HobbsDailyReport.com
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Lincoln Memorial handed Lenoir-Rhyne University’s women only their second shutout of the season on Friday, winning 2-0 in a pouring rain to advance in the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) soccer tournament.
The second-seeded Railsplitters (13-4) won a semifinal match at Manchester Meadows and will play No. 1 Carson-Newman (14-3) in Rock Hill, S.C., at 1 p.m. for the SAC championship.
Carson-Newman advanced on Friday with a 2-1 victory over No. 5 Catawba at Manchester Meadows.
LRU, 11-6-1 and the tournament’s No. 3 seed, will wait to see if it earns an NCAA Division II bid. The tournament seeds will be announced by the NCAA on Monday night.
The Bears outshot Lincoln Memorial 19-12, but the Railsplitters got a goal by Courtney Boyd on a rebound shot and Itzel Ballesteros’ goal made it 2-0.
Each team had six shots on goal with LRU having a 7-6 edge on corner kicks.
Ann-Marie O’Connell collected six saves for Lincoln Memorial while the Bears’ Lauren Sterling made four saves.
LRU came into the match with 41 goals – second-best in the conference – and fell to the Railsplitters twice this season (2-1 on Oct. 13).
SAC WOMEN’S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Tuesday’s first round matches
Match 1: No. 1 Carson-Newman 4, No. 8 Wingate 0
Match 2: No. 5 Catawba 1, No. 4 Anderson, S.C. 0
Match 3: No. 2 Lincoln Memorial 2, No. 7 Queens 1, OT
Match 4: No. 3 LENOIR-RHYNE 1, No. 6 Tusculum 0
Friday’s semifinals results at Rock Hill, S.C.
Match 5: No. 1 Carson-Newman 2, No. 5 Catawba, 1
Match 6: No. 2 Lincoln Memorial 2, No. 3 LENOIR-RHYNE 0
Sunday’s championship at Rock Hill, S.C.
Match 7: No. 2 Lincoln Memorial 3, No. 1 Carson-Newman 1