Box Score SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Tyler Scott's header in the sixth minute put Sewanee ahead early and the Tigers hung on for a 1-0 win against Birmingham-Southern in the quarterfinals of the Southern Athletic Association Men 's Soccer Championships here Saturday at Puett Field.
The Tigers (6-4-6) advance to the semifinals this Friday, November 3, to face a yet-to-be-determined opponent.
Sewanee came out flying against the Panthers, whom the Tigers defeated, 3-0, in Birmingham just 11 days ago. But this was a much different match and the early goal was just enough to advance for the home team.
Connor Dail's free kick from just outside the box down the leftside found Scott's head, bounced off the crossbar and down over the goalline at 5:29 of the first half. Sewanee controlled possession for the first 15 minutes of the half, but BSC held the run of play for much of the rest of the half.
Patrick Kelly's blast from distance bounced off the hands of a sliding Sewanee goalkeeper
Nathan Vanhoeve and the rebound by Cedar Hurtado was also stopped by Vanhoeve midway through the period. That was the best scoring chance for the Panthers in the period.
The Tigers took control of the first 25 minutes of the second half, with
Stokes McConnell's shot from a bad angle down the leftside bouncing off the crossbar and another head from Scott bouncing over the net off a corner by Dail.
Birmingham-Southern's desperation nearly led to the equalizer in the final 10 minutes, including a blast from distance by Justin McDowell that Vanhoeve saved over the crossbar. Kelly's corner kick nearly curled in at the front post but was knocked away by Vanhoeve as well, who finished with eight saves against 21 total shots.
Panthers goalkeeper Jayden Schell got a header in the final minute that was also saved by Vanhoeve and the final seconds ticked off the clock after a final ball went over the end line. Schell collected three saves against 12 total shots by the Tigers.
