[Women's Soccer] Cavs show drive, progress in season opener double overtime loss
BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. – The Cavaliers fell in double overtime to the University of South Carolina – Beaufort Sand Sharks in their season opener Saturday night in Black Mountain. Despite the loss, the Cavs' preseason preparation was on display in this contest as their systems clicked and ran smoothly.
After an exciting but scoreless time of regulation, with six minutes to go in the second overtime period, USCB's Fichtner connected with teammate Salus deep in Montreat's corner who scored to seal the win for the Sand Sharks. However, the Cavs were in high spirits after the game because of the visible progress the program has made over the last several months.
"It was a great first game for us because USCB was a very talented team. We were chasing them for a lot of the game, and it was helping us break in our fitness, which we needed," said head coach Tina Murphy. "We were happy to put some of the pieces together and be able to defend and take those guys into double overtime."
The Cavs defense put on a show as USCB put up 27 shots, compared to Montreat's five. Goalkeeper Payton Landry was a wall making 11 saves. "The defense battled, and I'm just so proud of our backline and our goalkeepers. I was just so proud of their work ethic," said Coach Murphy.
Offensively, the Cavs struggled to find opportunities. Furthermore, they could not capitalize on the chances they did find. "We weren't doing details well in the attack. Our passing accuracy has to improve. Late into that second half, we were playing everything in front of USCB's defense, and of course their center backs are very talented so they're going to clean all that stuff out," said Coach Murphy. "We were tired so we weren't doing those details well of finding those through-balls so our frontrunners could run onto them. We needed to be more patient in the attack and make better decisions in the second half."
Up Next: The Cavs travel to Brevard on Tue., Aug. 28 for a 6 p.m. match.