Anderson, Ind. – The Transylvania women's soccer team will begin the push for its first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title under head coach Patrick Farmer on Saturday, October 30 at 11:00 a.m. against the Anderson University Ravens in a quarterfinal matchup.
The Pioneers (9-6-2, 4-4-1 HCAC) clinched the No. 5 seed in the HCAC Tournament after completing the 4-4-1 journey through the league, finishing six points behind their first-round opponent Anderson (6-2-1) on the HCAC table, who clinched the No. 4 seed last week.
Saturday's quarterfinal match will be a rematch of the HCAC regular-season opener, a 2-1 win at Anderson. The tournament prequel featured a flurry of second-half goals, all three of which came in a five-minute span. The Ravens scored the last two goals of the match to snatch all three points and help their boost up the HCAC standings.
The 11:00 a.m. quarterfinal match at AU Soccer Stadium in Anderson is the latest installment in a rivalry historically dominated by the Pioneers. Transylvania are 10-3-2 overall against Anderson, with a nine-game win streak from 2007-2015. Since that streak ended, Anderson has flipped the momentum with a 3-1-2 record against the Pioneers.
The two teams will battle for a spot in Wednesday's semifinal match against the No. 1 seed Mount St. Joseph University Lions who are 12-7-1 overall, with an 8-0-1 record in HCAC play. Enjoying a quarterfinal bye, the Lions await the winner between Anderson and Transy.
Tickets for Saturday's HCAC Tournament matches are $10 per person; students and faculty/staff with an HCAC school ID card will be admitted for free.
The Pioneers are led on offense by senior Abby Baker (Corbin, Ky./Corbin HS), who ranks sixth in the HCAC in goals with seven and seventh in conference in assists with six. Baker also ranks seventh in conference in points with a total of 20.
Fellow senior Emilie Yates (Lexington, Ky./Bryan Station HS) ranks second on the Pioneers in goals with five. The Pioneers are backed defensively by Morgan Patton (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay HS), who ranks first in the HCAC in save percentage (.894 SV%) and third in goals-against-average (.547) to go with nine wins this season.
Patton is covered by senior defensive midfielder Brooke Puterbaugh (Lawrenceburg, Ind./East Central HS) and senior back Meaghan Curren (Winchester, Ky./George Rogers Clark HS).
For more information on Transylvania women's soccer, follow @TransyWSoccer on Twitter
