LEBANON, Tenn. - - Cumberland women's soccer opened its postseason campaign with a 3-1 victory over Bethel in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-South Conference Tournament. With the win, the fourth-seeded Phoenix advance to the conference semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Campbellsville on the road.
Cumberland controlled much of the attacking play throughout the afternoon, finishing with 32 shots, including 20 on target, compared to 18 shots and three on goal for the Wildcats.
The Phoenix put eight shots on goal in the opening 30 minutes but finally broke through in the 34th minute when Marta Gonzalez converted a penalty kick at 33:52 to give Cumberland a 1-0 advantage.
Cumberland carried its advantage into halftime before adding to it shortly after the break. Ruth Rodriguez found the back of the net at 50:56, striking her eighth goal of the season, five of which have come directly off free kicks.
The Phoenix continued their onslaught later in the half and extended the advantage to three goals in the 65th minute. Victoria Collins scored in the 64th minute, with Angie Abreu rounding the corner to beat her defender and slip a cross into the box for the Nigerian to put away.
Bethel responded late in the contest, earning a penalty kick that Manon Petit converted at 79:41 to cut the deficit to 3-1. However, Cumberland maintained its two-goal cushion through the final whistle to secure the quarterfinal victory and its place in the next round.
The win sends the Phoenix into the MSC semifinals, where they will face Campbellsville, the tournament's top seed with a date and time still to be decided. Campbellsville shared the regular-season conference title and earned the No. 1 seed through the conference's goal-differential tiebreaker.
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