ROCK HILL, S.C. - A Carson-Newman goal in the 81st minute proved to be the difference, as fifth-seeded Anderson University women's soccer saw its South Atlantic Conference Championship hopes come to a close to the top-seeded Eagles, falling 1-0 in the tournament semifinals Friday evening at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill.
With the setback, AU ends the conference tournament with a 14-4-1 overall record, while C-N avenges a regular-season setback to the Black and Gold earlier this year and improves to 17-2 overall. With the win, the Eagles advance to Sunday's final against either second-seeded Wingate or third-seeded Queens.
Entering the match as two of the most-dominate offenses in the SAC, the teams combined for just nine shots with AU winning the battle, 5-4. Senior defender Faith Johannes, who moved into an attacking role following the Eagle goal, led the team with a pair of shots, while senior Ali Palacios, and juniors Idoia Agirre and Alaina Gay each tallied one shot apiece.
Following a scoreless defensive half that saw a combined three shots by the teams, the match moved into the second half looking for its first goal. Anderson's best chance at goal came in the 67th minute when senior midfielder Mariana Poveda sent a cross into the Carson-Newman box following a short corner. Poveda found the head of Johannes who placed a shot near post, but a diving Jessica Fraiture made the stop between the posts to preserve the shutout.
As the match entered the 81st minute, the Eagles were awarded a corner kick along the far side, as SAC Freshman of the Year, Varin Ness, lofted a cross into the AU box and found the head of SAC Player of the Year, Julianne Herrity. Herrity's shot beat AU goalkeeper Abby Helm down the middle of the goal, as the forward was indecently struck in the head by the boot of Anderson defender Sophie Riggs. Herrity had to leave the match after notching her 15th goal of the season.
Johannes recorded AU's last shot of the match but the ball went wide in the 86th minute and C-N claimed the narrow 1-0. Helm did not record a save for the match, as the Carson-Newman goal was the only shot on goal for the Eagles. On the opposite end, Fraiture notched one save.
"I feel for our seniors tonight," Anderson head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "I go home proud of every person on this squad and thank the staff for a great tournament run."
The NCAA Tournament Selection Show is scheduled for Monday at 6:30 p.m. Seeking their first bid to the national tournament, the Trojans were ranked ninth before advancing past Lenoir-Rhyne on penalty kicks on Tuesday. Six teams from each of the eight regions will advance to the NCAA Division II tournament. In the Southeast Region, the tournament champions from the SAC, Peach Belt and Conference Carolinas will receive an automatic bid, with three more at-large selections.
