THOMASVILLE,GA – The Thomas University Women's Soccer team will embark on a new quest as they begin the hunt for their first SSAC Championship tournament title on Friday afternoon, as they host Dalton State College for the Southern States Athletic Conference Quarterfinal round.
Friday's matchup will mark the 10th time the Green and White will compete in a conference tournament under the helm of Head Coach Julie Orlowski.
Orlowksi stated that although the accolade holds value, she believes that all credit must go to the players that have made their mark within the program. "Being able to sustain success year after year really is credited to the players that have come through our program" said Julie Orlowski. "This year is a perfect example." " We have had to overcome some adversity this year and our team's mentality has been whatever the team needs." " The players have stepped up on every occasion."
Thomas enters the quarterfinal round with high hopes of a successful first round. The Green and White boasted a total of seven shutouts on the season with one of those coming from Dalton State on September 28th for a solid 4-0 win.
The Night Hawks will have a hefty advantage over Dalton State College, having outshot the RoadRunners 23-4 with 16 of those being on goal in their last match up earlier in the season.
Additionally, Orlowksi knows that the leadership throughout the season has positively impacted the team's overall success up to this point. "We went from being an "old team" to being a young team very quickly." stated Julie. "I can't give enough credit to our leaders, Brittney Rankins, Jade Slaybaugh and Mariah Mckinney." "They have been exceptional players and even better people!"
Offensively, the Night Hawks have been led by Freshman Kaitlyn Herb who currently leads the team in goals (18) and sits second in the category within the conference. The Port Orange, Fla native also sits fourth in the conference for points (45) and fourth in shots taken (69). Junior Sasha Manders also sits behind Herb in shots taken (65).
The action packed matchup against the Night Hawks and Roadrunners will kickoff on Friday at 12pm EST at the TU Soccer Complex.
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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.
