Women's Soccer Season Ends in First Round of NAIA National Tournament

HATTIESBURG, Miss.- The women's soccer team found out the site they were traveling to for the 2023 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship First and Second Rounds. The draw took them to Hattiesburg, Miss., home of the No. 1 seed in the field. In the first round of the site, the Lady Bulldogs faced the Xavier University of Louisiana Gold Rush on a misty day. 

Play between the first two round opponents was even through the opening minutes of the first half. Even though both teams were able to get shots off, with Tennessee Wesleyan's coming through Jordan Smith and Krista Eik Hardardottir, neither team scored through the first 23 minutes of the game. The tide changed in the 24th minute unfortunately when Xavier scored the first goal of the contest. The team did not trail for long as Anna-Lena Strauss evened the score at one goal each in the 27th minute. The stalemate between the two opponents was not broken by the end of the first half. 

Much like the first half, neither team scored through the first segments of the second half. Xavier once again made the first move in the half, scoring in the 71st minute to take a 2-1 lead. Four minutes later, Valerie Koopman sent a ball flying past the opposing keeper to put the game back in a tie, this time at 2-2. The difference came in the 78th minute. Unfortunately, it came for the opponents as they scored a third goal in the game the Lady Bulldogs were unable to match. Xavier went on to win the contest 3-2. 

The team finishes the 2023 season with a 16-3-1 overall record and a 13-1 conference record. The team scored 91 goals on the season while only allowing 10 goals, both program-bests on record. The 16 wins are the most wins in a season since the 2019 season (17).