The Citadel Week 7 Notes
SoCon Week 7 Notes

CHARLESTON, S.C. – After playing four games on the road over the last two weeks, The Citadel women's soccer team returns home this weekend for a pair of Southern Conference (SoCon) games at Washington Light Infantry (WLI) Field. The Bulldogs will first play Wofford at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29, before opening the month of October with a 2 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, Oct. 1, against Furman.

"We were outstanding for large spells in the game against Mercer last week and it's important that we try to build on that, especially with the comfort of playing at home this weekend," said head coach Ciaran Traquair. "There are some big games coming up and I am happy with how the team is performing. We want to win and the signs have been very positive from the group. The disappointment from Friday was more from feeling we deserved more from the game. This week I've challenged our cadet-athletes to perform to that standard and get a deserved win."

Friday's game against Wofford will be the 18^th in a series where the Terriers own an all-time record of 13-3-1 over the Bulldogs. The Citadel's three wins came in 2010 (2-1 in Charleston on Oct. 22), 2012 (3-1 in Charleston on Sept. 23) and 2016 (1-0 in Spartanburg on Oc. 6). It will be just the second time the two have met on Sept. 29, with Wofford winning 2-0 in Spartanburg back in 2013 on that date. Wofford won the first nine games of the series before the Bulldogs went 2-0-1 from 2010 to 2012, including earning a 2-2 draw in double overtime in 2011. Last season, Samara Nche scored the lone goal in the Bulldogs' 1-0 win in the 12th minute.

Wofford enters the weekend 4-5-1 with an 0-1-1 mark in SoCon play. After opening the season by dropping their first four contests, the Terriers rattled off four wins to sit at .500 (.4-4) entering SoCon play last weekend. Wofford started its SoCon slate by dropping a 4-3, double overtime decision at home to UNCG and bounced back two days later with a double overtime draw against VMI.

Hayley Younginer leads the Wofford attack with 16 goals on the year, including three game-winners, and is tops in NCAA Division I with 1.60 goals per game, 33 points and 16 goals scored. Younginer has taken 51 shots with 30 being on goal and has converted her one penalty kick attempt. Behind her, Katie Beuerlein, Eva Dailey and Catie Slater have all netted two goals. Hannah Washko has a team-high five assists on the year with Beuerlein and Emma Fletcher contributing three assists each.

In net, Wofford has utilized four goalkeepers with Mayson Liner and Alex Carroll making four starts each and Alex King starting two games. Carroll leads the team with 20 saves, but hasn't seen game action since Sept. 1. Liner has made 19 saves and started the three most recent games. Liner and King each have a shutout and King boasts the best record at 2-0.

The Bulldogs and Paladins have met 17 times prior to Sunday's SoCon game with Furman boasting a 15-2 record in the series. The Bulldogs' two wins against the traditionally strong Paladins came in 2010 (a 2-1 overtime win in the SoCon Tournament on Oct. 31) and 2014 (a 2-1 road win on Oct. 3). It will be just the second time the two programs have met on Oct. 1 as Furman won 6-0 in Greenville back in 2004. Furman won the first 10 meetings between the two, but the Bulldogs made their first win in the series a memorable one as it came in the opening round of the 2010 SoCon Tournament.

The Paladins enter this weekend atop the Southern Conference standings alongside Samford with matching 2-0 records in SoCon play and six points each. Furman is currently a SoCon-best 6-2-1 overall with losses to Presbyterian and UAB. The Paladins are riding a four-game winning streak entering the weekend with all four being shutouts. Furman plays at Mercer on Friday, Sept. 29, before traveling to Charleston.

The Paladins are led by 13th-year head coach Andrew Burr, who has led Furman to a 168-75-21 record, three SoCon titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. On the pitch, Furman is led in scoring by Molly Dwyer's seven goals and 17 total points on the season. Behind her, Treva Aycock and Amanda Baker both have four goals while Caitlyn Reilly has added three. Rachel Shah leads the team with seven assists and Claudia Murphy has five.

Between the pipes, Kellsey Weaver has seen action in eight contests and logged a team-best 12 saves. She is 3-1-1 on the year with one solo shutout. Allie Cutler has played in five games, making just one save and is 3-1-0 with a shutout of her own.

After this weekend, The Citadel women's soccer team will have just six games left during the regular season. Following Sunday's game against Furman, the Bulldogs will travel to ETSU for a rare midweek tilt against the Buccaneers on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and will then play on Sunday, Oct. 8, at Western Carolina.

For more information and score updates on The Citadel soccer team, follow @CitadelWSoccer on Twitter or visit CitadelSports.com.