Centre women defeat Rhodes 3-0 in first SAA Championship Game
The Centre women's soccer team captured the first Southern Athletic Association championship and avenged its only loss of the season with a 3-0 victory over Rhodes on Sunday in Danville, Ky.
It was Rhodes which handed Centre its only defeat of the year in the second overtime of a game on Sept. 21, but the rematch would be a much different story. An Anne Mitchell(Fayetteville, Ark.) goal in the 17th minute gave the Colonels the lead for good, and the defense kept Rhodes from seriously threatening while Centre went on to tack on two more late scores.
Mitchell's goal came on an assist from Katie Stevenson and was her third in three SAA Tournament games. It gave the Colonels a 1-0 halftime lead, which they would add to immediately after the second half kickoff when Morgan Collins (Utica, Mich.) dribbled through the defense and scored.
With Rhodes desperately trying to come back from the 2-0 deficit, Centre all but put the game away when Brittany Eisner (Louisville, Ky.) knocked in a Mary Taylor Kersey (Winchester, Ky.) corner kick with 20 minutes remaining. Fittingly, the defense which had posted 13 shutouts on the season kept the Lynx off the scoreboard the rest of the way to preserve the victory.
Overall, Centre took 17 shots to Rhodes' eight and held an 8-5 advantage in corners. Megan Foley (Louisville, Ky.) made four saves for Centre while Allison Cowling had six stops for Rhodes.
Centre improves to 19-1 on the season while Rhodes falls to 15-4-1. Both teams now await the release of the NCAA Tournament brackets. The selection show can be viewed HERE at 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
