Radford women hold off Coastal Carolina for Big South Championship

Radford scored a pair of first half goals and then held off No.1 seeded Coastal Carolina for a 2-1 victory in the title game of the 2008 Big South Women’s Soccer Championship Sunday afternoon at Vert Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of High Point University.  The second-seeded Highlanders (14-1-6) captured their third Conference crown, first since 2002, and receive the Big South’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.

Junior defender Caitlyn Roan (Virginia Beach, Va.) was named the tournament MVP for her outstanding work anchoring the defense and marking each team’s top player.

“It is unbelievable,” Roan on winning the championship. “I can’t even believe it or describe it. We all worked so hard and I felt all throughout the season we deserved it.”

Radford took advantage of its only two shots of the first half and carried a 2-0 lead into halftime. The Chanticleers held a 5-2 advantage in shots and the Highlanders earned two corner kicks.
 
On the second of back-to-back corner kicks, Radford staked itself to an early 1-0 lead in the seventh minute. All-tournament selection, junior Justine Dugger’s (Purcellville, Va.) service was cleared to senior Laura Culver (Fairfax, Va.) 10 yards from goal. Her half volley hit a Coastal defender’s hand and the Highlanders were awarded a penalty kick. Culver, an all-tournament selection, drilled it low to the left for her second goal of the tournament and season. It was the first goal allowed by Coastal Carolina in the tournament (497:34) since 2006.

Sophomore Latrice Lee (Woodbridge, Va.) made it 2-0 in the 31st minute. She collected a through ball on the fly from freshman Melony Davis (Ashburn, Va.), beat the defender and ripped a low shot far post off the keeper’s finger tips for her fifth score of the season.

In the second half, Radford had some early chances to add to its lead but shots were blocked or just high. In the 63rd minute, Coastal Carolina had its best opportunity to get on the board, but Anna Tupy’s low hard shot to the right was tipped wide by freshman keeper Lisa Lubke (Columbus, Ohio).
 
The Chanticleers cut the lead to 2-1 in with 16:33 left in the second half on a header by Ashleigh Gunning. Gunning knocked Samantha Teijelo’s corner kick service into the bottom of the crossbar and it snuck over the goal line.

Minutes later, Coastal Carolina had a good opportunity for the equalizer, but Tupy’s shot from about eight yard yards out slipped just wide of the right goal post. Lee nearly added an insurance goal for Radford in the 80th minute, but a diving save by reserve CCU keeper Amy Haggard kept the differential at one.
 
For the game, Coastal Carolina out-shot Radford 17-8 including a 12-6 margin in the second half. The Chanticleers also held a slight 4-3 edge in corner kicks. All-tournament selection Lubke finished the game with six stops, while the Chanticleer duo between the pipes of Karen Pavlick and Haggard combined for two saves.