GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Anderson University advanced to the South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Championship semifinals by outscoring Tusculum College 4-2 in penalty kicks following a scoreless draw in the teams' SAC quarterfinal Tuesday evening at Pioneer Field.
The sixth-seeded Trojans (9-5-2) will play Carson-Newman Friday afternoon in the semifinals after the Eagles defeated Catawba 2-0 in another quarterfinal match on Tuesday. The third-seeded Pioneers fell to 10-5-3 after being eliminated from the SAC tournament on penalty kicks for the fourth time in the last six years.
Tusculum outshot Anderson 19-12 in the match, but could not put a goal past Trojan keeper Abby Helm, who had six saves in regulation and another during penalty kicks. The Pioneers also had a shot go off the crossbar in the second half and had another cleared off the line earlier in the match.
After 110 minutes were unable to determine which team would advance to the SAC quarterfinals, the Trojans and Pioneers went to penalty kicks against each other for the second time in the SAC tournament, five years to the day of the previous occasion in 2011 when Anderson beat Tusculum in penalties to move into the conference semifinals.
Tusculum inserted keeper Hannah Graham into goal to defend against the penalty kicks, while Helm remained between the posts for Anderson. The Trojans shot first and received a goal from Tina Shakes, but the Pioneers answered on a goal from Katja Andersson to level the score at 1-1.
In round 2, Lexxi Longmore gave Anderson a 2-1 lead, and Helm came up with a save on the Pioneers' Sonja Ballmert to give the Trojans the advantage. Sophie Riggs and Kelli McCalla exchanged goals to keep the Anderson lead at 3-2 after the third round, but the Trojans' Emilie Toftjberg scored in the fourth round to put Anderson on the cusp of the victory. Needing a goal to keep the match alive, Tusculum's Lexie Smith shot high and Anderson came away with the win.
In the first half, both teams played physical as a total of 18 fouls were called. Each side had one shot in the first seven minutes, then combined to go 20 minutes without an attempt until Shakes fired a free kick wide in the 27th minute.
Tusculum had its best chance of the first half in the 31st minute, as a free kick got behind Helm and was played by the Pioneers' Carly Mill, but Longmore cleared her attempt off the line to keep the match scoreless. Less than a minute later, the Pioneers' Ellie Tomassoni chipped a shot at goal but just over the crossbar.
In the first half, the Pioneers outshot the Trojans 5-2, with Helm making two saves and Tusculum keeper Miriah Martin recording one stop. Mill led all players with three shots in the opening half, while Shakes had both attempts for the Trojans.
Tusculum put the first shot on goal in the second half, but Helm made a falling stop of a redirection by Mill in the 48th minute. About nine minutes later, a flurry of shots produced an attempt from close range by Payton DeHart that caromed off the crossbar.
The Pioneers kept up the pressure, as a shot from Andersson just missed the near post in the 78th minute. The Trojans' best chance near the end came with just under a minute and a half on the clock, when Kaelin Cote chipped a service wide of the goal.
Anderson had all three shot attempts in the first overtime period, including a free kick by Shakes in the 96th minute that was blocked by the wall and a shot from Melanie Maddox in the 97th minute that just missed the post.
In the second overtime, Tusculum took the advantage back as they directed five shots at the Anderson goal. Cheyenne Upton had the best opportunity for either team to end the match as she fired a shot from 15 yards straight on that Helm stopped on a dive with 1:34 remaining.
Martin finished the match with three saves to record her ninth shutout of the season, the third-highest single-season total in program history. Tusculum had a 5-3 edge in corner kicks, while Anderson was called for 17 fouls to 14 by Tusculum.
