LEBANON, Tenn.--Cumberland women's soccer is set to host No. 16 St. Thomas tomorrow in the NAIA National Championship Second Round.
Cumberland comes into the match as the No. 12-overall seed in the field. The Phoenix earned an automatic berth to the field after winning the Mid-South Conference Championship, the fourth Mid-South title in program history.
The Phoenix come in with a 15-1-3 record dropping just one contest on the season to the Cumberlands, but the Phoenix avenged that loss in the MSC title match with a 2-0 clean sheet over the No. 3 team in the NAIA.
St. Thomas earned an At-Large berth to the field out of the Sun Conference. The Bobcats were ranked No. 16 in the final NAIA Top 25 Poll of the season with a 13-4-2 record.
The Bobcats finished third in the Sun Conference regular season and fell to No. 12 Southeastern in the semifinals, 3-2.
The Phoenix are led by four First Team All-Conference players and five Second Team All-MSC honorees. Centerback Grace Morris was named the Mid-South Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the third-consecutive year anchors the Phoenix defense. First Team All-Conference member Sabrina Graziano is the Cumberland keeper and she holds a 9-1-3 record conceding just seven goals.
Mari Sagstad was a First Team member and leads the team in goals with 18 and has the second most assists with 10. Second Team All-Conference member Brenna Swigher has posted 16 with nine assists. Second Team All-Conference midfielder Marie Bathe leads the team in assists with 11. Gabby Jones also has double-digit goals with 10.
St. Thomas had three members of their team earn All-Sun Conference honors. Forward Gabrielle Cimino is the most dangerous player for the Bobcats. Cimino leads the team in goals with nine, assists with six, points at 24, shots, and shots on goal.
Midfielder Leslie Deleon and defender Sarolta Oppeland join Cimino as First Team All-Sun selections.
Cumberland comes into the match with one of the most potent offenses in the NAIA scoring the fifth-most goals this season at 79, an average of 4.16 goals per game. The Phoenix have the second-most assists at 79 and have fired the fourth most shots on goal.
Defensively, Cumberland has conceded just nine goals all season, the seventh-best all year. Cumberland is averaging less than half a goal given up per match with 13 shutouts on the ledger.
St. Thomas plays in a tough league in the Sun Conference, which saw four teams make the national tournament. The Bobcats have scored 39 goals this season at an average of 2.05 goals per game and have fired 170 shots on goal.
The Bobcats defense has conceded 17 goals this season, less than one per game. Keeper Isabella Penaranda has made 54 stops this year and has a 11-4-1 record in the frame with seven clean sheets.
The Phoenix and Bobcats are set to kick-off at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow at Lindsey Donnell Stadium. All the action can be watched for free on the Cumberland Sports Network. Live Stats will be available here and tickets can be purchased
here. Cumberland students, faculty, and staff will get in the game for free.