ANDERSON, S.C. - Advancing to the South Atlantic Conference Championship semifinals in dramatic fashion following a 4-2 victory in penalty kicks at Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday, fifth-seeded Anderson University women's soccer looks to keep its conference championship hopes alive when it squares off with top-seeded and No. 14 ranked Carson-Newman on Friday. Kick-off from Rock Hill's Manchester Meadows is scheduled for 5 p.m.
The Trojans
With the advancement on penalty-kicks on Tuesday, AU saw its first
tie of the season and enters the semifinals with a 14-3-1 overall
record. As the conference tournament victory was not factored into
this week's NCAA Southeast Regional rankings the Trojans were
slotted in the ninth position, dropping two spots from last week's
ranking. With the top-six teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament
and three teams receiving automatic bids, the Trojans look for a
key win on Friday.
Junior forward Idoia Agirre, who was recently named to the All-SAC First Team earlier in the week, scored two late second-half goals to even the score at 2-2 and forced extra time against L-R on Tuesday. After the match went into the penalty kicks, Agirre also added to her total with a third-round penalty-kick goal. For the season, the Legazpi, Spain native has 22 goals for the year, marking the most by any SAC player since Tusculum's Danielle Tanner scored 22 in 2008.
In addition to Agirre's postseason nod, the Trojans landed four more on the all-conference teams, as teammates Faith Johannes and Mariana Poveda landed on the second team, while freshmen Kenzie Van Heusen and Megan Foster claimed spots on the SAC Honorable Mention list.
Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Abby Helm made back-to-back stops on Lenoir-Rhyne's first two chances in the penalty-kick round to eventually send AU into the next round, ending the match with 10 saves. With the 10 stops, the total marks her second-highest total of the season. Helm ranks sixth in the SAC in saves with 77 on the year.
The Lady Eagles
Top-seeded Carson-Newman advanced to the semifinals with a narrow
1-0 victory over eighth-seeded Lincoln Memorial in Jefferson City
on Tuesday. With the victory, the Lady Eagles enter Friday's
contest with a 16-2 overall record and earned the top spot on the
NCAA Southeast Regional rankings for the second straight week. In
last week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America National
Poll, C-N claimed the No. 14 spot.
The Lady Eagles are a goal away from 50 for the season, as they currently rank third in the SAC and are five goals behind Anderson for the top spot in the category. Earlier this week, C-N swept the all-conference honors as forward Julianne Herrity claimed Player of the Year honors, teammate Varin Ness earned Freshman of the Year honors and head coach Richard Moodie was named Coach of the Year in both men's and women's soccer. Herrity currently ranks fourth in the SAC in goals with 14, while Ness follows with 11.
In goal, freshman goalkeeper Jessica Fraiture has played in over 1,617 minutes this season and has six shutouts to her credit.
The Series
Earlier this season, the Trojans fended off Carson-Newman, 2-1, in
a driving rain storm during Hurricane Joaquin at the Upward Star
Center on Oct. 3. Van Heusen and Agirre combined for a pair of
goals late in the first half to put the match out of reach. In its
last five matches with the Eagles, Anderson has earned at least a
point, including winning its previous two matchups.
