CLEVELAND, Ga. (November 9, 2024) – The No. 1 seed Truett McConnell University women's soccer team hosted No. 2 Tennessee Wesleyan University on Saturday for the Appalachian Athletic Conference Tournament Championship, where the Lady Bears were crowned the three-time AAC Tournament Champions after besting the Bulldogs in a PK shootout (5-4) after forcing the game into double overtime (1-1). TMU concludes tournament play with an overall season record of 16-1-3, 12-0-1 AAC.
 
Most notable, Brianna Hernandez was named the AAC Tournament MVP, while Lindsey Fowler, Ashley Johnson and Eliska Dvorakova were named to the AAC All-Tournament Team. TMU was last featured recording the double in 2018, 2022 and 2023, along with punching their seventh straight ticket to the NAIA National Championships. 

"So proud of the girls! That was a really tough game," said Head Coach David McDowell. "Tennessee Wesleyan is a quality team that are well coached and disciplined. We knew it would be a battle and more of a chess match especially with it being a final."
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
The Bulldogs took the lead in the 19^th minute of the first half after a free kick found the back of the net, forcing the Lady Bears to work from behind. Ashley Johnson and Elsika Dvorakova took action on offense with shots at goal, while TMU earned three corner kicks as they worked to decrease the advantage. The 39^th minute proved in favor of TMU as a corner kick by Annabel Trauschke found the foot of Megan Darden in the box to even the score 1-1. The second half saw both teams work to pull ahead as they individually tallied four shots, ultimately forcing the game into double overtime.
With the score remaining 1-1 at the end of both overtime periods, the championship match would be decided in a penalty kick shootout.

The Bulldogs took the first shot, but keeper Emelie Taylor showed her grit as she deflected the shot and offered the home team a chance to pull ahead. Isabella Hodson put the Lady Bears on the right track as she made the first shot, followed by Annabel Trauschke who found the back of the net for shot number two. TWU stayed sharp for the remainder of the shootout, tallying for 4 of 5 made shots, but it was no match for the Lady Bears as Johnson, Amayia Lukie and Megan Darden sealed the deal for TMU with a perfect set of five shots.

"A penalty shootout is always tricky because it's no longer about which team can win it and more about the individuals having to take penalty kick and the goalkeeper. The girls showed amazing mentality to dispatch each of their penalties and we got the key save from Emelie Taylor. I'm very happy for our seniors to finish on another conference tournament win and another double. They have given so much to the program and today was a special moment for them but also for the whole team."

LEADERS
Darden led the way with one goal, while Johnson had three shots on goal and Dvorakova had three shots, two on goal. Taylor had a great day in goal with a total of six saves on the day.  

UP NEXT
The Lady Bears will find out their NAIA Nationals Opening Round site on Saturday, November 16 at 1:00 p.m. CST, followed by the opening round of nationals set to begin on Thursday, Nov. 21 – Saturday, Nov. 23.