Chattanooga women’s soccer opened Southern Conference action Thursday night with a 2-1 win over Wofford at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
“Great start to SoCon play,” Mocs head coach Gavin McKinney said. "Picking up points on the road is always challenging, so we’re delighted with the result. Hopefully, we can carry this strong form into the weekend.”
Freshman Paige Thomas scored her first collegiate goal in the 17th minute and Caroline Richvalsky hit home the eventual game winner three minutes later. The Mocs defense held off the Terriers allowing just four shots on goal.
Thomas took the Wofford defense by surprise firing off a shot in stride from well outside the box early in the match. She took a through ball from Kelly Tuerff and a few steps later sent her shot into the goal over the keeper who had moved forward.
In the 20th minute, the Mocs lined up for a corner kick on the right side. Zoey Mize fed Richvalsky low in the six-yard box. Richvalsky sent it back and Mize played it right back to her. Richvalsky sent the shot into the lower right corner, just under the keeper’s reach for her second game winning shot of the season. That is the fourth time this season the duo has paired up for a goal.
Chattanooga controlled the ball throughout the first half and outshot the Terriers 12-3 in the frame. The Mocs got 12 more shots in the second half and outshot the Terriers 24-8 with an 11-7 shots on goal advantage. Wofford had just four shots on goal for the game with UTC’s Caroline Ekern making three saves.
Wofford cut the Mocs lead in half shortly after the start of the second half and managed five more shots in the period. Ines Obradovac, assisted by Megan Childress, scored her sixth goal this season.
Richvalsky had seven shots in the match with two on goal and Thomas sent six toward the net with five on goal. Clarissa Salinas added four and Zoey Mize had two, both on set pieces. Chattanooga outshot Wofford 24-8 and had an 11-4 shots on goal advantage. That was a season-high for both.
Ekern made three saves and Wofford’s keeper Elizabeth Navola had nine. She is ranked fourth in the nation with a .955 saves percentage prior to the match.
The Mocs improve to 2-4-3 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play while the Terriers move to 4-5-1 on the year and 0-1 against the conference.
Chattanooga continues league play, hosting Samford Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium. The match is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. Admission is free.
SCORING SUMMARY
|
No.
|
Time
|
Team
|
Goal Scorer
|
Assist
|
|
1
|
16:46
|
UTC
|
Paige Thomas (1)
|
Kelly Tuerff
|
|
2
|
19:52
|
UTC
|
Caroline Richvalsky (4)
|
Zoey Mize
|
|
3
|
48:31
|
WOF
|
Ines Obradovac (6)
|
Megan Childress
|