GREENSBORO, NC – Sophomore Kelly Attayek punched in her ninth goal of the season to put the UNC Greensboro women's soccer team past the Elon Phoenix, 1-0, Sunday. With the win, the Spartans advance to the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals.
The Spartans had numerous opportunities to get themselves past the Phoenix even more, but were unable to find the back to the net. In the 26th minute, junior Katelynn Donovan nearly notch the first goal with 15 yard shot that skimmed right off the crossbar.
After 52 scoreless minutes, freshman Kristin Player gave a short pass to Attayek who found herself alone inside the box. Attayek took a quick look and then fired it in past the hands of Elon's Lizz Johnson.
UNCG head coach Eddie Radwanski said of his team, “We played a good game today. We could have made it a bit easier on ourselves by putting in some of the opportunities we had, but we came out with the win and hope to do the same on Friday.”
UNCG outshot the Phoenix 17-1 in the first half and 13-1 in the second. They also held an 11-1 corner kick advantage.
UNCG's keeper, senior Katherine Ryan, saw very limited action on her end as the Spartan offensive kept the ball on the Elon half for the majority of the 90 minutes. With UNCG's 30 shots, Johnson found herself very busy. She racked up 13 saves while the team was credited with another.
“Elon gave us a challenge today," Radwanski said. "I give credit to Elon, they play very tough and organized ball, but we were able to work around it and come out on top.
“At this stage of the game, it's all about getting the result, getting that win. Now we've got the win, it's time to move onto the next round of the tournament and hopefully come out with another championship.”
The Spartans will head to Davidson on Friday, Nov. 9, to take on the College of Charleston at 4:30 pm. The Cougars eliminated Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon after a 1-1 tie led them to two overtimes. It took 22 penalty kicks before the Cougars nabbed the win to move onto the semifinals.
UNCG moved to 14-3-1 overall, winning its 24th consecutive match against Southern Conference foes. Elon finished with a 5-12-2 overall record.
For more information on UNCG women's soccer and all other Spartan athletics visit www.uncgspartans.com.
AGATE
SCORE BY PERIODS
1 2 Total
Elon 0 0 0
UNCG 0 1 1
SCORING SUMMARY: UNCG – Attayek (9) (Player), 52:00; Shots: ELON 2, UNCG 30; Saves: ELON 14 (Johnson 13, Team 1), UNCG 0 (Ryan 0); Corner Kicks: ELON 1, UNCG 11; Fouls: ELON 5, UNCG 6
- UNCG -
