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 Senior Heather Dittmer led Western with two goals in the annual alumni scrimmage. |
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Aug. 18, 2007
Cullowhee, N.C. - Senior Heather Dittmer scored twice and sophomore Katie Kole dished out a pair of assists as the 2007 Catamounts downed the program alumni, 5-2, in annual scrimmage at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
"The number of women's soccer alumni who return each year shows not only the type of student-athletes Western has produced over the years, but also the tremendous amount of support that we have," said head coach Tammy DeCesare. "Our alum are always fun to watch. They bring a wealth of experience that pushes our current players."
As for her current squad of Catamounts, which open the regular season in two weeks, DeCesare felt her team was further along this season than a year ago.
"Our returning class of players are helping make us better as a squad. They are doing the little things; paying the price individually and are determined to make the team better," added DeCesare. "Our senior leadership has been tremendous both on and off the field."
Dittmer opened the scoring, tallying the first goal of the match by redirecting a rebound inside the box through a crowd in front of the cage to give Western the early advantage. The current Catamounts surged ahead for a two-goal advantage moments later as sophomore Nikki Collins played a long ball ahead where red-shirt sophomore Rachael Shomper ran it down passed the defense, beating goalkeeper Caitlin Gill who came off the back line to challenge one-on-one before dribbling it into the box for the empty net score.
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The alumni got on the board in the later stages of the first half as Natalie Turgeon received a pass from former teammate Casey Davis, who worked one-on-one before passing the ball wide left to Meghan Reilly. The Lubbock, Tex., native dribbled three times before firing on net, scoring in the lower left to cut the lead to three, 4-1, at the half.
WCU regained its four-point edge in the opening stages of the second half as senior Lauren Atkinson played the ball ahead to Dittmer who worked against and through the alumni defense. She uncorked a shot from just inside the outer box which bounced off the bottom of the cross bar and spun into the net for the 5-1 advantage.
Not quitting despite only having four substitutions on the warm afternoon, Western's alumni netted its final goal off a corner kick opportunity. Sophia, N.C., native and 2006 graduate Keevy Harris played a corner kick into the box where '05 alum, Natalie Turgeon, won a header, beating the keeper through a crowd for the goal in the far right hand corner of the cage.
The Catamounts out shot the alumni, 29-to-7 - including a 16-to-4 edge in the second half - and had six corner kick opportunities to a pair for the alum.
Scoring Summary:
Goal Scorer Assists
WCU, 1-0 Heather Dittmer unassisted
WCU, 2-0 Rachael Shomper Nikki Collins
WCU, 3-0 Shannon Fowkes Kellie Oberholtzer, Katie Kole
WCU, 4-0 Nikki Lombardo Katie Kole
Alum, 4-1 Meghan Reilly Natalie Turgeon, Casey Davis
WCU, 5-1 Heather Dittmer Lauren Atkinson
Alum, 5-2 Natalie Turgeon Keevy Harris
Catamount Alumni who Attended:
Lauren Bramlett, 2003
Megan Chambers, 2005
Casey Davis, 2005
Kristin Deon, 2003
Keevy Harris, 2006
Jordan Howell, 2003
Tammy Jones, 2006
Christel Kirkpatrick, 2002
Nardia Moore, 2002
Natasha Moore, 2005
Marie Nicolini, 2005
Meghan Reilly, 2006
Sarah Rice, 2002
Natalie Turgeon, 2005
