JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a win over Anderson (S.C.) in the South Altantic Conference semifinals, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team is one win away from their second consecutive SAC title. The final obstacle remaining in the Eagles quest to repeat is the Wingate Bulldogs and these teams will collide in the SAC Tournament final on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C.
Carson-Newman's record of 8-2-1 in the SAC, to go with an overall mark of 15-3-1, earned them a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. In their first match against seventh seeded Catawba, C-N played to a scoreless draw in the first half, but goals from Lauren Wade (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) and Heida Ragney (Akureryi, Iceland) in the second half propelled them to a 2-0 victory. In the SAC semis, the Eagles scored four times in the second half on their way to a 5-0 win that punched their ticket for the league title game. C-N is attempting to earn its second straight SAC Championship and sixth overall.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season just one point behind Carson-Newman with a record of 8-3-0 and are 12-5-1 overall. They were given a fifth seed in the tournament, which means they were forced to play their first match on the road at fourth-seeded Queens (N.C.). The match went into double overtime scoreless, but Colleen Zickert ended it in the 105th minute by tallying her third goal of the season. Next up was a clash with the top-seeded team in the league, Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate dispatched them by the same score, with Kaitlyn Brunworth providing the goal in the 45th minute. This is the seventh straight SAC title game appearance for Bulldogs, who have three conference championships to their credit.
Wingate's offense has been solid, if not spectacular, this season. They rank fifth in the SAC in goals with 31, averaging 1.72 per game. They also average 17.3 shots per match, a mark that puts them fourth in the league. Brunworth's score on Friday gives her the team lead with six goals and she has a team-high 15 points and is tied for the squad lead with three assists with Brooke Howell and Victoria Fichman. Kimmi Moore's five scores rank her second on the team.
The Eagles have spent almost the entire season atop the SAC in goals and they currently lead the conference with 71, 32 more than the SAC's second place team. That total also puts them in the top five nationally. On Friday, the Eagles got another goal from Wade, her 20th of the season, which ties her for the fifth-most in single season in program history. Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland) also got on the scoresheet against Anderson for the 17th time in 2016, and 33rd time in her career goal. She currently owns the fourth spot in the C-N record book for career scores. Wade and Herrity are also 1-2 in the SAC in both goals and points, where Wade has 49 and Herrity has 41. Wade's total ties her for fifth in a single season all-time at Carson-Newman. She is also tied for the top spot in the SAC in assists with nine, matching the total of teammate Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England).
Friday was a record setting day for C-N goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland), who picked up her 13th clean sheet of the year, a new SAC record. Burns has a goals-against average of 0.47 which leads the SAC and is 17th in Division II and possesses the conference's second best save percentage with a mark of .850. Burns has also had help from a back line that has consisted of Elissa Lane (Knoxville, Tenn.), Averi Williams (Powell, Tennessee), Alex Brandan (Knoxville, Tenn.), Helen Seed (Preston, England) and Lara Hallgrimsdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland).
Wingate's defense has also been outstanding this season, as their goals-against average of 0.53 is second to only Carson-Newman. In their last three games, they've shutout three of the league's top four squads in Tusculum, Queens and Lenoir-Rhyne. They are also one of three teams to shutout Carson-Newman in 2016. Their goalie, Alexis Jones, leads the league with an .888 save percentage, is second to Burns in GAA and shutouts and ranks fourth in the SAC with 79 saves.
Neither team has allowed a goal in the SAC Tournament.
Both schools will be looking for a measure of revenge on Sunday. The Eagles were held scoreless at Wingate on Oct. 15th in a game they lost in overtime, 1-0. They have not lost since. One year ago, these programs battled for the SAC title with the Bulldogs trying for their third straight championship, but it was Carson-Newman that came away with the prize, winning 1-0 on a 34th minute goal by Nikki McWilliams. The Eagles lead the all-time series 23-4 with two ties.
The match will be broadcast live on thesac.com with live stats available as well. At the conclusion of the contest, a full recap will be published on cneagles.com.
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