Women's Soccer Advances to Second Round of NAIA National Tournament

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.- For the fourth time under head coach Bryan Walker, the women's soccer program played a game in the national tournament. The team played in the 2024 NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship First & Second Rounds Presented by Select Sport America, playing the Oregon Tech Owls in the first round in West Palm Beach, Fla. Tennessee Wesleyan scored in the second half to advance to the second round of the tournament on Saturday with a 1-0 win. 

A defensive strife did not yield a goal for either team in the first half. Krista Eik Hardardottir, Valerie Koopman, and Jordan Smith accounted for the Lady Bulldogs' shots in the first 45 minutes of the game, but none were able to find the net. Laia Roch Font and the defense kept the opponents out of the net also through the first half, sending the game into halftime scoreless.

TWU continued the offensive pressure in the second half, and after two Addison Smith shot attempts, the attack by the Lady Bulldogs caused a foul in the box, giving the team a penalty kick in the 57th minute. It seemed like the penalty kick was not going to result in a goal for Tennessee Wesleyan as Hardardottir's attempt was stopped by the opposing keeper. But the center referee blew his whistle as play was getting ready to restart to signify the goalkeeper had left the line too soon, giving the Lady Bulldogs another kick from the penalty marker. This time, Lauryn Smith sent the ball flying into the net, giving the team a 1-0 lead with 33 minutes left. The team kept Oregon Tech from finding an equalizer, giving the team their first national tournament win since the 2017 season.

Roch Font had two saves in the game. 

The win moves the Lady Bulldogs to the second round of the West Palm Beach, Fla., site. The team will face No. 3 seed and hosts Keiser University on Saturday for a trip to the final site. The game is set to begin at 11:00 a.m.