BLUEFIELD, Va. — The No. 9 seeded St. Andrews University women’s soccer team fell 3-1 on the road in the first round of the AAC Tournament on Tuesday to No. 8 Bluefield College (Va.).
Bluefield got on the board first with a goal in the 36th minute of play and took that slim lead into the break.
Bluefield scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 63rd minute to go up 2-0 before St. Andrew’s freshman forward Aiyanna Woods-Clark trimmed Bluefield’s lead to one with a goal in the 69th minute.
Bluefield put the game away with an insurance goal in the 86th minute to make it 3-1.
Despite the loss, St. Andrews won the shot count 15-14 and dominated the shots 9-4 in the second half.
Senior midfielder Arianna Brown led the way for the Lady Knights with six shots and one on goal. Brown finished the year ranked 10th in the AAC with 2.6 shots per game and 39 total shots.
Senior goalkeeper Rachel Widdicks finished with five saves on eight shots on goal as she finishes the year with 91 saves — second in the conference, as she averaged 5.7 saves per game.
The Lady Knighs finish the regular season with a 3-13 while Bluefield improves to 6-10-1 and will to face No. 1 Bryan College in the AAC quarterfinals on Friday.
Men’s soccer loses in overtime in AAC first round
LAURINBURG — The seventh ranked St. Andrews University men’s soccer team was eliminated with a 3-2 loss in overtime by No. 10 Milligan College (Tenn.) in the first round of the AAC Tournament on Tuesday.
Milligan broke through first putting a quick goal past St. Andrews keeper Valentino Parini two minutes into the game.
Junior forward Julio Rico tied it up with his 11th goal of the season in the 10th minute of action off a terrific assist from junior defender Lucas Chehab.
Milligan stole back the lead in the 59th minute of play. St. Andrews responded with a goal in the 65th minute of play by Rico on an assist from sophomore midfielder Andres Carvajal.
The Knights couldn’t find the goal for the rest of the half as Rico, among others, would miss just wide as they looked for the clincher.
Knotted at 2-2 Milligan and St. Andrews went into overtime where Milligan won the game on a sudden-death goal off a corner kick with just four minutes left to play.
Rico ended the season setting a school record in the NAIA with 12 goals, including 10 in the Knights last six games — fourth in the AAC.
Senior Manu Escalera finishes his career at St. Andrews with 24 goals, second on the team behind Rico with 28 goals.
Senior defender Guilherme Soares finished the year leading the team with eight assists and was tied for third in the conference. Sophomore goalkeeper Parini finishes the year with 61 saves — fourth in the AAC.
St. Andrews ends the season with an 8-8 overall record. No. 10 Milligan College improved to 1-15-1 and advanced to play No. 2 Bryan College (13-5) on Friday in the AAC quarterfinals.