#1 Radford Downs #4 Charleston Southern, 2-1, To Reach Championship Match
By Radford Athletics
MATTHEWS, N.C. – The Radford women's soccer program dug deep in a competitive 2-1 semifinals victory over the fourth-seeded Charleston Southern Thursday afternoon. Ashley Loundermon was the hero of the afternoon as her clutch goal in the 71st minute sealed the deal for Radford to clinch an appearance in Sunday's Big South Championship.
BOX SCORE
Contrary to the Highlanders and Buccaneers earlier season match-up that was highlighted by defense, today's meeting saw an intense offensive battle with 32 total shots, 15 on goal and nine corners.
Radford's offense would be the first to strike thanks to a beautiful set piece. In the 26th minute, Alexeis Kirnos struck a perfect corner that found the head of Lilly Short who netted her first goal since August. After a ball hung around too long in Radford's defensive box, the Buccaneers found the equalizer in the 35th minute also off the head of Abby Angelucci.
The experienced Highlanders did not back down and kept firing. Multiple one-on-one opportunities would arise, but the Buccaneers' goalie found stops on almost all of them. In the 72nd minute, Radford broke through.
Loundermon and Ava Kertage teamed up deep in Buccaneer territory threading through the defense to create an opening. Loundermon struck, finding the back right corner of the net to put Radford up for good 2-1.
Both goalies had busy games with twelve saves between two of the premier goalies in the league. Freshman Lexi Radvanyi was stellar in her first postseason match saving five of six shots on goal. Helena Willson, Kayla Edwards, Caitlyn Nottingham and Jillian Silverstone were all excellent bolstering the defensive line.
The goals by the duo of sophomores Loundermon and Short were the first of their postseason careers. The veteran Kirnos assisted Radford's game-winner in the 2022 Big South semifinals and marked her second career postseason assist this afternoon. The newcomer Kertgate continues to have a sneaky good debut year with Radford earning her first postseason point.
"In the first half I thought we came with the right energy and created some great chances that we didn't finish," commented head coach Ben Sohrabi. "Defensively we did well except for the one corner kick. In the first half we used a lot of energy and had to turn to our bench for the save. What a great combination between Avy and Loundy. We will regroup and get ready for the final Sunday."
Radford will now make an appearance in the Big South Championship in back-to-back seasons. The Highlanders will face second-seeded USC Upstate in a match set for 1 p.m. on Sunday in Matthews, N.C. streaming on ESPN+.