ANDERSON, S.C. - After going up 1-0 with a first-half goal by freshman Emily Perez, Anderson University women's soccer was unable to hang onto its lead, as the Trojans settled for a 1-1 draw with Carson-Newman Saturday afternoon at Trojan Stadium, ending their 2013 campaign.
The draw put AU at 3-3-5 in conference play with a total of 14 points, one point behind a tie for eighth-place in the conference standings and the final spot in the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Eagles move on to the tournament with a 4-4-3 SAC mark and 15 points, which evened them up with Newberry for the final spot. Overall, the Trojans close the year with a 5-7-5 record.
Perez opened Anderson's scoring in the 29th minute when classmate Helena Moore sent a through ball between Carson-Newman defenders to Perez. Perez was able to take a touch and loft a shot over Eagle goalkeeper Tiarna McKenna's head. For Perez, the goal was her third of the season as she came on as a substitute in the 18th minute of play.
A minute after senior forward Krystal Goss rattled the crossbar in the 63rd minute, C-N took advantage of the near miss as Nora Logan sent a cross into the AU box where she found Raquel Pimentel. Pimentel was able to corral the ball and send a shot passed senior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Neipp for the equalizer. The game-tying goal was Pimentel's first tally of the year.
As AU tried to push players forward to earn its much-needed goal, the Trojans came up empty as the team managed just two shots for the remainder of the half. Neipp preserved the point by making two saves in the remaining minutes as she closes her career as Anderson's all-time leader in shutouts with 21.4.
Goss led the way on her Senior Day with three shots, with two coming on goal, while fellow senior Olivia Scalzitti notched a shot on goal to tie Moore and Perez in the shots on goal category. The senior trio of Goss, Neipp and Scalzitti close their collegiate careers with 172 matches played with 143 starts between the three of them.
"I am incredibly thankful for everything our three seniors have done for our program," head coach Samar Azem said. "I wish, for them, the result would have been different today, but I am still so incredibly proud of them and grateful to have had them lead our program and allow me to develop and coach them. They're a huge part of the future success we will have."
With the tie, Anderson breaks its own record for most conference ties in a season with five and is second to Newberry's mark of most overall ties with six set in 2007.
