GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's soccer team will travel to Coker University for a quarterfinal match in the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament on Saturday, Nov. 8 beginning at 5 p.m.
The Pioneers (8-7-2, 5-4-1 SAC) are the fifth seed in the eight-team field and will take on the fourth-seeded Cobras (9-3-4, 5-2-3 SAC) in the quarterfinals. The winner will advance to the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Sportsplex at Matthews in Matthews, North Carolina.
Tusculum is making its first SAC Tournament appearance since 2022, while Coker is in the conference tournament for the second straight year. Last season, the Cobras qualified for the SAC Tournament for the first time and lost in penalty kicks to Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinals.
The Pioneers won the regular-season meeting with the Cobras at home on Oct. 25, using a second-half goal from Wilma Axelsson to take a 3-2 victory. The win snapped a three-match losing streak by the Pioneers to the Cobras and stretched Tusculum's lead in the all-time series to 9-5-0.
Tusculum is winless in its last seven SAC quarterfinal matches (0-4-3), though the Pioneers did advance in 2017 in penalty kicks against Lenoir-Rhyne. The Pioneers' last victory in the SAC quarterfinals was a 1-0 victory over Queens in 2013, and their last road quarterfinal victory was a 1-0 overtime win at Carson-Newman in 2010.
In the official NCAA Division II regional rankings released Wednesday afternoon, Tusculum was 10th while Coker was unranked. Eight teams will be selected for the Southeast Regional, with automatic bids to the tournament championship of the SAC, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas along with five at-large bids.
TUSCULUM PREVIEW
The Pioneers were 3-4-0 through September, but went 5-1-2 in October to move into the top four in the league standings. However, back-to-back road losses to Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman to end the regular season dropped the Pioneers into fifth place in the final standings. Tusculum was 5-1-2 at Pioneer Field this season and 3-6-0 on the road.
Tusculum has a diverse scoring attack this season, with seven players scoring at least two goals and four players with four goals or more. Leading the offense has been sophomore Carme Escamilla, who has a team-high six goals all off the bench. Escamilla had two-goal matches against Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne and is tied for second in the SAC in goals in conference matches with her six tallies.
Sophomore Addison Rishling posted four goals and four assists for the Pioneers, with senior Sydney Grant tacking on five goals and an assist. Axelsson led the Pioneers with six assists and added a pair of goals, with four goals and an assist from senior Marin Wills. Senior Marje Enste has three goals for the Pioneers, including a pair of match-winners.
On defense, junior Noemie Tartrou posted a 6-6-2 record in 14 starts with a 2.12 goals against average and three shutouts. Tartrou led the SAC with 77 saves and posted a .726 save percentage. Junior Holly Cowan had a 2-1-0 record in three starts with one shutout and a 0.91 goals against average, along with a .833 save percentage.
COKER PREVIEW
The Cobras' loss to the Pioneers on Oct. 25 was Coker's only loss since October 1, with the Cobras going 5-1-3 over that span. Coker allowed just three goals in its final six matches, all against Tusculum in their 3-2 loss, and their 10 goals allowed all season ranked second in the SAC to Catawba (7).
Junior Rhyan Parkin started all 16 matches in goal for the Cobras and is second in the conference in goals against average at 0.64, save percentage at .873 and shutouts with nine. Parkin has earned her shutouts, making five or more saves in five of her clean sheets including 11 stops in a scoreless draw at Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 11.
On offense, freshman Ella Wilke leads the Cobras with seven goals and four assists for 18 points, including both goals in the loss to the Pioneers. Four players have four goals apiece for Coker, including sophomore Alexis Spivey who has added a team-high seven assists, and freshman Grace Sykes who has four assists to go along with her four goals.
Coker is 9-1-1 this season when scoring at least one goal, and six of the Cobras' nine victories have been by two goals or more. The Cobras average just 12.3 shot attempts per match, but score on 17.9 percent of their attempts which is best in the conference.
ADMISSION
Ticketing for Saturday's quarterfinal match will be handled by Coker. Admission will be $6 for adults, and $3 for youths ages 6-12, seniors 60 and over, and active or retired military. College students with identification will be admitted for $2, and children five and under will be free.
TOURNAMENT PREVIEW
Three other quarterfinal matches will take place on Saturday, with top-seeded Catawba hosting eighth-seeded Lincoln Memorial at 3 p.m., second-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne hosting seventh-seeded Wingate at 5 p.m. and third-seeded Anderson taking on sixth-seeded Carson-Newman at 5 p.m.
The winners of Saturday's matches will meet in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Sportsplex at Matthews, with the Catawba-Lincoln Memorial winner playing the Tusculum-Coker winner at 11 a.m. followed by the winner of Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate against the winner of Anderson and Carson-Newman at 2 p.m.
The championship match will be played Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. at Matthews, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Championship tournament.
