by Katie Parker, sports information graduate assistant

Box Score

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. - The Little Feet Invitational kicked off this afternoon (Sept. 11) with Tusculum College (3-2) and No. 11 Carson-Newman College (5-0) each picking up wins while tournament host Georgia College & State University (2-2-1) tied with Lincoln Memorial University (2-1-2).

Tusculum started things off strong in game one attacking the goal early. The Pioneers took advantage when Southern New Hampshire University's (2-3-1) goalkeeper Stef Young dove to trap Tramicka James' ball and missed. James passed to Ashley Bradford who then netted the only goal of the contest while young was out of position in the 12^th minute. The goal was Bradford's first of the 2009 campaign.

Young snagged seven saves for the day as did Pioneer keeper Rachel Jennings.

Both offenses were also busy, as Tusculum outshot the Penmen 17-13. The battle in the corners was a draw as each team took three corner kicks.

Game two saw more action in the net as Carson-Newman overpowered No. 22 Lynn University (3-2) 3-2. The first Carson-Newman goal came in the fifth minute as fellow Andrea Saevik and Lizeth Munguia assisted fellow Eagle Nikki Brannen who scored off of a deflected cros s from the right side. The goal was her third of the season.

Morgan Gruenenfelder claimed the second goal of the night and her third this season as the Eagle sent one soaring through the poles intended as a cross pass during the 40^th minute. The Eagles went up 3-0 when Andrea Saevik netted one from 45 yards out off of a corner kick in the 56^th minute.

Down by three, the Fighting Knights' spark came in the 64^th minute as the unassisted Melissa Ortiz scored her third goal of the season. Lynn kept the momentum; drawing within one, as Brittany Evernden helped out Amanda Romeo-Gallo. Evernden's shot threw the keeper off balance long enough for Romeo-Gallo to sail one in. The goal was her first of the year. However, the late Fighting Knight surge wasn't enough to clip the Eagles' wings.  

In the net, Lynn's Kelsey Butler allowed three goals while saving four. Lauren MacKenzie and Shannon Clancy split the goal keeping duties for the Eagles. MacKenzie gave up one goal  and grabbed two saves during her 67:13 minutes of play while Clancy also allowed one and saved three in her 22:47 minutes.

Game three turned out to be a long one as host Georgia College played Lincoln Memorial in a double overtime 0-0 tie. The Bobcats had plenty of good looks putting up 28 shots for the night with nine on goal in comparison to the Railsplitters' 11 shots with just three on goal.

Between the poles, Railsplitter Sarah Thompson wrangled in nine saves while junior Mary Rob Plunkett (Augusta, Ga.) recorded three for the Bobcats during her 65 minutes. Classmate Jessica Binkowski (Cumming, Ga.) occupied the Georgia College net for the first 45 minutes.

The Little Feet Invitational continues Sunday, Sept. 13 with LMU and SNHU matching up at 11 a.m. Game two with Tusculum and Lynn is scheduled to begin at 1:15 p.m. The tournament will finish up after the 3:30 p.m. contest between host Georgia College and Carson-Newman.   

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