GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- There will be no place like home for the Tusculum University women's soccer team over the next two weeks, as the Pioneers begin a stretch of four consecutive home matches with a pair of contests at Pioneer Field this week.
Tusculum (2-7-0, 2-3-0 South Atlantic Conference) hosts Georgia College in a non-conference match on Wednesday at 4 p.m., then welcomes Newberry for a SAC tilt on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Pioneers will play seven of their final nine matches at home after being on the road for six of their first nine contests.
Last week, the Pioneers dropped nearly-identical 2-1 decisions at Carson-Newman on Wednesday and at Anderson on Saturday. In both matches, junior forward Brianna Garcia scored the first goal of the game for the Pioneers, only to see the opposition score twice in the second half to pull out the victory.
RECAPPING THE WEEK
Carson-Newman scored twice in the second half, including the winning goal with 5:51 remaining, to defeat Tusculum 2-1 Wednesday afternoon. Jente Kuper scored the go-ahead goal for the Eagles after Savannah Fields scored the equalizer in the 56th minute. Garcia's goal just about 30 minutes into the match gave the Pioneers a 1-0 lead that they carried into halftime, but the Pioneers were unable to put a shot on goal in the second half as the Eagles had a 13-3 shot margin after intermission and a 20-6 advantage for the match.
On Saturday, two goals by Anderson in the final 11 minutes rallied the Trojans for a 2-1 victory over the Pioneers. Ansley Donovan scored the tying goal with just over 10 minutes remaining, and Bethany Morgan scored the go-ahead goal with 5:39 left as Anderson got both of their goals off corner kicks. Garcia scored in the 76th minute to give Tusculum a 1-0 lead, but the Pioneers were outshot 24-9 by the Trojans in the match.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Garcia's two goals, her first two of the season, moved her into a tie with junior midfielder Bailey Bylotas for second on the team in goals, one behind senior forward Kenzie Ellenburg (three). Garcia is now tied with Ellenburg for the team lead in points with six, and is second on the team in shot attempts with 17.
Ellenburg continues to be prolific in the shot-taking department, attempting seven shots in two matches last week to increase her team-leading total of 28. Ellenburg has at least two shots in all seven matches in which she has played, but is scoreless in five in a row after opening the season with three goals in two contests.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emma Harriman has started six straight matches and has a 2.50 goals against average in 613 minutes. Her five saves at Anderson on Saturday mark the third time in six starts that she has recorded five saves in a match, with her season high of seven at Lincoln Memorial on Sept. 15.
Tusculum should benefit from playing on its home turf, where the Pioneers are averaging twice as many goals scored as on the road, and are allowing half as many goals than in their road contests. The Pioneers are allowing 2.78 goals per game overall this season, but just 1.60 goals per match in their five conference games.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Georgia College (6-3-0, 2-2-0 Peach Belt Conference) had a three-match winning streak end on Saturday with a 1-0 double-overtime loss to North Georgia on the road. The Nighthawks outshot the Bobcats 16-5 and got the winning goal 2:51 into the second extra period to remain undefeated in conference play.
Wednesday's match is just the fourth on the road for the Bobcats this season, who won at Newberry 3-1 on Sept. 23 and 1-0 at Georgia Southwestern on Sept. 25. Four of the Bobcats' six wins have come by shutout, and Georgia College is 2-0 against SAC opponents which includes a 2-1 win over Anderson on Sept. 6.
Fifth-year senior forward Cassie Balzano is the top scoring threat for the Bobcats, with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Balzano, who has attempted 39 shots in nine matches, had two-goal performances against Anderson and Valdosta State and a goal and two assists in the win over Albany State. Senior midfielder Becca Morris has netted five goals, while junior forward Alyssa Bergamini has collected a goal and three assists. In goal, sophomore Kate Richardson has a sparkling 0.91 goals against average and an .840 save percentage with 42 saves.
Tusculum leads the all-time series over Georgia College by a 3-1 margin, with the last meeting a 1-0 Pioneer home win in 2015.
Newberry (0-8-0, 0-4-0 SAC) has been outscored 21-2 in its eight losses, including a 12-1 margin in four conference contests. The Wolves have been shut out six times in eight games, including 1-0 setbacks to Auburn Montgomery on Sept. 10 and Limestone on Sept. 29. The Wolves will look for their first win of the 2021 season on Wednesday at home against Coker.
Sophomore Ashlee Rotert has scored both goals for Newberry this season, in the first half against Georgia College on Sept. 23 and early in the second half against Lincoln Memorial on Sept. 25. Sophomore forward Jaidyn Jacobs has attempted a team-high 25 shots, but has yet to dent the scoresheet through eight matches. As a team, the Wolves have been outshot by their opponents by a 164-81 margin. Three different keepers have seen time for the Wolves, with senior Delaney Hood owning a 2.25 goals against average and a .710 save percentage with 22 saves.
The Wolves beat the Pioneers 2-0 in their last meeting in 2019, but Tusculum still has a 19-3-4 advantage in the all-time series with Newberry.
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.
