No. 11 Carson-Newman Set for SAC Tournament Semifinal Matchup Against Catawba
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The 11th-ranked Carson-Newman women’s soccer team will be playing for its second-straight Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title over the weekend.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The 11th-ranked Carson-Newman
women’s soccer team will be playing for its second-straight
Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title over the
weekend.
The top-seeded Lady Eagles (16-2-1) will play fourth-seeded Catawba
(13-4-2) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Friday at Manchester
Meadows soccer complex in Rock Hill, S.C. C-N and Catawba battled
to a 1-1 tie in their regular season meeting on Oct. 10 in
Jefferson City.
If the Lady Eagles win their semifinal game, they will face the
winner of Tusculum/Lenoir-Rhyne in the championship match on Sunday
at 4 p.m. A win there would give C-N its fourth SAC Tournament
title.
C-N opened the conference tournament on Wednesday with a convincing
5-0 victory over eighth-seeded Brevard. Sophomore Sandra Kaelin
(Trachslau, Switzerland) tallied two goals to lead the Lady Eagles
in the win.
The Lady Eagles earned the top seed in the tournament by battling
through a rough stretch in mid-October that included two losses and
a tie. C-N bounced back to close out the season in strong fashion
with three straight victories, including a 3-1 win at Newberry last
Saturday that gave C-N its fifth SAC regular season title.
The Lady Eagles continue to play well despite being short-handed,
as they are without the services of freshman defender Sam Thomsit
(Bristol, England), who is sidelined with a broken ankle. Junior
defender Brianna Buckley (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) is also playing with a
knee injury.
C-N is seeking a seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Lady Eagles are currently first in the Division II Southeast
Regional rankings. The top six teams advance to the NCAA
Tournament. If C-N were to win the SAC Tournament, it would be in
position to receive a high seed in the national playoffs.
