South Atlantic Week in Review- Week 3

By D3soccer.com Contributor

Week #3 is in the books! A lot of great games this week, but also a lot of games postponed due to Hurricane Florence. Several important regional games were postponed, games that would definitely impact regional rankings. These games will have to be made up as teams are able, and could influence tired teams trying to compete in conference play. Florence may end up having quite an impact on the 2018 soccer season. Let’s wrap up week #3 and see what our top South Atlantic teams have to look forward to in week #4.

TCNJ (3-1-0 / 1-0-0) No. 6

Wednesday night, the Lions traveled to Johns Hopkins to face the No. 9 Blue Jays in a Top 10 matchup. The Lions took a half to settle in on the road, and it would end up costing them. Although there were chances for both teams, the playing field was tilted in the Blue Jays’ favor in the first half, and Hopkins took the lead in the 23rd minute. The Lions battled back in the second half, peppering the Jays’ defense with 15 shots (they outshot Hopkins 18-11 for the night), but could not get one past the stingy (and fortunate, at times) Jays’ defense. This battle of Titans ended in a 0-1 TCNJ loss. Saturday night, the Lions got back into the win column with a 4-2 victory at Rutgers-Newark to kick off NJAC play. They outshot the Scarlet Raiders 31-4 (19-2 SOG) and led in corners, 11-0. Freshman Nikki Butler scored her first collegiate goal in the first half, then added another - the eventual game winner - in the second half.

Wednesday night, the Lions host the FDU-Florham Devils before heading to Ramapo on Saturday to face the Roadrunners in an afternoon matchup.

Christopher Newport (3-0-0) No. 10

Mother Nature continues to be the toughest opponent for the Captains. Similar to their last game against Johns Hopkins, both of their games this week were postponed due to conditions produced by Hurricane Florence. The Captains will face Hopkins, Virginia Wesleyan, and Lebanon Valley at later dates. All of these games will be important matchups with conference, regional, and national rankings impacted.

The Captains have a busy week with three road games, the middle portion of a five game road trip. On Monday afternoon, they travel to Glenside, PA to face the Arcadia Knights. The Knights will be looking to break into the Top 25 and will be hungry for an upset. The Captains then travel to Roanoke, VA, to take on the Maroons, then travel on Sunday to Fayetteville, NC, to face the Methodist Monarchs.

Lynchburg (5-1-0) No. 13

This week, the Lynchburg Hornets traveled to Tennessee for the Sewanee Invitational Tournament. There, they faced off against the Emory Eagles on Saturday and the host Sewanee Tigers on Sunday. Saturday, the Hornets came away with a 1-0 victory over the Eagles, even though they were outshot 10-5 and took fewer corners (4-2) than the Eagles. Senior Caitlin Mertens scored the game winner in the 55th minute and the Hornet defense did the rest, holding the Eagles scoreless in the 1-0 victory. On Sunday, there was considerably less drama in the match against Sewanee, with the Hornets outshooting Sewanee 16-2 (9-0 SOG) as they waltzed to a 4-0 victory. Senior Kennedy Jakubek netted two in the win.

This week, the Hornets host the St. Mary’s (Md.) Seahawks Wednesday night, then head the short distance down the street to take on the Randolph Wildcats Saturday afternoon, in what is technically a road game, but barely.

Emory Eagles (4-2-0) No. 20

Emory also participated in the Sewanee Invitational Tournament in Tennessee this past weekend, playing the Lynchburg Hornets on Saturday and the Thomas More Saints on Sunday. As mentioned above, the Eagles outshot (10-5) and had more corners (4-2) than the Hornets, but they could not answer the Hornet’s lone goal in the 0-1 defeat. Still, they played level with a nationally-ranked opponent once again and proved that they can compete with anyone. In a physical match on Sunday, Emory outshot Thomas More 21-4 and led 6-0 in corners taken in a 4-2 win. The Eagles scored 3 second half goals in the come-from-behind victory and got four points (1G, 2A) from senior Abbe McCarter in the win.

The Eagles return home from tournament play by hosting two matches, first on Friday against the Piedmont Lions and then Sunday against the Huntingdon Hawks.

Centre (6-0-0) No. 25

The Colonels traveled to Denison on Saturday afternoon to face the Big Red, a team that is unranked in our Top 25 poll, but receiving votes. The Colonels outshot Denison 25-10 (13-4 SOG) and held the edge in corners taken, 8-2, in the 2-1 win. The Big Red were actually in a great position to win the game, having scored a goal in the 68th minute. They were clinging to a 1-0 lead with less than a minute left, when Centre freshman Elizabeth Nelson scored with 34 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime. Junior Alana Hughes scored the Golden Goal in the 97th minute to steal the victory. No last second heroics were needed Sunday afternoon against the Mount St. Joseph Lions. The Colonels came away with a 3-1 win, outshooting the Lions 15-6 and holding the edge in corners, 9-1. Alana Hughes added two more goals on Sunday against the Lions.

The Colonels host three games this week. On Wednesday night, they welcome the Thomas More Saints. On the weekend, they begin Southern Athletic Association play, hosting Oglethorpe at Amend Field. On Sunday, they host the Piedmont Lions in a non-conference afternoon game.

Bridgewater (Va.) (5-1-0) NR, Receiving votes

The Eagles attacked early and often Wednesday afternoon against Southern Virginia, putting in four goals in the first sixteen minutes of the game in a 6-1 victory over the Knights. Five different players scored for the Eagles, with Hunter Collier putting in two. The Eagles outshot the Knights 20-4 (11-1 on frame) and led in corners taken, 9-0. The Eagles were slowed down by Mother Nature on the weekend, with Hurricane Florence postponing the Sunday afternoon contest against North Carolina Wesleyan.

This week, the Eagles head to Frostburg State Wednesday night to face the Bobcats, then return home to host Emory and Henry on Sunday afternoon.

Montclair State (4-0-2 / 0-0-1) NR, Receiving votes

Junior Emily Beenders scored a hat trick in a 4-1 victory over Mount St. Mary on Wednesday night. The Red Hawks outshot the Knights 12-4 and led in corners 6-2. Montclair State scored 2 goals in each half and shut down the Knights after they pulled within 2-1 in the 60th minute on a penalty kick. On Saturday night at Rutgers-Camden, Beenders recorded her seventh goal of the season and scored for the fifth straight game, but it wasn’t enough for the win, as the Red Hawks drew with the Scarlet Raptors, 1-1. Montclair finished with a 16-10 edge in shots and a 7-1 advantage in corners taken.

The Red Hawks hit the road this week for two games, first stopping by Vassar to take on the Brewers Wednesday afternoon, then visiting Glassboro, to face the Rowan Profs Saturday afternoon.

Washington and Lee (2-1-1) NR, Receiving votes

Washington and Lee enters the regional discussion this week, coming in with victories over Franklin and Marshall and Salisbury, a draw with Carnegie Mellon, and a loss to Johns Hopkins. Their game against Pfeiffer was cancelled due to inclement weather caused by Hurricane Florence. The teams do not plan on scheduling a makeup date.

The Generals don’t appear on the schedule again until Saturday, September 22 at Randolph-Macon and Sunday, September 23 at St. Mary’s (Md.).

Rowan (5-1-0 / 1-0-0) Receiving votes

The Profs’ Daria Jones scored in the first minute against Marymount, and then added another goal in the 58th to beat the Saints 3-0. The Profs outshot their opponent 26-2 and led in corners taken 7-0 in their 4th straight win. The Profs opened NJAC play at William Paterson on Saturday afternoon, and handed the Pioneers a 5-2 defeat. Junior Daria Jones was at it again, scoring a hat trick while classmate Darah Wagner added two goals to complete the scoring for the Profs.

The Profs had a change to their schedule this week - they were set to host the Arcadia Knights Wednesday evening, but that game has been rescheduled for October 16 to accommodate Arcadia’s makeup game with Christopher Newport. So, instead of hosting a non-conference game mid-week, they will continue with NJAC play and welcome Montclair State Saturday afternoon.

Piedmont (4-1-1 / 1-0-0)

Piedmont comes into the picture with wins over LaGrange, Averett, and Emory and Henry, a draw with Whittier and a loss to Redlands. In the three wins, the Lions haven’t allowed a goal and have held their opponents to under five shots.

This week, in their only game, the Lions faced off against Berry at home on Thursday night and came away with a 2-0 victory thanks to two first half goals from Veronica Cappas and Jazmin Penado.

The Lions host Birmingham-Southern on Tuesday night, then travel to Atlanta to face the Emory Eagles Friday night in an important regional matchup.

Contenders or Pretenders? Are these undefeated teams the “Real Deal”? We’ll find out as the season progresses.

Birmingham-Southern (4-0-1) is coming off a season with the most wins in their program’s history. They look to improve on that this campaign and have started off on the right foot with four straight victories. They passed a major test last Friday (Sep 7), beating the Covenant Scots 2-1 in 2OT. Against Belhaven this past Thursday, the Panthers scored two first half goals and played solid defense for the rest of the match to earn a 2-0 victory. On Saturday, they were unable to get the win against Huntingdon, but did salvage a draw to remain undefeated on the young season. They were outshot 20-10 (8-2 SOG) and trailed in corners (9-5), but still managed to take a lead in the 16th minute and hold off their opponents until the 62nd minute.

Greensboro (4-0-0) has come out of the gate fast, garnering four straight victories in their opening matches. Like many North Carolina teams, they lost to Hurricane Florence this week and had to postpone matches against Shaw, LaGrange, and Wesleyan (Ga.). The Pride have a game at Marymount on Wednesday, at home against Bob Jones on Friday, and at Averett on Saturday.

Berea (4-0-0) has started the new era under new Head Coach Joe Saleem II with five straight wins. The Mountaineers are coming off of a 1-13-1 season, but have 15 new players on this season’s team. The Mountaineers lone game this past week against Warren Wilson was postponed. This week, they will travel to Transylvania for a Monday night matchup before starting conference play at Brevard Saturday afternoon.

So, there you have it. Another week in the books and we are in the thick of it! Conference play has started for most. The night air will soon begin to chill and we’ll start keeping one eye on the conference standings to see how many points our team needs to make it into or host the playoffs. Remember that D3soccer.com is the place to check for all of your conference and regional rankings. We have it all right here! And don’t forget to come back next week to see how the top teams in the South Atlantic Region did in week #4 and where they’ll be playing week #5! See you next week!

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