BUENA VISTA, Va. - The seventh-seeded Brevard College women's soccer team (10-5-5) was eliminated 4-3 in a penalty kick shootout after a 0-0 draw to two-seed Southern Virginia University (10-6-2) in the First Round of the USA South Conference Tournament on Tuesday in Buena Vista, Virginia. The penalty-kick shootout came after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer with 90 minutes of regulation followed by two 10-minute overtime periods.
The host Southern Virginia made all four of its penalty-kick attempts to take the victory. BC's graduate students Emma White and Khadijah Shakirof along with junior Grace Black each made penalty kicks in the shootout for the Tornados.
Freshman goalkeeper Nicole Arroyo registered the 110-minute shutout for the Tornados. It marked the seventh shutout in the inaugural campaign and her first career 110-minute shutout for the native of Yulee, Florida. Arroyo, the reigning USA South Rookie of the Week, recorded six saves en route to the shutout.
Arroyo and the Brevard defense led by starters White, Shakirof, junior Abbie Worsencroft, sophomore Maddy Edwards and sophomore Hailey Brien, were brilliant in holding the Knights scoreless despite a 21-1 advantage in shots for the home team. Down the stretch, Shakirof made several exceptional tackles to help secure the shutout.
After 90 minutes of scoreless play in regulation, Brevard locked down the SVU attack even further in overtime. The Knights were held scoreless in each of the two OT periods, held to just two shots in each of the extra stanzas.
Offensively, BC's lone shot came from junior forward Taylor Richardson. SVU was led by Makenna Winterton who registered six shot attempts with two on goal.
Southern Virginia goalkeeper Alyssa Trueman earned the shutout win for the hosts, saving two penalty kicks to secure the win.
SVU will now move on as host to no. 3 seed Mary Baldwin in one of two conference semifinals to take place Thursday in Buena Vista.
For Brevard, it marked the fourth postseason in the last five seasons under the direction of Head Coach Juan Mascaro. The Tornados surged this season, winning the second-most wins in the program's NCAA era with 10. Brevard claimed wins in three of its last four conference contests to earn the conference's seventh seed, meeting an SVU team that the Tornados tied earlier in the season, 1-1, on October 7 at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
As a team, the Tornados scored 40 goals this season, just one goal shy of the NCAA-era record set back in 2018 (41). BC's goal-scoring efforts were led by junior transfer forward Abby Mayer, who totaled 11 goals and three assists in 18 matches played. Black added seven scores, with Richardson and White each putting five in the back of the net. Mayer ended the 2022 regular season in third place in the USA South for points (25) and goals scored (11).
BC featured a pair of freshman goalkeepers this season in Arroyo and Mackenzie Lozano, who each contributed mightily to BC's defensive efforts. Arroyo allowed just six goals in 11 matches, making 40 saves, while Lozano allowed just 11 goals with 32 saves to go along with four shutout performances. Overall, Brevard shut out opponents in 11 of its 20 matches in 2022.
2022 marks the fourth time in the last five years that the Tornados have qualified for postseason play, as Brevard made a trip to the 2018 ECAC Women's Soccer Tournament, the Spring 2021 USA South West Division Tournament, and the 2021 USA South Women's Soccer Tournament prior to this year's USA South appearance.
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-BC-