Women’s soccer prepares for AAC tournament

WEST POINT, Ga. (Nov. 4, 2021) – The Point University women's soccer team is gearing up to begin postseason play as the Skyhawks travel to Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday to face the Bulldogs in the quarterfinal round of the Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament.

"This is a season of team focus where it didn't matter how we started; it was how we were going to finish," Head Coach Randy Douglas said. "Two starters went down with ACL tears during the season and that usually spells disaster but the mentality of those players that stepped in was terrific as we didn't miss a beat."

Regular-season overview

Point enters postseason play 10-7-1 and with a conference record of 10-3-1. The Skyhawks opened the season 0-3 and finished the month of September 2-4-1. In the month of October, the Skyhawks were 8-2 and closed the month on a 6-0 run. The Skyhawks won their final game of the season due to a forfeit from Bluefield.

"The biggest adjustment we had to make during the season was how we were going to attack, and early on, we did have our challenges getting goals, but since we started conference play, we haven't been shut out and have scored multiple goals in many games," Douglas said.

Point outscored its opponents in October 20-6 and had three multi-goal games. This season, the Skyhawks have been led by seniors Erica Burkhardt, Kelly Carlisle, Carmen Kager, Keiry Bonilla, Jasmine Mathis, and sophomore Tamia Jones. Kager is currently the reigning AAC offensive player of the week after scoring a hat trick in Point's victory over Columbia last Wednesday. 

Mathis has led Point's defensive efforts by helping to limit Point's opponents to only two goals in the last six games. In goal, Burkhardt is No. 3 in the conference in saves with 93.

On offense, Kager is fifth in the conference with eight assists and leads the team, alongside Carlisle, with seven goals. Kager has the most points on the team with 22, while Carlisle follows close behind with 17. Bonilla and Jones each have five goals apiece. Jones, Kager, and Carlisle each have two game-winning goals each.

"Carmen has had quite a season so far after moving from outside mid to an attacking central midfield role," Douglas said. "Keiry, Kelly, and Tamia have provided timely goals all season long and we just need to keep improving each training session leading up to the quarterfinal. The defensive unit led by Jasmine Mathis has had a stellar season, with different players having to move in and out of positions around her. I also believe that Erica has had a kind of season that should have her getting some votes for all-conference."

AAC Tournament Field

The conference tournament featured 10 teams with seeds 7-10 competing in play-in games on Tuesday, Nov. 2. No. 7 seed Columbia College defeated No. 10 Brenau in double overtime to advance to play the No. 2 seed Truett McConnell and No. 8 Bryan defeated No. 9 CIU to play No. 1 Reinhardt.

Reinhardt finished the regular season with a perfect 14-0 conference record to claim the title and top seed.

Point is the No. 5 seed, despite tying with No. 4 seed Tennessee Wesleyan. TWU had a better goal differential within the conference than Point at +19 versus +14, so the Bulldogs earned the No. 4 seed.

Montreat earned the No. 3 seed and will host No. 6 Milligan. All matchups will be played at the higher seed's home site. Following the Nov. 6 quarterfinal matches, the semifinal matches will be played on Nov. 10 and the championship game will be played on Nov. 13.

Matchup history with TWU

This season, Point tied 1-1 with Tennessee Wesleyan. Kager scored the game equalizer in the 65th minute after the Bulldogs scored 1:16 into the game. Last season, the Skyhawks upset the Bulldogs 2-1 in overtime. This was Point's fist victory over TWU in three years as the Skyhawks were 0-4 against the Bulldogs since 2018.

"Watching this team grow together has been really pleasant, but I don't think we're done yet," Douglas said. "This match with Tennessee Wesleyan should be a very good one. The last four times we've faced off have been extremely close and I don't think that will change Saturday. Both teams work hard and both teams have high aspirations, and we will need everyone to play their best to see this through."

Saturday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Athens, Tennessee.