No. 7 Carson-Newman Defeats Tusculum, 1-0, to Advance to Sweet 16
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Sophomore midfielder Sandra Kaelin (Trachslau, Switzerland) tallied a goal in the 18th minute, and the seventh-ranked Carson-Newman women’s soccer team survived a second-half Tusculum rally to defeat the Pioneers, 1-0, on Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at McCown Field.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Sophomore midfielder Sandra Kaelin
(Trachslau, Switzerland) tallied a goal in the 18th minute, and the
seventh-ranked Carson-Newman women’s soccer team survived a
second-half Tusculum rally to defeat the Pioneers, 1-0, on Sunday
in the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at McCown
Field.
With the win, the top-seeded Lady Eagles (19-2-1) advance to next
weekend’s Southeast Regional final, where they will face
second-seeded Columbus State on Friday. The NCAA Championship
Committee will announce times and location for the Sweet 16 on
Monday afternoon. Tusculum’s season comes to an end at
15-5-3.
C-N held the advantage in shots in the first half, outshooting the
Pioneers 7-4. Kaelin finished off a cross from Trenna Howell (Oak
Ridge, Tenn.) in the bottom corner for the decisive goal in the
18th minute.
The Pioneers turned up the pressure in the second half and outshot
the Lady Eagles 13-10, but goalkeeper Lauren MacKenzie (Barrie,
Ontario) and the C-N defense held off the rally to seal the
win.
MacKenzie collected six saves on the day to earn her ninth shutout
win of the season. The Lady Eagles have 12 shutouts as a team.
Tusculum goalkeeper Marjaana Kaaresvirta (Turka, Finland) finished
with eight saves in the loss.
The Lady Eagles will be making their fifth Sweet 16 appearance in
the last seven years. The winner of Friday’s C-N/Columbus
State match will face the winner of the match between No. 1 West
Florida and Rollins on Sunday, Nov. 22.
Postgame quotes
C-N head coach Phil McNamara:
“We are delighted to make it to the Sweet 16. We beat a good
opponent today. I didn’t think it was a fantastic game, but
at this time of the year that’s just the way it works out
sometimes. It was a dogfight. We will be competing on Friday in our
fifth Sweet 16 in the last seven years, which is a remarkable
achievement for this program.”
Tusculum head coach Mike Joy:
“It was a hard fought match by both teams. Both of us worked
extremely hard, and it was a physical match. We had a number of
good opportunities but we just could not finish them. I really take
my hat off to our players. I’m really proud of them. We are a
really, really young team, and hopefully they got a good taste of
the NCAA Tournament this year. We wish Carson-Newman the best of
luck and hope that they will go on and represent our conference
real well.”
