BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Lees-McRae College women's soccer team will make its first Conference Carolinas postseason appearance since 2017 when it hosts No. 5 Belmont Abbey as the No. 4 seed on Sunday, April 18 at 1 p.m. in the first of a two-game home-and-home series with the Crusaders.
Scouting the Bobcats…Lees-McRae closed out the regular season with a 4-2-1 overall record (4-2-1 conference record), including a 1-0 at Belmont Abbey on March 12. Junior
Pali Smith scored three goals this season to pace the Bobcats, while junior
Rachel Crum has scored twice. Senior
Hope Sanborn is third in the conference in save percentage (.844) and is fourth in goals-against-average (.969).
Scouting the Crusaders…Belmont Abbey enters the postseason tournament riding a four-game unbeaten streak dating back to the 1-0 loss to Lees-McRae to finish with a 3-1-3 overall record (3-1-3 conference record). Goose Andrews, Emily Doty, and Corrine Shovlain have all scored twice to pace the Crusaders, while Lauryn Harding has made 20 saves in 645 minutes in goal this season.
What's next…The Bobcats and the Crusaders will complete the home-and-home series on Sunday, April 25 at 7 p.m. The winner of the two-game series will move to the Conference Carolinas semifinals on Friday, April 30 at 11 a.m. in Florence, South Carolina.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
