CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNCW women's soccer team earned its second straight road win with a 2-1 victory over Western Carolina on Sunday, receiving a goal from sophomore forward
Caigan Leonard and an own goal from the Western Carolina Catamounts.
"The coaches are really proud of this squad and our opening weekend results," said Head Coach
Chris Neal. "We challenged this team, a long way from home, against two quality opponents. Today's conditions were very hot and humid for this area, and Western Carolina, despite a ton of new faces this year, was highly organized and effective. That's a credit to their coaching staff. We started the match on the front foot, and I thought we handled the adversity well for our fifth consecutive day on the road."
The Seahawks struck first just two minutes into the match when Leonard found the back of the net off assists from
Kamrey Watkins and
Allie Planeaux. The goal marked Leonard's second straight match with a goal and moved her into the team lead in scoring.
Western Carolina answered in the seventh minute off a corner kick to even the score at 1-1. In the 33rd minute, the Catamounts scored an own goal to give UNCW the eventual game-winning advantage.
The Seahawks continued to apply pressure in the second half, recording eight shots, while the UNCW defense limited the Catamounts to just one shot.
Macy Lutz,
Alyssa Chuderewicz and
Ava Chuderewicz helped anchor the defensive effort as the Seahawks preserved the 2-1 lead through the final whistle.
The goalkeeping duo of
Zoë Anderson and
Lili White held strong in front of the net, with Anderson making three saves in the first half.
UNCW returns home Thursday, Aug. 20, to host Old Dominion in its first home match of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at UNCW Soccer Stadium, with the match available to stream on FloCollege.
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