MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Southern Conference standings and will host Elon in the opening round of the SoCon Tournament on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1 p.m.
"Our team has grown a ton in the past six to eight weeks," said head coach Christian Michner. "We've had to deal with so many nagging injuries and lineup changes but we've really come together and are playing our best soccer at the right time."
The Cougars (9-9-1, 6-4-1 SoCon) earned the fourth seed by going unbeaten in their final four matches. The Cougars held off cross-town rival The Citadel on Wednesday night. The Cougars scored the lone goal of the match in the 33rd minute when Sarah Schaidle (Simpsonville, S.C.) took control of a bouncing ball in the right-hand side of the box. She flicked the ball over the defenders to an open Sloane Levin (Hamburg, Mich.) who scored inside the left post.
The Cougars have not allowed a goal in the past four matches.
"It's easier to come together on the attack and create chances," said Michner, "but it's more difficult to sure up the back line and keep teams away. We've done that now and have shown we're capable of keeping the clean slate."
Despite holding a 1-0 halftime lead, the Elon (11-7-1, 6-5 SoCon) a heartbreaker in its regular season finale to No. 16 UNC Greensboro Spartans, as the Phoenix fell, 2-1, on Thursday night at Rudd Field. Elon held its 1-0 lead at the half, but the Spartans (16-1-1, 11-0 SoCon) scored goals in the 54th and 63rd minutes of the second half to down the Phoenix and finish the regular season unbeaten in SoCon play.
When the teams met in the regular season, The Cougars were downed, 4-3, in overtime in a game Michner felt his team dominated but couldn't put away. The Cougars had three different leads but Elon responded each time before netting the game winner in overtime.
A win will advance the Cougars to the semifinals which are to be played in Cullowhee, N.C. on Friday, Nov. 5 against the winner of No. 1 UNCG and No. 8 Wofford.
"Our tournament started two weeks ago," said Michner. "We knew we had to win our games to even qualify for the tournament at the time. Our goal was to finish in the top four though and host our first round game and we've done that."
