No. 4 Firehawks Ground Eagles, Face No. 25 Bees Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Judson (12-5-2) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|
#4 Tennessee Southern (19-1-0) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
Pulaski, Tenn. – The #4 University of Tennessee Firehawks blazed their way past Judson 10-2 to advance into the NAIA Championship Second Round.
The Firehawks wasted no time before the onslaught commenced. MSC freshman of the year Keito Ido got UTS on the scoreboard in the 4th minute from the assist of Suzuho Yamasaki and Adisa Amang. Ido, assist from Yuki Watari, would rocket one past the keeper Marissa Fetters to elevate the UTS lead to 2-nil in the 8th minute. Mackenzie Stroebel found the end of a well-placed Ido pass to give the Firehawks a 3-0 advantage in the 14th minute. Yetzemany Solis would get the Eagles on the scoreboard in the 16th minute when Brooke Shavers couldn't hang on to her shot. Eleven minutes later, Estelle Badoedana Ekada would score to take the lead back to three from the helper by Yamasaki. Just a minute later, Stroebel would strike again from Ekada to extend the lead to 5-1. Judson's would add another goal by Kelly Leon in the 28th minute on an assist by Thasla Barkmann. UTS would outfire the Eagles 17-6 in the first half.
The Second half was all Firehawks. Amang would start things off in the 47th minute from the Abbie Madden assist. Ido would complete her hat trick in the 49th minute from the boot of Sara Casey. Watari would connect on a corner kick in the 63rd minute. Stroebel would finish her hat trick from the assist by Lily Fisk in the 65th minute. Ekada would secure her brace in the 69th minute from the double helper by Gabrielle Forsythe and Stroebel. UTS would dominate the Eagles with 25 of 33 shots on goal and have a shot advantage of 33-9.
"I am extremely proud of our teamwork today," Coach Will Austin said. "We had lots of different players scoring, lost of different players assisting, and were able to give good minutes to all 24 players on the squad. Now we must rest and prepare for a difficult challenge on Saturday versus a quality, well coach SCAD side."
NEXT UP
The #4 Firehawks will host #25 Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) on Saturday, November 20th at Grissom Pitch. SCAD defeated #18 Grace College in game two of the Pulaski Bracket today 4-1. The kickoff is scheduled for 2 pm.