GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Anderson University scored a goal midway through the first half and went on to claim a 1-0 victory over Tusculum University in South Atlantic Conference women’s soccer Wednesday afternoon at Pioneer Field.
Ansley Douty scored in the 24th minute and Macy McDufford had four saves for the Trojans (5-4-0, 2-3-0 SAC), who snapped a three-match losing streak with the victory. The Pioneers (2-6-1, 0-3-1 SAC) outshot the Trojans by a 12-11 margin, with Angel Chase finishing with seven saves in goal for Tusculum.
The Pioneers had the first shot of the match as an attempt from Alexis Roessler just 23 seconds into the contest sailed over the crossbar. The Trojans put three shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, with Chase stopping Camryn Woods in the 11th minute, Catherine Nardella in the 16th minute and Leanna Guion in the 20th minute.
Tusculum’s first shot on goal came in the 22nd minute, when a long shot from the right side from Hailey Silvestri was corralled by McDufford.
Anderson went up 1-0 at 23:50 as a misplay in the back end by Tusculum allowed Douty to gain possession, and her shot to the near side beat Chase for her second goal of the season.
Both keepers would add one more save before intermission, with McDufford stopping Macy Vermillion from an angle in the 35th minute and Chase grabbing a shot from Zoe Stevenson in the final 30 seconds of the half.
Chase had two saves early in the second half, with saves on Woods in the 51st minute and Nardella in the 53rd. McDufford came up with a save on a shot from McKenzie Hanson in the 54th minute.
Tusculum had its best chance to score in the 56th minute following a corner kick, and a perfect cross from Marja Enste went to the head of Brynn Stokes, but her attempt went solid off the crossbar to keep the Trojans on top.
McDufford and Chase each added to their save totals with under 15 minutes to go, with McDufford grabbing a long attempt from Adriana Netskos and Chase going down to stop another try from Woods. The Pioneers would have one more good chance with under eight minutes to go as a service bounced off two players in front of the goal before being cleared.
Anderson ended the match with a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks, while the Trojans were called for four fouls to just one for the Pioneers. Each team was also flagged once for offsides.
The Pioneers will host 19th-ranked Catawba on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Pioneer Field. The Indians (6-1-3, 4-0-1 SAC) took their first loss of the season on Wednesday as third-ranked Columbus State rallied at home for a 3-2 non-conference victory.
