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Tuesday, 07 November 2006 16:20 |
UNCA womenës soccer nets NCAA bid
CONWAY, S.C. ÇƒÓ The UNC Asheville womenës soccer team secured its first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Big South Conference tournament last Sunday.
Tied with Liberty after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime play, UNCA snared the victory on penalty kicks 4-2 in a game played at Coastal Carolina.
UNCA, seeded 16th, will face No. 1 seed North Carolina (21-1) at 5 p.m. Friday at Fetzer Field, according to the NCAA pairings that were announced this past Tuesday on ESPNews.
UNCA (10-6-3), seeded fifth in the conference tournament, had upset top-seeded Winthrop on Friday to advance to the title match. The Bulldogs had played in the conference championship game for the fourth time in five years and a league-record seventh overall.
After
the first two players from both teams converted on penalty kicks, the
scored was 2-all. The Bulldogsë Robyn Busha scored to give UNCA a 3-2
lead. Later, freshman defender Meagan Bradham hit her kick to give the
Bulldogs a two-shot lead for the victory.
ASU storms Citadel 42-13;
clinches title, playoff berth
BOONE ÇƒÏ No. 1 Appalachian State University clinched at least a share of
its second-straight Southern Conference championship and the nationës
first automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Division I playoffs with a 42-13
victory over The Citadel in football last Saturday afternoon at Kidd
Brewer Stadium.
With its ninth-consecutive win, Appalachian (9-1, 6-0) claimed its
seventh SoCon title in 21 seasons and its first back-to-back crowns
since 1986-87.
ASU extended its home winning streak to 24 games. The senior class
honored on Senior Day has never lost a home game, dating back to the
beginning of the 2003 season, when this yearës seniors were freshmen.
Saturdayës attendance of 17,547 marked the 10th-straight over-capacity regular-season crowd at 16,650-seat Kidd Brewer Stadium.
ASUës Kevin Richardson, a junior from Elizabethtown, rolled up 148
rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 17 carries, giving him 321
yards and seven touchdowns over the past two games.
Richardson followed up his career-long 79-yard touchdown on the
Mountaineersë first possession with scores from 14 and one yard out to
pace the Apps. The three-touchdown effort was his fourth of the season
and sixth of his career. However, holding just a 7-3 lead early in the
second quarter, it was the Appalachian defense that once again turned
the tide of the game. On second-and-five from the Citadel 20, a vicious
hit by Buck Buchanan.
Award candidate Marques Murrell forced Bulldog running back Tory Cooper
to cough up the ball. All-America safety Corey Lynch scooped up the
fumble and returned it 25 yards for his second touchdown in as many
weeks to give ASU a 14-3 lead.
From there, The Citadel (3-6, 3-3) managed just eight yards the rest
of the half and redshirt freshman tight end Dominique Wilsonës
first-career reception, a 24-yard touchdown strike from Armanti
Edwards, gave Appalachian a comfortable 21-3 halftime advantage.
After Lynch fumbled on an interception return to give them new life,
the Bulldogs managed another field goal early in the third quarter. But
it was all Mountaineers from there, as they scored three touchdowns
over the next 10 minutes to stretch their lead to 42-6.
The Citadel wrapped up the scoring with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Duran Lawson to Andre Roberts early in the fourth period.
Next, ASU closes out its regular season at 4 p.m. Saturday with the
Battle for the Old Mountain Jug at archrival Western Carolina at E.J.
Whitmire Stadium in Cullowhee.
Liberty shackles WCU 21-0;
Catsë losing streak rises to 7
LYNCHBURG, Va. ÇƒÓ Liberty University whitewashed Western Carolina University 21-0 in football last Saturday afternoon.
The loss, the Catamountsë seventh in a row, was the first shutout
suffered by WCU (2-7, 0-6) this season. Moreover, the Catsë prospects
for the final two games look gloomy, as they face No. 1-ranked
Appalachian State (1-AAës top-ranked team) and 1-A powerhouse Florida.
Liberty (4-5), which ended a four-game losing streak, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by Rashad Jennings in the first quarter.
The Flames increased the lead to 14-0 after Zach Terrell scored on a 2-yard run with 0:25 left in the first half.
The final scoring occurred when Brock Smith hit Brandon Turner for a 36-yard touchdown with 11:51 left in the third quarter.
A bright spot for WCU was the play of tailback Darius Fudge, who ran
for 102 yards on 23 carries for his fourth consecutive 100-yard game.
Overall, the Catamounts turned in their worst offensive performance of
the season.
Tusculum rallies to beat
MHC, KOs quarterback
MARS HILL ÇƒÓ Tusculum College rallied to beat Mars Hill College 24-17 in
a South Atlantic football clash that also prematurely ended Senior Day
for Lions quarterback Brandon Sims last Saturday afternoon at Meares
Stadium.
Sims, a senior starter playing his final home game, suffered a knee
injury in the third quarter and never returned. The loss was the fifth
in a row for MHC (4-6, 1-5)
With Sims out and the score tied at 10-10, backup quarterback Ricky
Spradling hit Tyrea Allen for a 29-yard touchdown pass, giving MHC a
17-10 lead late in the third quarter.
Tusculum (6-4, 3-3) then staged a comeback with two quick scores to secure the victory.
Next, injury-riddled MHC will close its season with a visit to Wingate University (7-3, 4-2) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
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