BELMONT, N.C. - The Lees-McRae College women's soccer team will travel to No. 5 Belmont Abbey tonight at 7 p.m. as the No. 4 seed in the final game of the first-round home-and-home series with the winner advancing the Conference Carolinas Semifinals.
Last time out…The Bobcats and the Crusaders played to a tie in the first game of the home-and-home series last Sunday, with Belmont Abbey securing a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks that can be used in the event of a tiebreaker.
Taylor Barrineau scored her first goal as a Bobcat in the 85th minute off an assist by
Pali Smith to force the overtime sessions.
Hope Sanborn and
Mallory Roughton combined to make eight saves in goal for Lees-McRae.
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 winner of tonight's game will advance to the Conference Carolinas semifinals against the winner of Pool A (No. 1 North Greenville, No. 8 King, No. 9 Erskine). The semifinals will be 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).
