GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's soccer team swings into the heart of its non-conference schedule with three matches this week.

The Pioneers host King University on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m., then travel to Florida to face Tampa on Friday, Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. and Eckerd on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Please note the corrected start time for the King match on Tuesday.

Tusculum (0-1-0) dropped its season opener to Young Harris on Thursday night by a 3-2 score. The Pioneers trailed 2-0 in the first half, but a pair of goals from senior Kenzie Ellenburg tied the game before the Mountain Lions got the game winner with under 20 minutes left.

RECAPPING THE WEEK
Alexis Scarpinato's second goal of the match with 18:30 left in the second half broke a tie and lifted Young Harris to a 3-2 win over the Pioneers on Thursday night.

Tusculum had trailed 2-0 in the 37th minute but tied the match on a pair of goals by Ellenburg, the latter in the 61st minute to level the score at 2-2. Tusculum could muster just six shots in the match compared to 17 by Young Harris.

Senior Kaitlyn Watson and grad student Elise Gallo assisted on the goals by Ellenburg, who had half of the Pioneers' four shots on goal. Senior Yvette Raaijen also had a pair of shots on goal, both coming on free kicks from distance. Sophomore Grayson Patterson made her starting debut in goal for the Pioneers and finished the match with eight saves.

Ellenburg is the first Tusculum player to score two goals in a season opener in exactly 10 years, since Tramicka James in a 3-2 win over Montevallo on Sept. 2, 2011. The Pioneers started three freshmen on defense against Young Harris, as Myah Giordullo, Kate Benne and Laila Pitt all played at least 72 minutes in their collegiate debuts.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
King (0-1-0) dropped a 2-1 decision to Catawba in its season opener Saturday afternoon at home. All three goals were scored in a 5 1/2 minute span within the first 20 minutes of the contest.

Freshman Bella Crisci scored the only goal in the 19th minute for the Tornado, who were outshot 29-4 by the Indians including a 13-0 margin in the second half. Junior Erin Foster played nearly the entire game in goal for King and finished with 11 saves.

King finished with a 1-6-2 record during the abbreviated 2021 spring season. Senior Anya Gross was the top scorer for the Tornado with two goals. The teams have not met since 2016, when the Pioneers beat the Tornado 2-1 at Pioneer Field. Tusculum is 14-1 all-time against King, including five straight wins overall and a perfect 9-0 record at home.

Tampa (0-1-1), ranked 25th in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, traveled to Columbus, Georgia to start its 2021 fall season and played a pair of overtime games. The Spartans lost a 3-2 decision to Christian Brothers on Friday, then played to a scoreless draw with West Alabama on Sunday.

Alex Steigelfest and Madison McElhone scored first-half goals for the Spartans against CBU, but two second-half goals tied it and the Lady Bucs scored the winner just 25 seconds into overtime. The Spartans dominated against West Alabama, finishing with a 20-1 advantage in shots and an 11-2 edge in corner kicks, but put just six shots on target and had to settle for the draw. Lovisa Camel had one save in the deadlock for Tampa.

Tampa turned in a perfect 6-0-1 record last spring and has a 5-2-1 edge all-time over Tusculum, with the last meeting a 3-1 Spartans win in 2015. All of the previous regular-season meetings between the Pioneers and Spartans were played at a neutral site, with the lone home game a 5-0 Tampa win in the 2006 NCAA Division II quarterfinals.

Eckerd (0-0-1) played a 1-1 draw with Saint Leo in their season opener on Thursday, and will host Barry in their home opener on Wednesday evening.

The Tritons led 1-0 after a goal from Hajar Benjoud in the 54th minute, but Saint Leo tied the score with 3:52 left and neither team scored in overtime. Eckerd outshot Saint Leo 17-5, and keeper Candace Talbert finished with three saves.

Eckerd did not play in the spring of 2021, having gone 6-7-2 overall and 2-6-2 in the Sunshine State Conference in the fall of 2019. The match will be the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and Tritons.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
Live stats and video are available for all home Tusculum University women's soccer matches. Links to stats and video for home and away matches are available at tusculumpioneers.com.