JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College women's soccer team led for 62 minutes Tuesday night, but couldn't hang on against No. 7-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne.
The Lady Bears scored two goals in the final 18 minutes to take a 2-1 win over the Lady Eagles in a key South Atlantic Conference contest at the new McCown Field.
Carson-Newman is 3-4 on the season and 1-2 in the SAC. The Lady Bears are 6-1 and remain undefeated in the conference at 3-0.
The Lady Eagles surged ahead early, with senior forward Trenna Howell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) booting an assist from freshman midfielder Tandy Turk (Demorest, Ga.) into the net, past L-R goalkeeper Caitlin Scruggs.
With the lead on the highly-ranked Lady Bears, Carson-Newman goalkeeper Sarah Tompkins had to survive a barrage of shots throughout the game. Tomkins saw nine shots in each half, facing down a total of 18, 11 on goal, in the game. C-N managed just six shots, with only two in the second half. Tompkins finished with nine saves.
Howell shot four times, with sophomore midfielder Maleya Garrison (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and sophomore forward Haley Julian (Knoxville, Tenn.) each shooting once apiece.
In the 61st minute, Lenoir-Rhyne finally tied the score on an unassisted goal from Laura Linehan on a volley on a free ball from 25 feet out.
In the 71st minute, the Lady Bears took the lead on an Elizabeth Hawes goal off a Carley Griffin assist.
The Lady Eagles will next see action Saturday, Oct. 1 at North Georgia with a 5 p.m. game time. C-N returns McCown Field on Oct. 5 to take on SAC foe Lincoln Memorial at 6 p.m.
-C-N-
