JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Felicia Frick scored a hat trick, including two penalty kicks, as Carson-Newman University claimed a 4-0 win over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women's soccer Wednesday night at McCown Field.
Frick scored in the 10th, 21st and 68th minutes for the Eagles (8-4-3, 4-3-3 SAC), who secured the sixth seed in the upcoming SAC Championship tournament with the victory. Selina Jud also scored for Carson-Newman, which outshot Tusculum by a 26-5 margin.
Despite the setback, the Pioneers (8-7-2, 5-4-1 SAC) will be the fifth seed in the SAC Tournament and will face fourth-seeded Coker on the road in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, Nov. 8 beginning at 5 p.m. in Hartsville, South Carolina.
Carson-Newman was awarded a penalty just 9:13 into the contest when a cross went off the hand of a Pioneer defender. Frick stepped to the spot and went opposite Tusculum keeper Noemie Tartrou for her fourth goal of the season and 10th penalty kick of her career.
The Pioneers came right back and nearly got the equalizer a minute later, but Wilma Axelsson's shot on the run was batted down by Eagle keeper Berna Kabakci.
Frick made it 2-0 with her fifth goal of the season and second of the evening at 20:20, as she took a pass from Molly Bukiewicz, worked around the defense and shot past a challenging Tartrou.
Tartrou would tack on two more saves, with a jumping stop on Malia Kim in the 22nd minute and a cradling save on Jud in the 25th minute. Kabakci kept the Pioneers off the board in the 31st minute as she slapped a header from Brynn Stokes wide of the goal off a corner kick.
Jud would be denied on a stop by Tartrou in the 54th minute, but would eventually collect her sixth of the season at 56:03 as she took a pass from Audrey Gallagher, went to the top of the box and beat Tartrou for a 3-0 Eagles lead.
Kabakci came up with another big save for Carson-Newman in the 58th minute as she reached out a hand to stop a one-on-one opportunity by the Pioneers' Sydney Grant.
The Eagles would earn another penalty at 67:43 when Elysia Teske was taken down in the box. Frick delivered her first career hat trick and 11th career PK as she beat Tartrou to the right for a 4-0 Carson-Newman lead.
Tartrou finished with six saves for the Pioneers, while Kabakci had four stops for the Eagles in the shutout. Carson-Newman had a slim 4-3 edge in corner kicks, with Tusculum called for 12 fouls to 10 by the Eagles.
Tusculum and Coker will be meeting in the postseason for the first time when they get together in Saturday's conference quarterfinal match. The Pioneers beat the Cobras 3-2 in the regular-season meeting on Oct. 25 at Pioneer Field, which snapped a string of three straight losses to Coker.
