GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's soccer team will play its final two road matches of the regular season this week, as the Pioneers visit Limestone University and Wingate University in South Atlantic Conference.
The Pioneers (3-10-0, 2-5-0 SAC) travel to Limestone to face the Saints on Wednesday at 6 p.m., then trek to Wingate for a matchup with the Bulldogs on Saturday at 4 p.m. Tusculum is 1-5-0 on the road this season.
Tusculum split its two matches last week, beating Asbury 4-0 in a non-conference contest on Tuesday before falling 5-1 to Lenoir-Rhyne in a SAC matchup Sunday afternoon, both at Pioneer Field.
PROFILING THE PIONEERS
Three first-half goals helped spark Tusculum to a 4-0 victory over Asbury Tuesday afternoon. Four different players scored for the Pioneers, who snapped a four-match losing streak by outshooting the Eagles by a 15-7 margin.
Junior midfielder Bailey Bylotas finished with a goal and an assist while freshman defender Myah Giordullo, senior midfielder Yvette Raaijen and senior midfielder Kaitlyn Watson also scored for Tusculum. Sophomore goalkeeper Emma Harriman made four saves in 74 minutes for the Pioneers and shared the shutout with freshman Brooklynn Hudgins, who had one save in 16 minutes in her collegiate debut.
Ria Acton scored two goals and assisted on another and Leonie Proessl scored twice to lead Lenoir-Rhyne to a 5-1 win over Tusculum on Sunday.
Evan O'Leary added a goal and an assist for the Bears, who scored five unanswered goals after the Pioneers took a 1-0 lead on a goal from Raaijen in the 19th minute. Lenoir-Rhyne outshot Tusculum by a 14-8 margin in the match.
Raaijen has scored in three of the Pioneers' last four matches and has moved into a tie with senior forward Kenzie Ellenburg for the team high in goals (four) and points (nine). Junior forward Brianna Garcia is also tied for the team lead in points on the strength of three goals and a team-best three assists.
Ellenburg is tied for seventh in the SAC in shot attempts with 39, and is tied for fifth with 24 shots on goal. As a team, the Pioneers lead the SAC in shot on goal percentage, with 57.7 percent of their shot attempts ending up on goal.
Harriman had played every minute in goal since moving into the starting lineup for the fourth game of the season at Eckerd on Sept. 12, but gave way to Hudgins against both Asbury and Lenoir-Rhyne. Harriman ranks fourth in the SAC with 51 saves and has a 2.58 goals against average and a .654 save percentage in 11 appearances.
Over their last eight matches, the Pioneers have either led or been tied at 1-1 or better in each contest. Tusculum is 3-5-0 over that stretch, with four of the five losses by one goal.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Limestone (8-2-1, 4-2-1 SAC) is tied for fifth place in the conference with 13 points. The Saints had won four in a row before a 1-0 loss to SAC leader Catawba on Oct. 9, but Limestone rebounded with a 4-0 road win over Coker on Saturday. The Saints outshot the Cobras 33-1 and received goals from four different players in the win.
Junior midfielder Tabea Schutt is the top scorer for the Saints with five goals and five assists for 15 points, although she has missed the team's last three games. Senior defender Selina Boveleth has four goals and three assists, with three of her goals standing as game-winners.
Limestone's defense is led by senior goalkeeper Katie Maher, who has started all 11 matches and has allowed just nine goals for a 0.86 goals against average. Maher has allowed zero or one goals in nine of her 11 starts, and has not needed to make more than six saves in any game.
Wednesday's match will be Tusculum's first-ever SAC game against Limestone, which made its conference debut in the abbreviated spring 2021 season. The Saints and Pioneers have met twice previously, with Tusculum winning 6-0 at home in 1992 and Limestone capturing a 2-1 home victory in 2017.
Wingate (7-4-0, 4-4-0 SAC) is on a roll heading into this week, having won five consecutive matches after beginning conference play with four straight losses. The Bulldogs, who play a non-conference match at UNC Pembroke on Wednesday, have outscored their opponents 24-2 during their winning streak with four shutouts.
The Bulldogs, who beat Anderson 4-0 on the road on Saturday, have received goals from 14 different players this season. Senior midfielder Morgan Zanardi leads the Bulldogs with five goals and two assists and senior forward McKenna Delong has added three goals and six assists, which are tied for third in the SAC.
In goal, sophomore Katrine Thisgaard has started all 11 matches and has a 0.69 goals against average to rank fourth in the SAC. Her four saves at Anderson on Saturday were the most she has needed to make in any of her seven wins this season.
Tusculum's 1-0 home win over Wingate in 2019 snapped a six-match winless streak to the Bulldogs, and gave the Pioneers a 13-12-3 lead in the all-time series.
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.
