It wasn't a case of mistaken identity.
There were, indeed, two TMUs matched up in an NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Opening Round match Friday in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Master's University and Truett McConnell University of Georgia.
What separated the two clubs was the dominant play of the Mustangs, who triumphed 2-0 to move on to play second-seeded Keiser of Florida on Saturday with a trip to the NAIA Final Site on the line.
"Should have scored more," said TMU head coach
Curtis Lewis. "But, we will take our fifth shutout of the year."
TMU's scoring came early in the first and second halves, respectively.
With just 7:45 gone in the match, senior midfielder
Suzanne Mabie took a pass from
Kayla Peterson and beat Bear goalie Hope Foster to the far post from 18 yards out.
It was Mabie's sixth goal of the season and Peterson's first assist of her senior year.
The Mustangs were thwarted on four more shots on goal during the first half, including two by
Kyndel Borman, who would be heard from later.
The dominance wasn't reserved just for the offense.
It showed on defense, too.
At the other end of the field, Mustang goalie
Lacey Lehman was quite lonely as the Bears didn't get off a single shot, much less a shot on goal, over the opening 45 minutes.
That changed in the second half with the Bears getting off five shots, including their only two on goal in the final 12:49 of play that Lehman saved to preserve her 14th career shutout.
That tied Lehman with Amanda Diamond (2009-10) for second place in program history.
Borman, meanwhile, had given the club some much-need insurance very early in the second half when she beat Foster one-on-one in the 52nd minute.
"It was a perfect pass that I got from
Elizabeth Radmilovich," said Borman. "With my first touch I had already beaten their back line and it was one-on-one with their keeper and I just put it on the ground to the left side of the goal."
Borman's goal was her team-leading 13th of the season, and Radmilovich's assist was her club-high sixth.
Lewis said, "It was good to get the second one and try and save some minutes for tomorrow against a very quality opponent."
Keiser will be formidable. Although seeded No. 2 overall in the NAIA national tournament, the Seahawks finished the regular season as the top-ranked NAIA team in the country.
The clubs last met on August 24, 2018, when Keiser won 4-2. For at least a moment Friday, though, the Mustangs could enjoy a well-earned victory.
"We stuck well to our game plan and I was proud of the girls," said Lewis.
