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No. 3 Mobile hangs on for 1-0 win over SU in SSAC Quarterfinal
By Matt Green
MOBILE, Ala. -- Mobile's Christy Lachappelle scored with 6:27 left until halftime as the second-seeded and No. 3-ranked Rams eliminated Shorter University from Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament play with a 1-0 victory over the Lady Hawks on Saturday night.
Shorter ends its season with a 7-12 overall record having weathered the storm of an 0-6 start to rally late in the season and earn an SSAC Tournament berth. Mobile (16-2-1) advances into the SSAC semifinals next Thursday in Gulfport, Miss., where it will square off with third-seeded Brenau, a 1-0 winner over William Carey on Saturday.
Mobile, which had beaten Shorter 6-1 back on Sept. 23 in Alabama -- it was the last of Shorter's six straight losses to open the year -- ran into a healthier and hungrier Shorter side on Saturday.
The Lady Hawks, who were outshot 21-12 and surrendered four goals in the first half to the Rams in the first meeting two months ago, were at a 14-9 disadvantage in shots this time around, but kept Mobile off the scoreboard until the 39th minute, when Lachappelle, who leads Mobile with 18 goals, finally beat Shorter goalkeeper Taylor Hays from just inside the 18-yard box for a 1-0 lead that the Rams took into the halftime locker room.
Shorter put pressure on Mobile's defense in the second half while in search for the equalizer. Mobile goalie Lisa Brownlie was forced into two saves, both of which came off the foot of Brandi Greenwald, who paced Shorter with four shots.
Aline Bez Tamiosso and Kelli Davis also got into the act with two shots apeice, but Shorter's top three scorers simply couldn't get the Lady Hawks on the board as Mobile hung on to advance and keep their tournament title hopes alive.
Hays made six saves for Shorter, which was playing without starting left back Kelly Crawford after she became the fourth Shorter starter to suffer a season-ending knee injury. Crawford sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during Shorter's final game of the regular season, but the Lady Hawks still managed to limit Mobile opportunities, holding one of the SSAC's most explosive offenses to one goal.
