JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman Eagles (2-8, 0-4 South Atlantic Conference) women's soccer team rallied for a pair of late goals, yet fell to the Tusculum Pioneers (9-1-1, 4-0 South Atlantic Conference) by a 3-2 score at McCown Field on Wednesday night.

After trailing 3-0, the Eagles saw goals scored by junior forward Danna Stringle (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) and junior midfielder Maleya Garrison (Hendersonville, Tenn.) in the final twelve minutes, yet Tusculum didn't allow any goals in the final six minutes to escape Mossy Creek with the 3-2 victory.

"We're proud of the effort of the girls," said Carson-Newman head coach Richard Moodie. "I think it's admirable of these kids that they want to keep fighting and they never quit, so we're proud of them."

The loss is Carson-Newman's sixth straight, while Tusculum has now won five matches in a row.

Despite Tusculum outshooting Carson-Newman 14-2 in the first period, the Pioneers scored only one goal. Tusculum's Jana Linke broke a scoreless match in the 35^th minute mark when she scored off of a header from the right side of the box to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead, which would be the score at halftime.

Carson-Newman played freshman goalkeeper Kendra Ivins (Chattanooga, Tenn.) in the first period, and she allowed the one goal with five saves. In the second period, the Eagles switched to senior Tiarna McKenna (Lisburn, Northern Ireland), who remained between the posts the rest of the match.

Tusculum added to its lead in the 62^nd minute mark when Tramicka James scored off of an assist by Gabrielle Whit to build a 2-0 lead. Nearly seven minutes later, the Pioneers scored their third goal as Taylor Lewis scored an unassisted goal from ten feet away on the left side of the box to put the lead at 3-0.

Carson-Newman's comeback began in the 78^th minute mark, as Stringle scored on a penalty kick past the Pioneer goalkeeper Marissa Williams to cut the lead to 3-1. In the 83^rd minute mark, Garrison scored on a shot from 20 feet outside the box over Williams to make the game a one-goal match at 3-2.

"It was good to see Danna step up and score there," said Moodie. "Maleya's goal was fantastic and it raised the roof, but it was with nearly five minutes left, so a little bit too late, yet great to see the fight and give the fans something great to watch.

The Pioneers withstood the rally to finish the match with the 3-2 victory. Tusculum outshot Carson-Newman 22-7 in the match, yet in the second period the margin was only 8-5 in favor of the Pioneers.

Carson-Newman will next play on Saturday Oct. 6 against Catawba at McCown Field at 5 p.m. Live stats will be available on www.cneagles.com.