Carson-Newman Women’s Soccer Prepares For Sweet 16 Match Against West Florida

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The Carson-Newman women's soccer team will face Columbus State University on Friday afternoon in the NCAA Division II "Sweet 16." The match begins at 2:30 p.m. in the University of West Florida campus in Pensacola, Florida.

C -N advanced on the strength of a 1-0 win over UNC-Pembroke in the Southeast Regional finals last Sunday in Jefferson City.

Carson-Newman is 16-4-1 on the year, winning both the regular season South Atlantic Conference Championship as well as the SAC Tournament.

Columbus State, the Peach Belt Conference champion, knocked off Catawba 2-0 to set up Friday's showdown. The two teams have met already once this season. Columbus State started fast and never looked back in a 6-0 win, one that seems to be fresh in the mind of the Lady Eagles.

"We are ecstatic to be back in the Sweet 16," said head coach Phil McNamara, "I think the players are really excited and looking forward to a rematch. We're underdogs after losing by a pretty good score early in the year. My hope is that this will make the players work even harder for making the next round of the tournament."

The SAC regular season and tournament title, as well as the Sweet 16 berth, speak volumes for what McNamara's squad has accomplished, considering the injuries that have slowed the Lady Eagles on a seemingly daily basis. C-N has had to mix and match lineups throughout the season. Eight players have missed games with injuries.

"At this point, with the difficult season we have had with squad numbers and injuries, this is without question one of the most satisfying and successful seasons in our history," added McNamara.

The Columbus State/Carson-Newman winner will play the West Florida/Rollins winner on Sunday afternoon with a spot in the national semifinals at stake.

Live Stats: An online play-by-play of the weekend's matches is available at - http://www.uwf.edu/livestats/wsoccer/live/xlive.htm.