JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Tramicka James scored with 5:20 left in the first overtime period to lead seventh-seeded Tusculum College to a 1-0 upset victory at second-seeded Carson-Newman College in a Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament quarterfinal match Tuesday night.
James' 17th goal of the season lifts the Pioneers (9-8-1) into Friday's semifinals, where they will face third-seeded Wingate at 3 p.m. at the Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex in Rock Hill, S.C. after the Bulldogs defeated Catawba 1-0 in a semifinal match Tuesday night. The other semifinal match will be between top-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne and fourth-seeded Newberry, with the winners squaring off Sunday afternoon for the SAC championship.
The Eagles (11-7-0), who had an eight-game winning streak snapped with the loss, had the best scoring opportunity of the first half, but Andrea Saevik's shot hit the goal post at the 26-minute mark. Carson-Newman had a 3-2 edge in shots in the opening 45 minutes of play, while both teams took three corner kicks.
In the second half, the Pioneers nearly won the game with four minutes left as a shot by James caromed off the crossbar and a follow-up attempt by Patience Leonard went wide to the left. Tusculum outshot Carson-Newman 9-5 in the second half and 11-8 in regulation.
The overtime period saw each team put a shot on goal before James picked up possession from Kourtney Kavic down the right side, beat the defender one-on-one and fired high over Eagle keeper Sarah Tompkins to send the Pioneers to the semifinals. Tusculum is now 4-0-3 all-time in overtime in the SAC Tournament.
Overall, Tusculum held a 13-10 advantage in shots while Carson-Newman had a 6-4 edge in corner kicks. Each team was called for six fouls and one yellow card in the match.
Rachael Jennings tallied three saves in goal for the Pioneers to earn the win, while Tompkins made four stops in defeat for the Eagles.
Tusculum will be making its 10th appearance in the SAC semifinals since first gaining eligibility for the conference tournament in 1999. The Pioneers are 5-3-1 all-time in semifinal action, including a loss in penalty kicks to Lenoir-Rhyne last season after playing to a 0-0 tie over 110 minutes of play.
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