Carson-Newman, Catawba Advance To Finals Of Food Lion SAC Women’s Soccer Tournament

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Top-seed Carson-Newman and second-seed Catawba will meet Sunday in the championship of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament after posting semifinal victories on Friday at Manchester Meadows Soccer complex.

The women's soccer championship game will start at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

No. 1 Carson-Newman 3, No. 4 Lenoir-Rhyne 1

Carson-Newman freshman forward Trenna Howell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) netted three goals to lead the Eagles past the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at Manchester Meadows. Carson-Newman improves to 15-5 overall, Lenoir-Rhyne falls to 13-6-2.

Howell got the scoring started at the 17:18 mark of the first half, taking a cross from sophomore midfielder Morgan Gruenenfelder (Sweetwater, Tenn.) and driving it into the left corner for her 10th goal of the year.

The Bears had the answer at the 39:50 mark, with freshman midfielder Kaelia Frazier (Cedar Falls, Iowa) lining one into the top left corner for her seventh goal of the year.

Howell gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead 20 minutes into the second half, beating the Lenoir-Rhyne defense on a fast break and lining one into the left corner.

Howell finished off the scoring 20 minutes later, getting past the defender and placing one in the far corner to complete the hat trick and give the Eagles a 3-1 lead.

Carson-Newman held a 14-12 advantage in shots, including a 12-3 edge in shots on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Lauren MacKenzie (Barrie, Ontario) had two saves for the Eagles. Lenoir-Rhyne junior Katelyn Burwell (Carthage, N.C.) collected nine saves for the Bears.

No. 2 Catawba 2, No. 3 Wingate 0

Catawba College senior Paige Harrington (Albemarle, N.C.) scored twice as the second-seeded Catawba Indians defeated No. 3-seed Wingate 2-0 in a semifinal match-up of the 2008 Food South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday afternoon at Manchester Meadows. The win improves Catawba to 15-4-1 and sends the Lady Indians into Sunday's championship against top-seeded Carson-Newman. The Bulldogs fall to 14-6.

After a scoreless first half, Harrington struck just over three minutes into the second half. An initial shot by the senior was saved by the foot of Wingate keeper Kathryn Smith (Indian Trail, N.C.), but rebounded to Harrington, who found the left side of the goal at the 48:10 mark.

Harrington would provide Catawba with an insurance goal in the 74th minute as she settled a pass from Tasha Wilhelm (Mt. Savage, Md.) at the top of the box and beat Smith low to the right on a shot the was just inside the post. Wingate nearly pulled a goal back with 10 minutes to play, but Kerstin Williams' (Summerville, S.C.) shot from 25 yards out hit the crossbar.

Each team had a pair of opportunities in the opening half. Julie Zielinski (Erie, Pa.) had a shot in the eighth minute hit the crossbar for the Bulldogs and Williams' rebound was saved by Catawba keeper Lindsay Webster (Hopkinton, Mass.). Smith saved a shot from Catawba's Alyssa Retundie (Mooresville, N.C.) in the 14th minute and Wilhelm was just wide in the 38th minute.

Catawba held a slight 12-11 edge in shots and each team had four corner kicks. Webster stopped five shots for the Lady Indians, while Smith registered four saves for Wingate. Harrington has now scored six straight goals for Catawba. She tallied the last three goals in the final regular-season win over Brevard and had the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Newberry in the tournament quarterfinals.