SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Samford’s women’s soccer team has claimed the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship after posting an 8-0-1 league mark this season. The Bulldogs have now claimed atleast a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title for the fifth straight year.
The tournament begins Wednesday with a pair of first-round matches on campus sites. The quarterfinal round follows on Oct. 27-28 at campus sites, while the semifinals and championship will be played at Betts Stadium on the campus of Mercer University on Nov. 2 and 4, respectively.
The battle for the top seed came down to the Sunday match between UNCG and Samford. Samford defender Grace Sommi recorded her second goal of the season on a header in the 84th minute to break a scoreless tie and give Samford the lead as the Bulldogs held on for the road win.
ETSU, Western Carolina and Furman all finished 5-4 in the regular season. ETSU, who fell to The Citadel 2-1 in double-overtime Sunday, earned the No. 3 seed by tiebreaker. Western Carolina’s 1-0 win against Mercer on Sunday, also in double-overtime, moved the Catamounts into fourth, while Furman sits at No. 5.
Mercer is the No. 6 seed, finishing 4-3-2 in regular season play, and will travel to Johnson City to take on No. 3 ETSU on Sunday, Oct. 28. Chattanooga, which played to a 2-2 double-overtime draw at VMI Sunday, claimed the No. 7 seed while Wofford is No. 8. The Mocs will welcome No. 10 VMI to campus on Wednesday at 6 p.m., while the Terriers will host No. 9 The Citadel at 7 p.m.
No. 1 Samford will host either Wofford or The Citadel on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. CT, while No. 2 UNCG will take on the winner of the VMI and Chattanooga contest on Oct. 27th at 2 p.m.
The tournament winner earns the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.
BRACKET
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
2018 Women's Soccer Championship
Wednesday, Oct. 24
First Round (at higher seeds)
Match 1: No. 9 The Citadel at No. 8 Wofford, 7 p.m.
Match 2: No 10 VMI at No. 7 Chattanooga, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 27
Quarterfinals (at higher seeds)
Match 3: Winner Match 1 at No. 1 Samford, 5:30 p.m. CT
Match 4: No. 5 Furman at No. 4 Western Carolina, 7 p.m.
Match 5: Winner Match 2 at No. 2 UNCG, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 28
Match 6: No. 6 Mercer at No. 3 ETSU, 2 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2 Semifinals (Betts Stadium; Macon, Ga.)
Match 7: Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 4 p.m.
Match 8: Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 4 Final (Betts Stadium; Macon, Ga.)
Match 9: Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8, 2 p.m.
*all times eastern unless otherwise noted
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