HARROGATE, Tenn. --- Tusculum College remained unbeaten in South Atlantic Conference action with a 2-0 victory at Lincoln Memorial University in women's soccer action Wednesday afternoon.
Goals from Carlie Thornber and Ellie Tomassoni lifted the Pioneers (4-2-2, 2-0-1 SAC) to the victory over the Railsplitters (1-5-0, 1-2-0 SAC) while Miriah Martin had four saves to record her second shutout of the season.
Thornber scored in the 36th minute to give Tusculum a 1-0 lead that they held until the 67th minute, when Tomassoni capitalized on a misplayed ball to give the Pioneers some insurance. Tusculum outshot Lincoln Memorial 25-14 in the match, including a 16-3 margin in the opening half.
The Pioneers came out firing on Railsplitter keeper Brooke Taylor, taking seven shots in the first 15 minutes while forcing Taylor to make three saves. LMU finally got its first shot in the 25th minute after allowing nine shots by Tusculum.
In the 36th minute, the Pioneers were awarded a corner kick and Olivia Kilgore served a ball into the box that Thornber headed home for her second goal of the season at 35:12. Kilgore's assist was her team-high fourth of the season, all in the last three matches.
After failing to put a shot in goal in the first half, the Railsplitters tested Martin in the early stages of the second half. However, the Pioneer keeper made saves in the 49th, 51st and 55th minutes to keep the Pioneer lead at 1-0. Tusculum was outshot 6-1 in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but held on to the 1-0 advantage.
In the 67th minute, the Pioneers caught a break when Taylor misplayed a ball in the box which Tomassoni collected and deposited in the empty goal for her second of the season and a 2-0 Tusculum lead at 66:19. The Railsplitters nearly got on the board in the 71st minute, but Haley Klages cleared a shot off the line from LMU's Gabby Garcia to keep the score at 2-0.
Tusculum finished the game with a 13-5 edge in shots on goal, while Lincoln Memorial had a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks and both teams were whistled for four fouls apiece. Taylor made seven saves for LMU before departing after allowing the second Tusculum goal. Kathryn Lundy came on in relief for the final 20 1/2 minutes and registered four saves.
The Pioneers will be back on the road Saturday at Anderson for a SAC contest that begins at 1 p.m.
