Cougars move on with penalty kicks

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Morgan Benz connected in the sixth round of penalty kicks to send College of Charleston to the championship match of the Southern Conference women's soccer tournament at UNCG's soccer stadium for the first time since 2002 with a 6-5 advantage on penalty kicks. College of Charleston and Samford played 110 scoreless minutes before advancing to the shootout.

Both teams connected on their first five penalty kicks before advancing to a single-round format Cougars freshman goalkeeper denied Samford's Brittany Gordon on the sixth shot which opened the door for Benz and the Cougars to claim the lead.

College of Charleston (12-6-2) had 13 shots compared to eight by Samford (12-1-5).

--Lauren Conner's goal in the 19th minute lifted No. 4-seeded Davidson past top-seed UNC Greensboro, 1-0, in the second semifinal. The Wildcats advance to take on College of Charleston at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Big South women

Eighth seed Winthrop will meet No. 7 High Point in an improbable championship matchup. Winthrop advanced with a win on penalty kicks over No. 5 VMI at Blackbaud Stadium. High Point beat Radford, 1-0.

Charleston men

The Cougars dropped a 2-1 non-conference match to Maryland in College Park, Md. After a scoreless first half, senior Matt Morris put the Cougars (10-9) on the board with his fifth goal of the season.

at the 61:37 mark. Morris picked up a pass from fellow senior Jake Helmig (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach) and struck from 10 yards out to give Charleston a 1-0 lead over Maryland.

CofC (10-9-0, 4-2 SoCon) held the lead for nine minutes before Terp Billy Cortes evened the score, rising above a group and knocking it in off a header from 14 yards out.