No. 2 Seed Limestone Wins 2015 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Limestone College freshman defender Millie Shaw found the back of the net in the 71st minute of action against Belmont Abbey to lead the Saints to the 2015 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Championship title. The Saints move to 16-3-0 overall, while the Crusaders dropped to 16-3-1 on the season.
The win marks the Saints' first-ever conference championship and books them their first-ever NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier. The win also revenges a loss seven days ago in the regular season finale against Belmont Abbey, which earned the Crusaders the Conference Carolinas regular season title.
In a tightly contested match from start to finish, the stingy defenses of Limestone and Belmont Abbey would bend but not break as each team had quality chances in the first 45 minutes of action.
The tide would turn in the second half as Belmont Abbey would up the offensive pressure as the Crusaders outshot the Saints 10-3 in the second half. However, Limestone senior goalie Mariette Martinez would be spectacular for the Saints, making three of her five saves in the half.
The breakthrough for either team would not come until the 70th minute when Limestone freshman Alex Mathis' offensive run forced a Belmont Abbey defender to play the ball out. Off the throw-in, Mathis dropped a pass to the left foot of Shaw who found the back of the net off a knuckleball shot from the right side of the field in the 71st minute of play.
The Crusaders would make a late push to tie the game up, but the defense of Limestone would snuff out any late-game heroics by Belmont Abbey to secure its first Conference Carolinas championship.
2015 All-Tournament Team
Aaliyah Jackson, Pfeiffer - Forward
Cimone Francis, Converse - Defender
Jillian Lang, Belmont Abbey - Midfielder
Laura Shelton, Belmont Abbey - Midfielder
Meghan Philp, Belmont Abbey - Forward
Millie Shaw, Limestone - Defender
Alex Mathis, Limestone - Forward
Ashton Bowles, Limestone - Defender
Emily Ludwig, Limestone - Defender
2015 Most Outstanding Player
Mariette Martinez, Limestone - Goalkeeper
2015 Conference Carolinas Tournament Champion
Limestone College
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.