No. 7 Presbyterian upsets No. 2 Tusculum in quarterfinals of Food Lion SAC Women’s Soccer Tournament

GREENVILLE, TENN. - Senior Claire Joyce (Aiken, S.C.) netted her second game-winner in three days and sophomore Erin Sinkuler (Roswell, Ga.) recorded a career-high 11 saves as seventh-seeded Presbyterian College upset No. 2 seed Tusculum College 1-0 Tuesday in one of four quarterfinal matches of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.

With the victory, the Blue Hose (8-9) advance to Friday's semifinal against No. 3 seed Catawba College, a 2-1 winner tonight over No. 6 Newberry College, in Hickory, N.C. on Lenoir-Rhyne College's campus at 3 p.m.

The other semifinal match will take place at noon and features top-seed Carson-Newman College, a 4-2 winner against No. 8 Lenoir-Rhyne, and fourth-seed Mars Hill College who defeated No. 5 Wingate University 3-0.

Tusculum, who is ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division II, loses in the opening round of the SAC Tournament for the first time in school history. The Pioneers (12-2-3) now await word of a possible NCAA Tournament berth, which will be announced next week.

Tusculum is the second nationally ranked squad that the Blue Hose have upset in the last three days as Presbyterian handed then No. 22 Catawba a 2-1 setback on October 21.

PC got on the board first in the 12th minute when Joyce headed a shot to the far post on a 15-yard crossing pass from sophomore Christy Howard (Stone Mountain, Ga.). For Joyce, it was her ninth goal of the season as well as her fourth game-winning goal of the year. All four of Joyce's game-winners have been against SAC opponents.

Tusculum dominated ball control as the Pioneers out-shot the Blue Hose by a 20-6 margin, including 15-3 in the second half. Sinkuler played stellar as she accounted for 11 saves, including nine stops in the final 45 minutes.

With five minutes remaining in the match, TC looked to have knocked home the equalizer when Kelly Barron headed a cross from the side, but the play was whistled offsides, negating the tying goal.

Sinkuler went the distance to post her four shutout of the season, while Tusculum's Whitney Wardrop allowed one goal and recorded a save in the loss. For Wardrop, it was only the ninth goal she has given up this season.

Carson-Newman beats Lenoir-Rhyne, 4-2

JEFFERSON CITY, TN-- Jessie Stephens, Rebecca Angus, Erica Stegner, and Leslie Marcouiller scored goals as the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles advanced to the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament with a 4-2 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne.

The Lady Eagles (16-1) outshot the Lady Bears 26-6, but only managed one goal in the first half when Stephens knocked in a rebound at the 38th minute.

In the second half, the Lady Eagles quickly built a three-goal advantage when Stegner headed in an Angus cross at the 51st minute and Angus nestled a shot into the net off a Stephens pass in the 58th minute. However, L-R responded when Vanessa Szewczuk scored two goals in a minute span at the 62nd and 63rd minutes, respectively to cut the C-N lead to 3-2. The Lady Eagles kept possession from then on as Marcouiller added an insurance goal in the 89th minute to secure the tournament victory.

The Lady Eagles travel to Hickory, North Carolina to face Mars Hill in the semifinal match of the SAC Tournament. Kickoff is set for noon on Friday, October 27 at Lenoir-Rhyne College.

Catawba holds off Newberry, 2-1

SALISBURY, NC -- Sophomore Lainey Nichols (Frederick,MD) scored a pair of first half goals as third-seeded Catawba defeated visiting Newberry 2-1 in an opening round match of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Frock Field. The Catawba Indians improve to 11-4-3 and advance to play No. 7-seed Presbyterian in a Friday semifinal at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. Newberry, the sixth-seed, ends its season at 8-8-2.

Nichols notched her first goal of the season in the 17th minute as she took a shot from just outside the box and placed it into the upper right corner to stake Catawba to a 1-0 lead. The sophomore would collect her second of the match four minutes later with a shot that grazed the crossbar.

Newberry was held without a shot in the first half, but came on strong in the final 30 minutes. Inga Woiwode (El Paso, TX) took the first attempt for the visitors just before the hour mark and two minutes later Kathleen Blake (Greensboro, NC) made a save on a shot from Lindsey Landgrebe (Springfield, IL) to keep Newberry off the board. Landgrebe had settled a flick by Ashleigh Mayer (St. Peters, MO) on a corner kick just in front of the six, but was denied at point-blank range.

Another chance by Newberry in the 66th minute was foiled when Greta Hewett's (Charleston, SC) hit the post. Woiwode finally put Newberry on the board in the 78th minute as she dribbled in from the side and shot post Blake. Newberry had two corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, but were unable to produce an equalizer.

Mars Hill blanks Wingate, 3-0

MARS HILL , NC -The No. 4 seeded Lions defeated the No. 5 seeded Wingate University 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the 2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament. MHC improved to 12-7-1 overall while Wingate ends its season at 11-8.

SAC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection, Caity Murnahan (Bloomfield Hills, MI) gave the Lions a 1-0 lead at the 15:50 mark on a penalty kick. Alicia Blaha (Rapid City, SD) gave the Lions a 2-0 advantage at the 41:25 mark off a rebound. The teams took that score into the locker rooms at the intermission.

First Team All-SAC pick, Jasmine Riley (Arlington, VA) added an insurance goal at the 88:22 mark off a breakaway. It was her seventeenth goal of the season. Riley was also named the SAC Player of the Week this afternoon for her efforts against the University of the Cumberlands and Lenoir-Rhyne College. She had a hat trick and a match-winning assist in those two matches.

Wingate out shot the Lions 22-to-13. Claudia Cala (Hamilton, VA) played all 90 minutes in goal for MHC and made 12 saves. Kathryn Smith (Indian Trail, NC) also played the entire game in the net for the Bulldogs and made six saves.

MHC will face Carson-Newman College, the No. 1 seed in Hickory, NC in the SAC Tournament semifinals. The event will be played on the campus of Lenoir-Rhyne College. Game time is set for 12 p.m.

Printable bracket