Chattanooga’s Mackenzie Smith eluded her defender at the top of the box and booted in a left-footed shot for the game winner in the Mocs 2-1 Southern Conference women’s soccer victory at The Citadel Sunday afternoon.
The win puts the Mocs alone in first in the Southern Conference standings after the opening week of league play. UTC is now 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon. The Citadel drops to 3-3-4 on the year and 0-2 against the league.
With the score tied 1-1 and less than 16 minutes to play, Mackenzie Smith went to the right then back to the left at the top of the box to get away from her defender. It worked as she had a brief opening to send her shot into the top middle of the net past the leaping Citadel keeper.
Chattanooga controlled the first half outshooting the Bulldogs 20-4 but it would be the 20th shot before the Mocs got on the board. With time running out in the opening frame, Caroline Richvalsky stepped in to take a quick corner, sending it in with 10 seconds to play in the first.
Her decision led to a goal for Fabia Reinschmidt, her first for Chattanooga, with just two seconds left in the first half. Reinschmidt picked up the ball at the top of the box and fired it into the bottom left corner past a diving Bulldog keeper. That sent the Mocs into the break with a 1-0 lead.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, The Citadel tied it up on a shot from Ellie Belcher. The Bulldogs sent in a corner kick that was sent back out. Ariana Paez picked up the ball and sent it back in at the net and it was pushed in by Belcher for the equalizer.
Chattanooga outshot the Bulldogs 29-7 with a 12-5 shots on goal advantage. Six Mocs had multiple shot attempts in the match with Richvalsky leading the way with seven. Smith had six and Birna Johannsdottir had five. Caroline Ekern had three saves and Kelly Tuerff headed the ball away before it crossed the line for the Mocs fourth save of the match.
Head Coach Gavin McKinney said, “Great to start conference play 2-0. The Citadel is a tough opponent and they made things difficult for us today. We once again responded well to conceding a goal and found a way to win. The group has shown great character this season. We are looking forward to our two matches coming up this week and hope to continue our good form.”
SERIES HISTORY
Chattanooga leads: 16-6-1
UP NEXT
Chattanooga will remain on the road to take on East Tennessee State Thursday, September 28 in Johnson City. The match will kick off at 6 p.m.
SCORING SUMMARY
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1
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44:58
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UTC
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Fabia Reinschmidt (1)
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2
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60:01
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CIT
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Ellie Belcher
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Ariana Paez
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3
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74:39
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UTC
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Mackenzie Smith (3)
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