Box Score
Box score
HICKORY, N.C. - Despite taking a 1-0 lead into the halftime
break, Anderson University women's soccer was unable to fend off
top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne as its season came to close, falling 3-1 in
the quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament
Tuesday evening at Mortez Sports - Athletic Complex.
With the setback, the Trojans end their season with a 7-10-1
overall record and drop their third SAC Tournament match in a row.
The Bears advance to Friday's semifinal where they will square off
against fourth-seeded Catawba at 4 p.m.
"Being in the quarterfinals was an achievement on itself," Anderson
head coach Ciaran Traquair said. "In the end, it was just too big
of task to match them and we were spent by the end. The future is
very bright and with this group, it is only the beginning."
After a scoreless 29 minutes to open the match, Anderson's Emily
Cowan broke the goalless stretch as she notched her second goal of
the season and handed the Trojans a 1-0 lead. With the goal in
hand, AU maintained its lead for the remainder of the period and
took the one-goal advantage into the halftime break.
"I'm immensely proud of how we approached the game and being up 1-0
at halftime," Traquair said. "We certainly gave them a scare."
Facing the deficit, the Bears responded in the 52nd minute when
Amber Madriaga found a cross from Dylan Bedell and scored past
Anderson goalkeeper Sadie Lancaster for L-R's first goal of the
postseason. The goal was Madriaga's second of the season.
Moments later, Lenoir-Rhyne received its eventual game-winner in
the 59th minute when Madriaga struck again with a 25-yard blast
from the left side for the goal. The tally marked her first match
this season with multiple goals.
Lenoir-Rhyne added an insurance goal in the 84th minute of play
when Dylan Bedell got behind the Anderson backline on a breakaway
and slid a shot past Lancaster to close the match's scoring. The
goal was Bedell's second tally of the year.
The Trojans totaled seven shots for the evening as junior
Mariana Poveda was the lone AU player with multiple shots with two.
Joining Cowan with one shot was Faith Johannes, Paige Gowans-Smith,
Abbey Mills and Jaclyn Kubiak. Defensively, Lancaster closed the
contest with 10 saves, marking the second time this season she has
posted double-digit saves.
On the opposite side, Lenoir-Rhyne totaled 28 shots for the
match, including 18 in the final 45 minutes. Midfielder Casey
Marlin paced the Bear attack with six shots, while six different
L-R players recorded three shots. Goalkeeper Alayna Morris, who
earned the win, made three saves.
The seven-win season marks the second highest win total since
the Trojans joined the SAC before the 2010 season. AU improved on
its win total of five from the 2013 season.