No. 11 Carson-Newman Set for SAC Tournament Semifinal Matchup Against Catawba

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The 11th-ranked Carson-Newman women’s soccer team will be playing for its second-straight Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament title over the weekend.

The top-seeded Lady Eagles (16-2-1) will play fourth-seeded Catawba (13-4-2) in the semifinals at 6 p.m. on Friday at Manchester Meadows soccer complex in Rock Hill, S.C. C-N and Catawba battled to a 1-1 tie in their regular season meeting on Oct. 10 in Jefferson City.

If the Lady Eagles win their semifinal game, they will face the winner of Tusculum/Lenoir-Rhyne in the championship match on Sunday at 4 p.m. A win there would give C-N its fourth SAC Tournament title.

C-N opened the conference tournament on Wednesday with a convincing 5-0 victory over eighth-seeded Brevard. Sophomore Sandra Kaelin (Trachslau, Switzerland) tallied two goals to lead the Lady Eagles in the win.

The Lady Eagles earned the top seed in the tournament by battling through a rough stretch in mid-October that included two losses and a tie. C-N bounced back to close out the season in strong fashion with three straight victories, including a 3-1 win at Newberry last Saturday that gave C-N its fifth SAC regular season title.

The Lady Eagles continue to play well despite being short-handed, as they are without the services of freshman defender Sam Thomsit (Bristol, England), who is sidelined with a broken ankle. Junior defender Brianna Buckley (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) is also playing with a knee injury.

C-N is seeking a seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Lady Eagles are currently first in the Division II Southeast Regional rankings. The top six teams advance to the NCAA Tournament. If C-N were to win the SAC Tournament, it would be in position to receive a high seed in the national playoffs.