Time ran out on the women’s soccer season as they fell 1-0 to the UNC-Greensboro Spartans in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament Sunday afternoon.

Elon, seeded eighth, was in search of that one goal the entire game that would give them a chance at upsetting the No. 1 seeded Spartans and a chance to advance to the semifinals.

The first shot on goal for Elon was taken at 21:10 by Katina Boozer. Boozer received a pass from the right side and sailed the ball towards the goal. The shot was just a little high as it hit the right crossbar and bounced over the net. This was the first of only two shots for the Phoenix.

After 52 scoreless minutes, Spartan freshman Kristin Player found teammate Katelynn Donovan alone in the box. Donovan fired the ball past the diving hands of Elon junior goalie Lizz Johnson for the only goal of the contest.

Elon made one last offensive surge with less than a minute to go in regulation, but the Phoenix could not capitalize on a corner kick, and the game and Elon’s season ended.

Elon’s defense was strong as Johnson grabbed 13 saves. The team was credited with one save when they helped successfully defend three consecutive corner kicks by the Spartans.

UNC-G held the edge in corner kicks, 11-1 and shots, 30-2.

“[The loss] is something to build on in the off-season,” head coach Chris Webb said. “It was a positive way to finish.”

On Nov. 1, UNC-G won the season SoCon title for the second year in a row with a 3-0 victory against Elon, before facing them again on Sunday in quarterfinal action. The Spartans finished with a perfect 10-0-0 record in SoCon play. It was the third time in four years the Spartans have won the conference title and the second year they have done so with an undefeated record.

UNC-G will advance to the semifinals Friday where they will face fourth seeded College of Charleston.

The Spartans enter the contest on a 24-game conference unbeaten streak and will be looking for a win to advance and to get them closer to the longest conference unbeaten streak record of 26 games, held by Furman University.

“Overall, I am proud of this season and we will continue to work hard,” Webb said.

After losing its season opener, Elon’s season picked up as they sent the next three games into overtime, winning two and tying one. The Phoenix then lost three consecutive games against all ACC opponents. They would go on to lose three more straight, went two conference games.

Things turned around for the Phoenix as it started a three-game conference winning streak by defeating Chattanooga 7-1. Elon’s seven goals were the most for the program since a 7-0 shutout of Delaware State in 2005.

The Phoenix continued its strong play by blanking The Citadel and Georgia Southern.

Unfortunately for the Phoenix, it could not keep its winning streak alive for the rest of the season. Elon lost four out of five games to finish the 2007 season with a 5-12-2 overall and a 3-6-1 SoCon record.

Elon tied Wofford for seventh place in the SoCon standings but was bumped down to eighth, the last slot for making the tournament, because Wofford had beaten the Phoenix in their regular season bout.

In the 2007 campaign, Boozer led the Phoenix with seven goals, one assist, and 30 shots, 19 on goal. Sophomore captain Laura Norwind was the only player to start every game. Eight others played in all 19 games of the 2007 campaign. Johnson protected the net in all but 120 minutes of the season. She grabbed 128 saves and tallied three shut-outs.

“Obviously, we lose leadership with one of our senior captains Kaitlin Lannon,” Webb said. “But we are a young team, we don’t even lose a starter.

Reporter: Michelle Longo - 11/07/07