at Wofford this year in Spartanburg, S.C.
