JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Second-ranked Carson-Newman will face Tusculum for the second time in 16 days when the two teams meet in the South Atlantic Conference Semifinals Friday afternoon at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C. Game time is set for a 4:30 p.m. start.
SAC Player of the Year and first-team All-SAC selection Lauren Wade, collected the fourth-quickest hat trick in NCAA Division II history when the two teams met on Oct. 18. She has six goals in her last two contests against Tusculum.
The fourth-seeded Pioneers collected a win over Lenoir-Rhyne in the Quarterfinals matchup, needing penalty kicks (4-2) to decide the outcome after the teams finished tied at one after 110 minutes.
The Pioneers hold four players on the 2017 All-SAC teams in defender Carlie Thornber, forward Payton DeHart, forward Jordan Newby, and midfielder Sonja Ballmert.
It is the first SAC Semifinals appearance for Tusculum since 2013 when they fell to the Wingate Bulldogs. The last time the Eagles and Pioneers squared off in the conference tournament was 2010, when Tusculum collected a 1-0 OT win at McCown Field in the quarterfinals.
C-N trails in the series history 15-18-2 and most notably, are just 1-7 against the Pioneers in neutral site games.
"It's going to be a tough one whether it was Tusculum or L-R," Coach Simon Duffy mentioned. "It was a very emotional game at their place when we played them last, and we'll have made sure we did our homework on them. It's still important for us that we are physically and mentally ready to play."
The Eagles collected a 2-0 victory over Newberry in the quarterfinals at McCown Field receiving the eventual game winning goal from Wade in the 38th minute.
Emilee Futrell, who led all freshmen in points during the regular season, put home her seventh goal of the season in the 72nd minute on a rebound opportunity.
With the shutout over the Wolves, C-N has six straight clean sheets which is a new program record. The team has seven shutouts in their last eight contests. The Eagles have recorded shutouts in the semifinals the last two seasons, eventually collecting a SAC Championship in the process.
The winner of this match will face second-seeded Wingate or sixth-seeded Anderson on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 4:00 p.m.
