GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum College women's soccer team will open the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Championship tournament with a quarterfinal match against Anderson University Tuesday at 5 p.m. at Pioneer Field.

The Pioneers (10-5-2) are the number-three seed in the eight-team tournament after earning a share of the SAC championship with Lenoir-Rhyne and Carson-Newman with an 8-2-1 league record. The Trojans (9-5-1) earned the sixth seed after compiling a 6-4-1 league record during the regular season, vaulting ahead of Catawba with a victory over Mars Hill on the final day of the regular season.

Tusculum won the regular-season meeting with Anderson on the road by a score of 1-0 on Sept. 24 on a goal by Katja Andersson in the 49th minute. Miriah Martin made five saves for the second of what would be six consecutive shutouts for the Pioneer keeper.

Admission prices are $5 for adults and $3 for youth under 12, seniors 60 and over and active and retired military, and free for children 5 and under. College students with identification are admitted for $2, with Tusculum students who show valid identification having their admission charge covered by the Tusculum athletic department.

Martin has eight shutouts this season for Tusculum to rank third in the SAC, while ranking fifth in goals against average at 0.91 and seventh in save percentage at .810. The Pioneers have had a balanced offense this season, with 12 different players scoring at least one goal but none having more than three. Senior defender Olivia Kilgore has eight assists to place her in a tie for second place in the SAC, while Carly Mill, Rachel Roberts and Carlie Thornber share the team lead with three goals apiece.

Anderson is led by Tina Shakes, who is completing her eligibility with the Trojans after three seasons as a regular at Division I Clemson. Shakes has 10 goals and four assists for 24 points to lead Anderson, including three game-winning goals. Alaina Gay has added five goals and Lyssa Engle has netted four for the Trojans, who opened the season with six wins in their first seven matches before winning one of their next six. Abby Helm has started 12 matches in goal for the Trojans, and has a 1.07 goals against average to go along with six shutouts. Bianca Porras was in goal for the teams' first meeting in September and had six saves in the contest.

The Pioneers have won three and tied once in the last five meetings with the Trojans, and have a 5-4-2 edge in the all-time series. Anderson defeated Tusculum 2-1 in double overtime in their last meeting in Greeneville on Sept. 26, 2014 on a goal with 14.7 seconds remaining. Since Anderson joined the SAC for the 2010 season, Tusculum is 4-2-1 against the Trojans in the regular season with both losses coming in double overtime.

Tusculum and Anderson have met once in the SAC Tournament, with the Trojans advancing on penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless draw in the quarterfinals on Nov. 1, 2011 at Anderson. Tusculum is 2-4 all-time in penalty kicks in the SAC Tournament, and have been eliminated from the conference tournament via penalties three times in the last five seasons. Anderson has never won a SAC Tournament match, compiling a record of 0-4-2 but using penalty kicks to advance from the quarterfinals to the semifinals in both 2011 and 2015.

Tusculum has qualified for the SAC Tournament each year since first becoming eligible for conference postseason play in 1999. In that span, the Pioneers are 11-3-3 in quarterfinal matches, 5-5-2 in semifinals and 3-1-1 in championship games. Tusculum is also 12-2-2 all-time in home SAC Tournament matches, with both draws resulting in advancement via penalty kicks.

The winner of Tuesday's match will advance to the semifinals against the winner of Tuesday's quarterfinal match between seventh-seeded Catawba and second-seeded Carson-Newman. The semifinal match will be played at 1:30 Friday at Manchester Meadows in Rock Hill, S.C., which will be the site of the championship match on Sunday at 1 p.m.

2016 South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Championship
Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 1
at campus sites
Game 1: #8 Newberry at #1 Lenoir-Rhyne, 7:30 pm
Game 2: #5 Wingate at #4 Queens, 7 pm
Game 3: #7 Catawba at #2 Carson-Newman, 5 pm
Game 4: #6 Anderson at #3 Tusculum, 5 pm

Semifinals: Friday, November 4
at Manchester Meadows (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 5: Winner game 1 vs. Winner game 2, 11 am
Game 6: Winner game 3 vs. Winner game 4, 1:30 pm

Final: Sunday, November 6
at Manchester Meadows (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Game 7: Winner game 5 vs. Winner game 6, 1 pm