ANDERSON, S.C. - After clinching the final spot into the South Atlantic Conference Tournament with a victory on Saturday, Anderson University women's soccer begins its postseason with a trip to conference regular season champion and top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday. Kickoff at the Moretz Sports - Athletic Complex is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Trojans
Anderson notched a 4-2 victory over Carson-Newman on Saturday,
which gave the Black and Gold 13 points in the final SAC standings,
which sealed the eighth and final spot into the conference
tournament. The Trojans closed the regular season with a 7-9-1
overall record with a 4-6-1 mark in league play, as they clinched a
spot into the annual tournament after missing out with a ninth
place finish a season ago. Despite the losing record, Anderson
enters the tournament on a two-match winning streak while also
winning three of its last four contests.
Freshman Lyssa Engle broke a seven-match scoring drought with two goals in the victory against the Eagles. With her two-goal performance, Engle became the first Trojan to score in double figures since April Phillips scored 13 in 2002. For the season, the Fairborn, Ohio native has scored 11 goals on the season as she is tied for fourth in the conference with Catawba's Kate Weisner. Engle also ranks fourth in points with 23 and ninth in shots with 40.
Three Trojans follow Engle in the goal column as junior Faith Johannes scored from the penalty spot on Saturday, giving her four goals on the season. The junior is even with sophomore Alaina Gay, who scored twice against Erskine on Wednesday, and freshman Maddie Volz. The team's 29 goals on the year currently ranks fourth in the SAC.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Lancaster continues to lead the conference in minute played with over 1,545 minutes in the AU goal. Lancaster's 67 saves places her sixth in the conference as she has recorded three shutouts on the year.
The Bears
With a 2-1 win over Queens on Saturday, Lenoir-Rhyne claimed its
fifth straight SAC regular season championship, as it closed the
season with a 14-3-1 record with a 10-1 mark in the conference. The
Bears enter the conference tournament on a 10-match winning streak,
not having lost since Sept. 27 at Lincoln Memorial. In the winning
streak, L-R has posted six clean sheets and has scored 22
goals.
The Lenoir-Rhyne attack starts with Garcelle Alequine who ranks second in the conference with 13 goals on the year. The junior also ranks second in points (31), shots (72) and assists (3), while also leading the conference in game-winning goals with five, headlined by three in SAC matches. Alequine headlined her season with a four-goal match against Coker on Sept. 24. As a team, L-R leads the conference in shots-per game at 20.6 and shots on goal with 163.
Three different goalkeepers have seen action for the Bears as freshman Alayna Morris has made the most starts with nine. The freshman has allowed just six goals on the year, while playing in over 965 minutes. Genny Little and Andrea Leano have combined for six starts in goal, as the trio have totaled seven clean sheets on the year.
The Series
In the teams' last meeting, Lenoir-Rhyne claimed a 2-0 victory at
Trojan Stadium on Oct. 10. L-R substitute Hallie Hilliard notched
both of the visitors' goals as the Trojans managed just six shots
for the match. With the victory, the Bears remained perfect against
the Trojans since 2010, as the last four meetings between the teams
have resulted in a 2-0 scoreline.
