ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – Spring Arbor University is moving on to the NAIA Women's Soccer National Championship Quarterfinals after defeating No. 16 Cumberland University (Tenn.) 4-0 on Monday. Sophomore Bethany Balcer led the way for the No. 1 ranked Cougars with two goals while Kaley Buck and Brooke Beaune also scored.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: #1 Spring Arbor 4, #16 Cumberland 0

LOCATION: Orange Beach Sportsplex | Orange Beach, Ala.

RECORDS: Spring Arbor 20-0-1, Cumberland 13-5-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Spring Arbor and Cumberland was the first matchup at the final site in Orange Beach, Alabama.
• The defending national champions were looking to set the tone early creating a scoring chance less than a minute into the contest, however, Balcer's shot rattled off the crossbar.
• The Cougars continued to test the Cumberland goalkeeper and were finally able to breakthrough for the match's first goal in the 13th minute. A corner kick from Sarah Klunder found an unmarked Balcer, who's header beat the diving netminder.to give SAU an early 1-0 advantage.
• Cumberland would settle in after conceding the early goal and hold Spring Arbor scoreless the rest of the half. The Phoenix would create a couple dangerous opportunities themselves, but some stout defensive play by the Cougars' backline and goalkeeper Ashley Timmons kept CU off the scoreboard.
• In the second half, SAU wasted little time adding to its lead as Balcer would strike again less than two minutes into the period. Corrie Good sent a cross into the box and Balcer tapped it in to the open goal.
• Kaley Buck and Brooke Beaune would also find the back of the net in the second half. A loose ball in the box found the feet of Buck and she ripped a shot to the far post in the 66th minute. Then, in the 89th minute, Kendra Spencer slotted a pass through to Beaune, who chipped the keeper.
• Spring Arbor outshot Cumberland 19-9 on the afternoon, while the Phoenix held a slim 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
• Timmons finished the match with three saves to register her 11th shutout of the campaign.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE

• The win over Cumberland extends Spring Arbor's unbeaten streak to 40 matches – the third longest streak in NAIA history.
• The victory was also the seventh straight national tournament win for SAU dating back to last season. The Cougars are now 10-5-2 all-time in the national tournament.
• With her two goals today, Balcer has scored 29 this season, which is one shy of her program-record 30 goals that she scored last year.
• The Cougars are tied for second in the country in shutouts this season with 17.

FOR THE PHOENIX

• Olivia Chu recorded three of Cumberland's nine shot attempts while Mariah Aplin finished with two.
• Goalkeeper Ashley Kambeitz made three saves for the Phoenix.

QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH JASON CRIST

• "We were really excited to play, but experienced an adrenaline crash about 15 minutes into the match. Fortunately, Bethany scored an outstanding goal on a great service from Sarah Klunder early in the game, which gave us a chance to get our legs underneath us."
• "We played a much better second half going into a stiff wind. Rachel DeLancey was excellent in the back four today. Kaley Buck was strong off the bench for us up top and scored a very clever goal as well. Bethany continues to re-write the SAU record books and has found her form late this season."
• "We will have to continue to improve if we hope to continue to advance. At this point, every day with the group is a gift and a blessing. I am very proud of who they are, what they stand for and how they represent our program, SAU and the Kingdom."

UP NEXT

Spring Arbor will take on No. 7 Vanguard University (Calif.) (18-3-0) in the tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 12 p.m. EST.

Women's Soccer Contact: Chris Bauman | 517-750-6504 | christopher.bauman@arbor.edu
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