Lady Eagles Ready For Another NCAA Tournament Run
Follow THIS LINK for live scoring from Friday's UNC Pembrokke/Pfeiffer contest, as well as Sunday's game between the winner and No. 2 seed Carson-Newman.
JEFFERSON CITY - The Carson-Newman women's soccer team has made it a tradition of playing deep into November under head coach Phil McNamara.
The Lady Eagles are making their sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament, and will begin play by hosting the winner of UNC Pembroke/Pfeiffer Sunday at 1 p.m in the Southeast Region semi-finals.
On the opposite side of the Southeast Region bracket, Georgia College and Catawba will square off Friday in Columbus, Georgia, with the winner advancing to face top seed Columbus State Sunday.
With a win Sunday, C-N would advance to the Southeast Regional Final, to be played Friday, November 21.
"We are excited about having another opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament," said McNamara, who is in his sixth year at the helm of the Lady Eagles. "I feel like our team is healthy and ready to go for this game."
Carson-Newman is 15-4-1 on the season, finishing atop the South Atlantic Conference regular season standings and then going on to win the Food Lion SAC Tournament last weekend over Catawba on penalty kicks.
McNamara was pleased to see his team advance to the championship game of the tournament, if nothing more than for the extra experience.
"We really wanted to get all three games in the conference tournament to help some of our players coming back from injury get back into the groove," he said. "I think that really helped us in our preparation, and then we got a bye in the first round of the NCAA so we've had some extra time this week to rest."
Carson-Newman has compiled a 7-5 record in the NCAA Tournament under McNamara, advancing to the national semifinals in both 2004 and 2005.
McNamara beleaves that this year's team can add the the rich legacy of Lady Eagle soccer.
"We are hoping that our four seniors get a chance to play and that the team performs at a high level in order that the result is favorable for us in the seniors' last game at home at Carson-Newman," McNamara said.
"We'd like to thank our fans and their support so far this season and we hope that they will come out in good numbers to support us on Sunday in our last home game of the season."
NCAA Women's Division II Soccer Tournament
Southeast Region - at Jefferson City, Tenn.
Friday, November 14, 2008
7 p.m. - No.6 Pfeiffer vs No. 3 UNC Pembroke
Sunday, November 16, 2008
No.6 Pfeiffer/No. 3 UNC Pembroke winner at No. 2 Carson-Newman
