GREENEVILLE, TENN. – The No. 6 seed Anderson University women's soccer team made the most of its opportunity to avenge an earlier regular season loss to Tusculum by defeating the No. 3 seed in the opening round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, 4-2 in penalty kicks Tuesday evening at Pioneer Field.
"The match was bitter sweet for us," said head coach Julie Carlson. "Tusculum had a great year and a game we wanted back. We were resilient in weathering a strong storm in the first half with big defensive plays by Helm and Longmore. We showed our flare and persistence through the second half and overtime."
"We knew this game would be of great importance and that our team would have maintained its momentum from these last few weeks," noted Carlson. "We have preached one game and one moment at a time. We will enjoy this tonight and get to work tomorrow."
With the draw, the Trojans advance to the SAC semifinals for the second straight year moving their overall record to 9-5-2. The Pioneers end their SAC Tournament run with a 10-5-3 overall record.
Neither team was able to find the net through 110 minutes of play Tuesday evening, but four Trojans drilled their penalty kick attempts (Tina Shakes, Lexxi Longmore, Sophie Riggs and Emilie Toftbjerg) while sophomore Abby Helm stopped Tusculum's second attempt with Tusculum misfiring on its fourth attempt to give the Black and Gold the 4-2 advantage and a spot in the SAC semifinals.
The Pioneers outshot Anderson 19-12, but solid play by Helm and the Trojans backline kept Tusculum out of the net. Helm finished the night with six saves and earned her seventh clean sheet of the season.
"Our journey is not finished and I can't be more proud of a great group of women who are strong and resilient," added Carlson.
No. 6 Anderson will now play No. 2 Carson-Newman Friday afternoon at the neutral host SAC site. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C.
