STATESBORO, Ga. - The College of Charleston women's soccer team downed Georgia Southern, 2-1, to pick up three points in the Southern Conference standings and remain near the top of the league at Eagle Field on Sunday afternoon. CofC got goals out of Hope Atkinson and Haley Hutchens on the afternoon.

"I'm really happy with how our team played today," said head coach Christian Michner. "From the get go, it was all Charleston and that isn't always easy to do on the road. We were able to dictate the tempo of the game from the outset and certainly deserved the victory.

"We are such a creative attacking team and we were able to show that all afternoon. But, only finishing on two of those opportunities is a bit frustrating. At the end of the day we came to get a win and that's what is important."

The Cougars' first strike came in the 24th minute after McCallie Jones (Charlotte, N.C.) ripped a shot into the post and Atkinson (Rumson, N.J.) collected the rebound and tucked it into the open net.

In the second half, Hutchens (Irmo, S.C.) denied an Eagle clearing attempt in the box and scored from just outside the penalty spot in the 58th minute.
GSU cut the lead back in half minutes later off an individual effort by Sara Olund but would get no closer.

The three points in the standings keep CofC in third place and just two points behind SoCon-leading Samford which also won Sunday.  The Cougars are five points clear of fourth-place Furman. The top four teams host opening-round matches of the SoCon Championships.

The Cougars stay on the road to face Furman and Wofford next weekend. The Cougars battle the Paladins at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 and the Terriers on Sunday, Oct. 23.

"We will need a good solid week of training to get ready for two more tough ones on the road," said Michner.