Lady Tiger Soccer Team Downs Western Carolina 2-0 Sunday Afternoon

Sept. 9, 2007

CLEMSON, SC – The Clemson women’s soccer team defeated Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon by a score of 2-0 at Riggs Field. The Lady Tigers, ranked 20th by the NSCAA, improve to 4-0 on the season, while the Catamounts fall to 3-2. Clemson is now 2-0 all-time against Western Carolina.

Senior and preseason All-American goalkeeper Ashley Phillips had five saves in the Clemson victory and recorded her second solo shutout of the season. She has given up only one goal on 15 shots on goal in 332 minutes of play. The Lady Tigers outshot the Catamounts 16-11 and had four corner kicks, to Western Carolina’s one.

Clemson got on the board in the 29th minute as freshman Samantha Fortier scored her first career goal after executing a give-and-go with Molly Franklin, who now has six assists on the season. Franklin delivered the pass to Fortier in the left side of the box, where she blasted the ball with her left foot past Catamount keeper Caitlin Williams.

Clemson struck again less than four minutes later in the 33rd minute when Abby Lambert sent a corner kick that landed just in front of the post, where Judea Davis, Molly Johnson and Meghan Smith were all waiting to bang the shot home off the first bounce. Smith tapped the ball into the goal, netting her second goal of the season. It was Lambert’s first assist of the season. The Lady Tigers took the 2-0 lead into halftime and held Western Carolina at bay for the remainder of the match.

Head Coach Todd Bramble had mixed feelings about the game. “We got the win and it’s always good to get another win. As a team, we still haven’t played our best soccer yet. We are still in search of that and hopefully it will come sooner rather than later.”

“We have had some good individual performances,” noted Bramble. “Molly Johnson was outstanding for us today.”

The Lady Tigers will travel to Charlotte, NC next weekend to compete in the Carolina’s Cup to be held on the campus of UNC-Charlotte. Clemson will face Furman on Friday, September 14 at 5:00 p.m. and then will face UNC-Charlotte on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Game Summary Goals: Clemson – Fortier (from Franklin) 28:43 Clemson – Smith (from Lambert) 32:11 Saves: Phillips (CU) 5, Williams (WCU) 8 Shots: Clemson 16, Western Carolina 11 Corner Kicks – Clemson 4, Western Carolina 1 Fouls – Clemson 18, Western Carolina 11