MT. PLEASANT, S.C. --- An goal 1:50 into the first overtime period by Megan Manthey was the difference, as the College of Charleston women’s soccer team defeated Davidson 1-0 in rainy conditions at Patriots Point Soccer Stadium on Friday night.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 9-3-2 on the year, 2-2-1 in the SoCon, while Davidson falls to 6-3-3, 4-1-0 in the SoCon.
“It’s hard to put into words the performance our team had tonight,” said head coach Kevin Dempsey. “The girls gave it their all from the start and did not quit all night. It was a total team effort and I could not be happier right now.”
In the first half, both teams had numerous opportunities to get on the scoreboard, but could not convert on any attempts.
One sequence in particular occurred in the last 20 seconds of the first half, in which the Cougars attacked the Davidson goal with a flurry of shots, only to be denied by Wildcat goalie Jessie Baxa on each attempt.
In the second half, a steady rain began to fall and with that, the Charleston defense clamped up and did not allow Davidson to take a shot the entire period. The Cougars, however, only took two shots in the period and the match proceeded to go to overtime.
It was in overtime that Manthey took control. With the Cougars once again attacking the Davidson net, Manthey lined up a shot from just outside the box on the near side of the field. She took the shot and watched as the ball floated over Davidson goalie Christy Carry and into the goal, ending the game.
“It has been a few games since I had scored and I though that I was due to get a goal,” said Manthey. “When I lined up to take the shot, all I was thinking about was to just finish the game and I did.”
At the end of the night, the Cougars out shot the Wildcats 8-4 in the match. Goalie Erin Smith earned her sixth shutout victory of the season after making three saves in between the pipes for Charleston.
The College of Charleston will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 12th when they hit the road to take on Georgia Southern. The match is set to start at 1 p.m.
