Demorest, GA – The Piedmont College women’s soccer team suffered a heartbreaking loss Saturday in the USA South Quarterfinal round against North Carolina Wesleyan College falling in a PK shootout 3-1 after playing the Battling Bishops to a scoreless draw through 110 minutes. The showdown was a rematch of a regular season contest between the two where Piedmont needed a late second half goal to pick up a win, but the Lady Lions could not find magic late again as the loss eliminates PC from the USA South postseason.
As the #2 seed in the tournament, Piedmont’s home field advantage could not turn into a deciding factor against the visiting Battling Bishops as NC Wesleyan would hold a slim edge in shots 10 to nine overall. Piedmont would have the better of the opening period with four shots to two for NC Wesleyan while the tables flipped in the second half as each team had chances to win it in regulation.
With time winding down in the first half, NC Wesleyan’s Rebecca Staylor was able to break free and post two shots in the final five minutes before the intermission, but Piedmont keeper MICHAELA GARDNER would be up to the task making back-to-back saves on the efforts. Gardner would finish the day with six saves overall posting her 9th solo shutout of the season as the Piedmont defense posted its 14th shutout as a team in 2014, a new program record.
Gardner again made two key saves in the second half as she made a point blank save on a Staylor breakaway in the 48th while less than 20 minutes later she would tip another Staylor effort from distance over the crossbar. Piedmont would apply pressure with less than 15 to go with a pair of corners in a two minute timespan while a MARISSA AKIN shot forced NC Wesleyan keeper Sarah Hovis to make a save in the 76th minute.
Scoreless after 90, the two went to overtime to decide a winner and Piedmont had the better of the chances in the opening OT with a shot by SHAYNA ROGERS going high in the 96th while a MEGAN HATFIELD shot with two minutes to go in the period saw another Hovis save keep it 0-0.
Less than one minute into double-OT, another effort from Rogers would hit the crossbar, but it was not to be for the Lady Lions who headed into a penalty shootout after finishing in a scoreless draw through 110 minutes.
In the shootout, Piedmont would have three of its four attempts saved by Hovis while NC Wesleyan would make all three of their attempts to advance 3-1 on PK’s to the USA South Semifinals as they will face Methodist University next Friday in Martinsville, Virginia.
With the result, Piedmont finishes the season at 14-4-2 overall, the 7th straight season that PC has finished with 13 or more wins. The Lady Lions were 10-1-1 in the USA South in 2014 forcing a share of the USA South Regular Season Championship, their first regular season title in women’s soccer in the program’s NCAA Era.
