In spite of taking an early lead behind Alyssa Clay's (Littleton, Colo.) first goal of the season, the Lady Bucs couldn't quite hold on Sunday, falling 2-1 to undefeated Appalachian State in the finale of the Mountaineer Invitational.

In many ways, this match-up was a classic case of unstoppable force versus immovable object, as CSU's high-powered offense and talented strikeforce matched up against an Appalachian State defense that had yet to concede a goal all season in 400 minutes of play, en route to an unblemished 2-0-2 mark.

The Bucs weren't impressed with such numbers, especially after firing 37 shots Friday in a 4-1 victory over USC-Upstate, and it took little time for CSU's offense to continue its roll.

After leading goal-scorer Michelle Dennis (Ann Arbor, Mich.) forced a 1st minute save from Mountaineer goalkeep Emma White, Dennis assisted on her second goal in as many games, crossing the ball to Clay who rifled past White from 12 yards out for the third goal of her CSU career in just the 3rd minute of play.

The ensuing 42 minutes of the first half were hotly contested, with quality attacks on both ends of the field. On CSU's end, Jena Uvalle (Mt. Dora, Fla.) saw to it that the team would maintain its advantage by denying App forward Caroline Lowe on four different occassions. Meanwhile, on the App end, Dennis and Sarah Catenacci (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) came close to giving CSU a priceless 2-0 lead just before the half, but both were denied by White.

In the second, it looked as if CSU would continue its strong first half play when Emma Mattsson fired the half's first shot high in the 47th minute. However, play would swing to the CSU end, and for a second consecutive loss, the Lady Bucs would concede two goals in quick succession.

First, ASU's Casey Cleary beat Uvalle from 10 yards out for her second on the season in the 53rd, then Stephanie Balzano also scored for a second time in 2007, with her effort from 22 yards out finding the back of the net just over two minutes later in the 55th.

The Bucs had a bit of a tough time rallying from this blow, with App controlling the play for the majority of the remainder of the second half en route to a 16-4 edge in shots in the final 45.

Yet, in the dying moments the Bucs nearly equalized on a couple of occassions. Leading the attack was Catenacci, who fired two more shots towards the ASU goal, including one in the 89th minute which White denied. The ball rolled out of play, but Christine Bethke's (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) ensuing corner failed to find the proper CSU target, putting an end to what would prove to be the last Lady Buc attack of the day.

The loss drops Charleston Southern to 2-2 on the season and 0-2 versus Southern Conference opposition. The Lady Bucs will have an opportunity to improve this mark next weeked, however, when they face two stern road tests in 3-1-1 Wofford College on Friday and 4-3 Furman on Sunday.