MATTHEWS, NC - Head Coach Jo Fennema and the Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Soccer team will look to take home their fifth SAC Tournament Championship this afternoon when they take on #4 seeded Lincoln Memorial at 4:00 p.m. Winning today would give the Bears back-to-back SAC Tournament Titles for the first time in school history, as LR took down Catawba last year en route to their run to the national quarterfinals. 

Matchup Information: These teams played to a 1-1 tie in Harrogate early in the season. In that game LMU scored in the 77th minute to take the lead, but Evan O'Leary dished out an assist to Kara Gavaghan just five minutes later to secure the draw. Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 14-9-1 and have not lost to the Railsplitters since a 1-0 defeat in Harrogate on November 15, 2019. LMU head coach Tasha Flynn has led their program since 2021, holding a 23-29-8 record. On the flip side, Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Jo Fennema is in her first year with the program after a successful three-year run as an assistant at Columbus State. 

Lenoir-Rhyne Profile: The Bears advanced to the semis thanks to a 1-0 victory over #7 Limestone in the first round. Freshman Ava Hartman netted the game winner in the 80th minute, her eighth goal of the year. In the semis, the Bears took down #6 seeded Anderson 3-1 to advance to the championship. LR got on the board first thanks to a goal from All-SAC Second Teamer Carola Busquets in the sixth minute. Freshman Lilly Soltz, who hadn't played in nearly a month due to injury, stepped up in the second half. She scored two goals, both off crosses from Evan O'Leary, to lead the Bears to their 11th SAC Championship game in school history. O'Leary, who was named the SAC Offensive Player of the Year, leads the Bears with 25 points, coming off six goals and 13 assists. Hartman leads the Bears with eight goals. The catalyst for the season has been freshman Riley Miller in goal, as she has made 51 saves and allowed just 0.78 goals per game this season. 

Lincoln Memorial Profile: The #4 seeded Railsplitters currently have a record of 10-4-3 (6-2-3 SAC) and advanced to the championship thanks to a 1-1 (4-2 PK's) victory over #5 Coker and an intense 5-4 win over #1 Wingate in the semis. In that semifinal matchup, the Railsplitters held a comfortable 4-1 lead before Wingate came back and scored three goals in a 10-minute span to tie the game. With just three minutes remaining, LMU's Victoria Filsner put in a shot from 15 yards out to send them to their first SAC Championship game since winning it all in 2019. Senior Ryan Branson is the heartbeat of the Railsplitters, as she leads the team with 20 points on eight goals and four assists. They had five individuals named to the SAC All-Conference team, including goalie Bente Latenstein, who has saved 79% of the shots she has faced. 

Game Information: This game is set to take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Matthews Sportsplex in Matthews, North Carolina. Tickets for LR students are free with an LR Student ID. All normal tickets are $10, which also covers the men's championship game at 1:00 p.m. that will see the Lenoir-Rhyne men take on Limestone. Game time is subject to change based on the length of the men's championship.