THOMASVILLE – The Thomas University women's soccer team will face the University of South Carolina-Beaufort Lady Sand Sharks on Oct. 24 in a matchup crucial to postseason tournament seeding.  Both the Lady Night Hawks and Lady Sand Sharks have been in great form recently, as TU has won three out of four matches while USCB has won four out of five.
 
Head coach Julie Orlowski's side recently moved up to fifth place in the Sun Conference with two convincing home victories, as TU outscored opponents Ave Maria and Southeastern 7-2 to open up a four-match homestand.
 
Senior midfielder Mackenzie Dolan has emerged as the Lady Night Hawks' top scoring threat, as two goals against Southeastern ran her season total to nine, five more than any other Thomas player.
 
Adrianna Johnson turned in a solid performance as well against Southeastern, however, as she scored the opening goal in the 13th minute versus the Fire.  The attacking duo of Dolan and Johnson is a formidable one-two punch, as both players have the speed and technical ability to cause problems for opposing defenses.  Both players recorded a goal and an assist against Southeastern.
 
The Lady Sand Sharks have rounded into form recently after a rough non-conference stretch, as the team currently sits in fourth place in the Sun Conference at 5-3, just one game ahead of Thomas.
 
The Lady Sand Sharks have several capable goal scorers but a suspect defense, making for high-scoring matches whenever the team is involved.  Since the start of conference play, USCB has scored 23 goals in eight matches, a strong average of 2.88 goals per match, but the team has conceded 21 goals in that same span.
 
USCB's scoring output comes from two main players, Hayley Pina and Alexandria Radue.  Pina has scored nine goals on 49 shots in 16 games, while Radue has netted eight goals on 48 shots in the same number of matches.
 
The players' combined shot total of 97 accounts for nearly 40-percent of the team's shot total to date.
 
Despite USCB's attacking success, a defense capable of being scored on has cancelled out some of the Lady Sand Sharks' goal-scoring prowess.  The team has surrendered 4+ goals three times in eight matches since the start of conference play on Sept. 24.
 
This match presents Dolan, Johnson, and company the opportunity to not only score several goals, but also to take over possession of fourth place in the conference.  Additionally, a win would even the Lady Night Hawks' overall record at 8-8, which would be an impressive feat considering the difficulty of the team's non-conference schedule.
 
The Lady Night Hawks' four seniors will recognized during Senior Day festivities before the match, an aspect that could provide the team with added motivation.  First touch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
 
For up-to-date information on this game and other TU Athletics, visit http://www.TUNightHawks.com. Stay up-to-date with news, scores, photos, game summaries, play-by play, and feature stories of your TU women's soccer team by following them via Twitter at @NightHawksWSocc.