Box Score SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The No. 6 seed Wofford women's soccer team fell to Elon University 1-0 in the semifinals of the Southern Conference Women's Soccer Championship at the Terriers' Snyder Field on Friday. The loss ends the season for Wofford after making its first semifinals appearance since 2002 and first tournament appearance since 2010.
With the loss, Wofford ends the season with an 8-5-6 overall record. With the win, the Phoenix (13-2-6) will face No. 1 seed Furman (16-3-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
After a scoreless first half that saw the sides combine for just three shots, Elon opened things up offensively in the second stanza and broke through with the only goal it would need at the 53:22 mark. Catherine Brinkman broke up the shutout with an unassisted, booming shot from 25 yards out, smoking the ball into the far right 90 past Wofford's senior All-Conference goalkeeper Kimberly Cohn.
Brinkman had narrowly missed putting the Phoenix on top just moments earlier, as Jennifer McCorty found her in stride with a nice ball that split two defenders inside the 18-yard box. From about 8 yards out, Brinkman's sliding attempt went just high.
Brinkman had a chance to add an insurance goal in the 87thminute but missed her penalty kick attempt high. With Elon nursing its one-goal lead, SoCon Player of the Year Nicole Dennion was taken down inside the 18-yard box to earn the spot kick.
The first half saw little activity on the offensive end for either team. Elon's Olivia Mackey pushed a shot wide in the sixth minute, while Erin Tanhauser had an attempt blocked in the 32nd. Wofford earned its only attempt in the 37th minute, when Alex Kachulis nodded a corner kick from All-Conference defender Maggie Bosley wide of the goal.
The offensive intensity picked up in the second frame, with each team taking six shots. Wofford created the pressure early, with Mary Beth Bleekrode forcing a save from Kate Murphy and Kachulis putting a shot high within the first four minutes.
Elon grabbed the momentum with Brinkman's flurry, and Mackey and Dennion forced saves from Cohn later in the half.
Wofford's last good scoring chance came in the 84th minute, but Kachulis' volley attempt missed just wide of the goal.
Cohn made three stops for the Terriers but took the loss to fall to 8-2-6 on the season.
Sydney Branson and Murphy combined on the shutout for the Phoenix, playing a half each. Murphy picked up the only Elon save of the contest and earned the win to improve to 9-0-4.
