CLINTON, S.C. – Obtaining a flair for the dramatic over the latter stages of the 2022 season, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team pulled out a heart-stopping home victory on Saturday night in front of a raucous Blue Hose audience, putting a bow on the season with a 1-0 W to topple UNC Asheville under the lights of Martin Stadium.

On a night where head coach Brian Purcell's club achieved a new PC Division I record by compiling 17 corner kicks while only giving up a pair, the Blue Hose ironically didn't require such a situation to provide the match's lone strike over 75 minutes in. Said strike came from a familiar face: true freshman sensation Sloan Spees (who received an assist from fellow rookie Lindsey Malyszek) to effectively ice the game.

Ending the contest in similar nature to an improbable 2-1 triumph at High Point only four nights ago - where it seemed as if the match was heading in an unwanted direction before PC turned things around and witnessed lightning strike twice – Presbyterian again pulled out the victory when the action reached a fever pitch, their second win in a row to conclude a tumultuous campaign.
 
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 1 – UNC Asheville, 0
RECORDS: Presbyterian (2-12-3, 2-6-1 Big South) – UNC Asheville (4-10-3, 2-6-1 Big South)
LOCATION: Edens Field at Martin Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Resembling more of a chess match over the first 45 minutes, a scoreless halftime placement eventually evolved into PC continually banging on the door of the UNC Asheville defense until the cracks showed. Presbyterian held a distinctive edge in both the shots department and more noticeably in corner kick tries by finding seven of those in the first half and 10 more the rest of the way.

Although the Blue Hose attack never wavered and stayed on their side of the field for a lopsided portion of the second frame, the scoreboard still displayed all zeros until the 75:06 stamp, where Malyszek possessed the ball only 10 yards past the midfield stripe and set up Spees for perhaps the most dazzling goal of the freshman's career and the game-winner.

Positioning herself near the right side of the box as she lined up her crosshairs, Spees essentially dribbled into a Bulldog double-team, with keeper Bronwyn Luitwieler and another visiting defender adding extra support mere inches away from the freshman. In an amazing highlight, Spees was able to slingshot the ball through a ridiculously-tight window to spell doom for UNC Asheville and solidify PC's second straight win.

Smartly staying the aggressor with the comfort of the one-score lead, Presbyterian's perpetual attack denied the Bulldogs several chances to attempt a tying look, with UNCA's best pursuit being snuffed from down low by PC goalie Kelly Hall in the game's waning moments. Splitting time in the net with junior Mackenzie Azuero, Hall and the rest of the Blue Hose back line turned in another exceptional preventative effort in producing their third shutout of the fall, wrapping up their season by denying the other side a successful goal over 175 consecutive minutes dating back to last Saturday's shocker over High Point.

Showered with praise and embrace by the many convivial PC fans in attendance who rushed the field in celebration at the sound of the final horn, the Blue Hose polished off their 2022 season with two straight jubilant results that served as a storybook ending to a year that often took on a grim face of challenges.

None of Presbyterian's prior 10 goals on the year felt as sweet as the one that came from Spees' right foot on Wednesday night, concluding the careers of four Blue Hose seniors – Kori Lawrence, Sydni Dachs, Megan Wilson, and Carolay Ospina – in an unforgettable manner.

COACH PURCELL'S THOUGHTS:
"We are just so incredibly proud of our players to hang tough and show such great resiliency down the stretch to enable us to finish the season the way we did. All of our seniors and other leaders have done an exceptional job of keeping morale high for a team that's been through a lot since August, and we're ecstatic to see that it paid off in the end."