The Women's Soccer Team Wins Second SAA Championship!

Southern Athletic Association Regular Season and Conference Championships: once again, this is the title of our Sewanee Women’s Soccer program. Taking the trophy for the second consecutive year, this team is constantly setting new records. With a phenomenal game against #4 Centre College in the semifinals, it was clear how much each Tiger wanted the win. In their game against Centre, the Tigers were in an all out battle to keep the score 0-0. After finishing the first half with four shots to the Colonels one, it was clear something was bound to fall. In the 82nd minute our Tigers’ prayers were answered with a beautiful one timer from senior Caroline Pulliam. In a post-game interview, Caroline said, “I remember Ashlyn winding up and thinking I’m gonna get this one, so I made a run for it and I just reacted when it got to me. I wasn’t thinking about what I was gonna do, I just let my body take over. Then I looked up and it was in the upper left corner and my teammates were running towards me! It was an amazing moment that I’ll never forget!!”

After their amazing performance against Centre our Tigers faced Rhodes College in the finals. From the beginning, it was clear that the Tigers were confident and determined to win this game. Although timid in the first few minutes, the Tigers quickly turned on the heat with two goals from senior Kate Thomson. From there, it was clear who owned the pitch. With two up starting the second half, senior Brianna Fee quickly took action giving the Tigers their third goal of the night. However, with time left to spare, Lily Reinhardtsen layed one into the back of the net at the 72nd minute making it a 4-0 Tiger lead! 

The determination, calmness, and certainty throughout every game is why this team is so successful. Additionally, the team’s success is also made possible through the strong leadership of Coach Greg Cathell. Receiving the 2024 SAA Coach of the Year award for the second year in a row, Cathell has made an immense impact in his four seasons on the mountain. Last year, Coach Cathell led the Tigers to the program’s first ever conference tournament title, and he hopes to achieve that and more in future seasons. The accolades don’t stop there: eleven players earned All-SAA Honors this year. Finally, after winning the SAA Championship title on Sunday, the team earned the #25 spot in the National Rankings. With an unbelievable regular and championship season, we are so excited to see these players compete in the NCAA tournament this Saturday against Ohio Northern.