ANDERSON, S.C. - Looking to capture its fourth straight Food Lion South Atlantic Conference championship, seventh-seeded Anderson University men's soccer meets top-seeded Queens looking to remain perfect in the SAC Tournament all-time Sunday afternoon at Manchester Meadows. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
The Trojans
With back-to-back 1-0 wins over second-seeded Wingate and
sixth-seeded Mars Hill, Anderson earned its fourth consecutive trip
to the conference championship. Junior Martin Brain has been the
key link in the two tournament contests, as the East Sussex,
England native has recorded both goals for the Trojans. First,
Brain scored in the 83rd minute to upset Wingate in the opening
round, followed by a 62nd minute penalty kick to eliminate Mars
Hill in the semifinals.
The AU defense has contributed to both clean sheets in the tournament, as a backline consisting of redshirt sophomore Lars Zimmerman, junior William Treichler, redshirt freshman Alex Delpy and junior Mattias Schyberg, who moved from his original midfield position has helped freshman goalkeeper Bo Haug claim two tournament shutouts. Haug has made 11 saves for the tournament.
Overall, the Trojans moved to 12-5-3 on the season and are now winners of three of their last four matches. AU is a perfect 11-0 in the SAC Tournament, all-time, after winning three straight championships since joining the conference in 2010. In the 11 wins, the Trojans have posted seven clean sheets, including two from this season.
The Royals
After winning the regular season SAC championship, Queens has
rattled off two wins over eighth-seeded Catawba (2-0) and
fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial (4-1), respectively, to advance to
the final round of the SAC Tournament. Thiago Andrade, who
currently tied for second in the conference with 14 goals, scored a
hat trick in the 4-1 tournament victory over LMU, while taking
seven shots for the match. Teammate Erick Suarez closely follows
Andrade for postseason goals with a goal in each match.
The Royals are now 15-3 on the season, suffering losses to Limestone in their season opener, Wingate and Carson-Newman. Queens is currently on a four-match winning streak, outscoring its opponents 14-3 during the span. Impressively, QU has scored two or more goals in 14 of its 15 wins this season.
Defensively, goalkeeper Montrell Morgan has played in all 17 matches this season, posting a 0.75 goals against average, which ranks second in the league, and 60 saves, which slots him sixth in the SAC.
The Series
The Trojans and the Royals last met on Sept. 25 in Charlotte with
the Royals coming away with a 3-2 overtime win over Anderson.
Andrade scored QU's second goal on the night, while forward Felipe
Netto scored the first and final goal of the match. Zimmerman and
redshirt freshman Henrique Gazzi scored for the Trojans.
