A three-goal outburst in the second half enabled Tusculum
College to come from behind for a 3-2 victory over Lincoln Memorial
University in South Atlantic Conference Women's soccer action
Wednesday afternoon.
Jana Linke and Allison Thomas scored for the Pioneers (10-1-2,
5-0-1 SAC), who notched the go-ahead tally on an own goal with 8:49
remaining to defeat the Railsplitters (5-5-1, 2-3-1 SAC) and extend
their unbeaten streak to 11 matches (nine wins, two ties).
With the win, Tusculum locked up its 15th season of 10 or more
victories in the 16-year tenure of head coach Mike Joy. The
Pioneers also claimed their 200th victory as a member of the SAC,
all coming under Joy who moved within three wins of tying the
conference record for coaching wins (203) set by Brian Purcell of
Presbyterian from 1990 to 2006.
The Pioneers trailed 1-0 at halftime following a goal by the
Railsplitters' Savannah Pitt in the 31st minute, but rallied to tie
the match with exactly 29 minutes left as Linke converted a corner
kick by Amy Morford into her fifth goal of the season. Linke has
scored a goal in each of the Pioneers' last three matches.
Tusculum took a 2-1 lead at 81:11 as another corner kick by Morford
found its way into the LMU net when keeper Kayla Stephens tried to
punch the ball away, and added another goal 43 seconds later when
Thomas headed home a free kick by Alisha Pugh for her first career
goal.
The Railsplitters pulled within 3-2 with 1:30 left when Madison
Rivard scored off a rebound, but the Pioneers did not allow a shot
in the remaining 90 seconds and held on for the victory.
Tusculum finished the match with a 15-8 advantage in shots over
Lincoln Memorial, including a 10-3 edge in the second half. LMU was
called for 20 fouls to 16 by Tusculum, and the teams combined for
27 fouls in the second half alone. The Pioneers came away with a
slight 5-4 lead in corner kicks, converting two into goals.
Marissa Williams finished with three saves in goal for the
Pioneers, while Stephens tallied five stops for the
Railsplitters.
Tusculum will be home Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. for a SAC match
against Catawba at Pioneer Field.
