BOX SCORE GAME INFORMATION

• Location: Radford, Va. | Cupp Stadium
• Score: Radford 2, Chattanooga 0
• Records: Radford (3-0-0), Chattanooga (1-1-1)

 
RADFORD, Va. – A back-and-forth affair between two strong teams ended in a 2-0 victory for the Radford women's soccer team over Chattanooga on a cool Friday night at Cupp Stadium.
 
Still looking for the go-ahead goal midway through the second half, the Highlanders (3-0-0) finally found the back of the net in the 64^th minute. Junior midfielder Jane Everett charged down the left sideline and cut inside her defender before sending a cross into the box. It was there that sophomore forward Nelia Perez used her head to redirect the ball into the path of fellow forward Jessica Wollmann who calmly found the back of the net.
 
Clinging to that 1-0 advantage over Chattanooga (1-1-1), the Highlanders doubled their lead to earn some breathing room in the 86^th minute. Sophomore defender Allyson Giannone took her place by the corner flag and served in a cross that looked as though it would be corralled by the Mocs' keeper, but the ball clanged off of her hands and fell for junior midfielder Jasmine Casarez who fought her way through traffic to slot home her first of the season.
 
Casarez was tied with UTC's Chloe Arnold with a game-leading six shots while Wollmann took four, two on goal, and Perez attempted three of her own. As a team Radford led in shots, 19-to-13, including six shots on goal to their four.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Lexi Dean got the starting nod after coming out at halftime in favor of senior Katie McCormick in the Highlander's last contest. The Fairfax Station, Va. native was more than up for the task and she may have come away with the game's top highlight.
 
At the 60-minute mark, the Mocs earned a corner kick and dangerously played it into a crowded six-yard box. The Highlanders attempted a clearance, but the ball bounced only as far as Chattanooga's Maeve Kelly. Kelly took a touch and fired a right-footed strike towards the upper 90, but Dean intervened with a full extension diving save that deflected the ball up and over the bar to prevent Radford from going down.
 
Both teams played a physical game and competed hard in the first half, but it remains the second half in which the Highlanders have taken over games. Through three games in 2017, Radford has scored seven of its eight goals after the halftime break.
 
The Highlanders also now own two clean sheets in those three games thanks to another strong effort by the back line.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Giannone now has four assists in three games this season. She came into Friday night's game leading the Big South and tied for seventh in the nation in the category
• The Highlanders have outshot their opponents by a combined count of 43-to-26 in two home games this season
• Wollmann's goal was the first with double assists for Radford this season
• There have been seven different goalscorers on Radford's eight goals in 2017

 
QUOTABLE
"I felt like we were kind of taking it to them in the first half. We had good possession in the first half, we were keeping the ball and had a few chances so I think we were wearing them down a little bit. We're a very fit team this year and that definitely showed. After the first 10 minutes we were able to settle down and find our teammates better so a lot of hard work went into this win." – Jessica Wollmann
 
"I thought we played some of the best soccer we've played all year in that first half. We just kept getting chances and I felt like the door was going to open for us eventually. I thought we actually started the second half a little shaky. They made some changes and it took some time to adapt, but once we made our defensive changes it changed the game for us." – Head Coach Ben Sohrabi
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders will have a full week to prepare before they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. once again – this time to play the Wofford Terriers. The Terriers are 0-2-0 after falling to Coastal Carolina, 3-0, in their season opener and then losing, 3-2, in overtime against fellow Big South team UNC Asheville. The game between Radford and Wofford is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kick on Friday, Sept. 1.