TFC: Sports in Review
By Sports Information Director – Ken Sanders
Men’s Soccer
Road Trip a Success Eagles Defeat Johnson Bible, Piedmont Baptist and Crown College. The Eagles traveled to Johnson Bible College and evened their season record to 1 – 1 after handing JBC a 5 – 3 loss. The teams played even at the early stages of the game, but the Eagles took the lead with 33 minutes to go in the half on a David Eckman shot on goal. The senior captain raced with the goal keeper and was able to put the ball on the far post for the first score of the game and season.
Midfielder, Jeremy Bill would bring the score to 2 – 0 at the 18-minute mark with a kick outside the box that found the corner of the goal. However, Johnson would pull within one shortly after Bill’s score with a defensive turnover by the Eagles and quick score by Johnson. Then the Eagles came back with less than 3 minutes in the half as Sophomore David Brown served a perfect cross into the box, which Bill headed home for his second goal. Johnson would not go away and came right back on a corner kick just before the buzzer to make the halftime score 3 – 2.
In the second half Johnson scored first to tie the game at 3 – 3. The score came on a miscue by the Eagle defense and all of a sudden TFC was in a tie with JBC. The Eagles had an answer as senior winger, Sam Hamilton scored a goal on a lose ball in front of the net. This would be the game winner, but not the last score. The “hat trick”, (three goals by a player in a game) was completed by Bill as late in the second half he scored on a hard shot some 20 yards out in front of goal to make give TFC a 5 – 3 advantage. The Eagles then held Johnson scoreless to claim their first win of an early season.
The Eagles were glad to see David Brown and Josh Palmer return to the lineup as they missed the first game against North Greenville due to injuries. They played well and helped keep the pressure on Johnson.
The Eagles next game was against region revival, Piedmont Baptist. The TFC dominated PBC and came away with a 7 – 0 win. The game for Toccoa began slowly as the first three shots on goal hit the cross bar and it wasn’t until the 30 minute mark when David Eckman scored the first of seven goals for TFC. Two more goals would come from David Brown, a sophomore from Knightdale, NC game will be played in Winston-Salem, NC. Brown had not been able to play much in the first two games due to an injury, and it was good to have him back in full swing. He had a “hat trick” for the Eagles as he would go on to score his third goal in the second half.
The halftime score against Piedmont Baptist was 3 – 0 and the second half would prove to be much like the first. The Eagles would continue its dominance and score 4 more times. In the second half Brown would get his third, Tyler Timberlake, a freshman from Dakar, Senegal would score his first collegiate goal and Joseph Vinson, a senior from Dallas, TX would get his first as well. The final goal would come from Eckman as he collected his second of the game. Coach Mattison was pleased with the midfield play of Jeremy Bill and Peter Yang as they controlled the field and kept Piedmont from any offensive threat. Travis Julian had the shutout as goal keeper.
The third game on this road trip was against a new opponent for the Eagles, Crown College of Nashville, TN. It proved to be a close encounter as Crown took the Eagles into overtime, only to lose in the first period as TFC scored on a header by David Eckman. The game ended up with the Eagles collecting their 3rd win of the season, 6 – 5.
As was the case against Piedmont Baptist, the Eagles started out slow, and were not able to score until after 15 minutes of the start of the game. Toccoa Falls had two to one shots on goal advantage in this game, but Crown would prove to be a worthy opponent as they took advantage of their shots and stayed close to the Eagles. The halftime score would be 3 – 3, with scoring from the Eagles coming from Eckman, Jeremy Bill and Sam Hamilton.
In the second half the Eagles took a 5 – 3 lead with scores from Jeremy Bill and Tyler Timberlake. However, Crown would not go away and continue scoring on the defensive mistakes of the Eagles. TFC would seemingly work for their scores, and Crown on what at times seemed to be stopped from scoring would push through and in the end bring about a 5 – 5 score at the buzzer.
In the overtime period the final score was the header by Eckman on what Coach Mattison said was from an outstanding assist by Timberlake. The score came within the first three minutes of overtime. Mattison also had praise for the play of Chris Schramm, which he felt was his best game so far this season.
Lady Eagles Soccer
Lady Eagles Soccer have two wins, Johnson Bible (8 – 0) and LaGrange College (4 – 1) The first game of the season against USC Salkchatchie was rained out, but that would not dampen the play of the Eagles against rival Johnson Bible College. TFC was the visitors, but certainly were not kind to their host as they outscored JBC 8 – 0. The Eagles had a good start to their season as they controlled the game throughout. TFC would score 8 goals on 35 shots on goal, while holding Johnson to only one shot on goal and 0 goals.
Five of the Eagles would score, as Jessica Khoury led the team with 3 goals, Anna Bailey scored 2 and Meghan Pasquariello, Danae Martin and Abbie Eckman had one each. Anna Long had two assists and Ashley Ziegler, Becca Weatherstone and Eckman had one assist apiece.
Lady Eagles Defeat LaGrange College4 – 1
The second game of the season saw the Lady Eagles defeated LaGrange College 4 – 1 on excellent passing, pressure defense and a strong offensive attack. TFC again dominate their opponent on the offensive side of the field as they had 22 shots on goal and were able to keep LaGrange to just 6.
Jess Khoury led the Eagle attack with three goals. In just two games of the season, Khoury has scored 6 times for the Eagles. In the first half the score was TFC 2 and LaGrange 0, with Khoury and Anna Bailey doing the scoring. In the second half the Eagles continued their control of the ball, which allowed Khoury two more scoring opportunities. The Eagles were able to control the offensive end of the field due the good passing of Danae Martin, Anna Long, Breanna Schultz and Abbie Eckman.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by Meghan Pasquariello, Ashley Ziegler and goal keeper Jennifer Doll. The pressure play of the team was evident throughout the game as the visitors were unable to mount any attack until late in the second half. Coach Howell was able to give every player a chance to play, which will be valuable for future games.
The next home game will be Friday, September 11th at 7:00. The Eagles will be against last years’ region winner, Southeastern University of Lakeland, Florida.
Volleyball
The Lady Eagles lose opener to Piedmont College 1 – 3
The Eagles played a tough Piedmont College squad and even though they came away with a 1 – 3 loss, they certainly held their own against the visiting Lions of Piedmont. In the first game the Eagles took an early lead and kept the pressure on the Lions most of the game. t was not until the scored reached 19 when the Eagles lost the lead and PC took a 20 – 19 advantage. Piedmont would not relinquish that lead and finished the game with a 25 – 22 win.
In the second game the Eagles again took the early lead with some great play from Caroline Johnson, Allison Gibson, Rebekah Wilson and Bethany Slate. Yet the Lions would not be denied and came right back to take the advantage late in the game, 19 – 18. However, the Eagles continued to play solid on defense and with some important kills from the Slate and good serving from Slate and Mary Willis the Eagles came away with a 25 – 22 win. Wilson is from Weaverville, NC, Willis is from Pickens, SC and Slate is a Toccoa native. These three girls are freshmen and will be an important part of the Eagle success.
The win seemed to put new life in the Lions as they stormed right back in game 3 to take the lead and keep it through out the contest. The Piedmont team seemed to be trying to make a statement and were somewhat successful as they put the Eagles away early with a 25 – 10 win. However, the Eagles were not at all ready to give in to the visitors as in game 4 they returned to their aggressive play and would not go away. The Lions took the lead and built a six point advantage at 16 – 10. The Eagles on the play of Wilson, Slate, Gibson and Sophomore Caroline Johnson, brought TFC to within one point. With the score at 23 – 22 and Piedmont ahead the Eagles had the chance to tie the game, but an unforced error gave the Lions the point and with the next serve the win, 25 – 22.
In the stat department Slate led the team with 9 kills; Gibson and Johnson both had 7; and Wilson ended up with 6. Slate also led the team with 32 digs and 4 aces for the match; Johnson had 20 digs; and Willis ended up with 19 digs along with 25 set assists.
The Eagles defeat Southern Methodist 3 – 0
The volleyball team came back from the loss to Piedmont College and swept Southern Methodist in 3 games. In the first game the Eagles jumped out to an early lead and were able to maintain their advantage until the 17 point mark, when SM tied the score. However, the Eagles went on the attack and scored the next 5 points to take the lead. They were not to be denied as they took the first game 25 – 21.
In the next game Toccoa again had the early advantage with a 14 – 9 lead. Later in the game miscues by Southern and three straight kills by Bethany Slate put it out of reach with TFC winning 25 – 16.
The third game was much like the two previous as the strength of TFC was seen early, with Toccoa taking 15 – 5 lead. That lead would continue throughout the game as Southern would get no closer than 17 – 11. The Eagles would go on to outscore SM 8 to 4 and secure the win 25 – 14 and the match.
The stats for the match against Southern Methodist: Slate had 12 kills, 5 blocks, and 18 digs; Allison Gibson had 8 kills and 6 blocks; Rebekah Wilson had 6 kills, 20 set assists and 3 blocks; Caroline Johnson had 5 kills, 2 blocks and 13 digs; Kaylyn Roedding had 14 digs; Hannah Dority had 3 blocks and 2 digs; and Tori Brand had 6 digs and 9 for 9 in serving.
The Eagles are 1 – 1 for the season and will play Piedmont Baptist and Washington Bible in a tournament at Winston-Salem, NC. Next home matches will be the North-South Shootout, with TFC hosting all the region schools. The shootout will be September 11th and 12th at the Delany Gymnasium.
Eagle Netters Take 4 matches at Piedmont Baptist Tourney
The volleyball team travelled to Winston-Salem for a tournament at Piedmont Baptist, and came away with 4 big wins. Defeating Washington Bible College 25 – 7, 25 – 10 and 25 – 11; Piedmont Baptist College 21 – 25, 25 – 21, 25 – 16, and 15 – 8; Vance Granville Community College 25 – 10, 27 – 7, and 25 – 9; and Catawba Valley Community College 25 – 22, 25 – 16, 23 – 25, 20 – 25, and 15 – 8.
Against Washington Bible Bethany Slate led the team with 11 kills; Mary Willis had 28 set assists; Slate had 23 digs; Caroline Johnson and Kaylyn Roedding had 15 digs each. The match went 3 – 0 games.
Piedmont Baptist stats showed Slate with 18 kills and Allison Gibson and Johnson with 12 each. Mary Willis again led the team in set assists with 46. Slate had 32 digs and Roedding followed her with 21digs. The match stayed close throughout, but in the end the Eagles to PBC 3 – 2 games. The match against Vance Granville was easier with the Eagles taking them in 3 games. The stats for the match showed Gibson and Slate with 10 kills each; Willis with 28 set assists and Slate with 14 digs.
The Catawba Valley match was much like the match against Piedmont as the Eagles went to 5 games, and won the match with a 3 – 2 game lead. Slate had the high number of kills with 15 and close behind her were Johnson and Gibson with 12. Willis leading the team this season in set assist had 42 for the match. Leading the team this season in digs for is Slate who had the high total for the match with 34. Close behind her were Roedding with 20 and Johnson with 19. The team’s record is 5 – 1, winning the last 5 matches in a row.
Cross – Country Teams
Eagle’s open season at the Eye Opener in Spartanburg, SC
Coach Garside is certainly pleased with the times from his men’s squad as they ran in their first meet of the season. The TFC team had to go up against 13 Division 2 NCAA colleges and out of the 13 TFC came in 9th place, a head of Carson Newman, Belmont Abbey, Piedmont College and Newberry.
Drew Cheney ran the 8-K (5 miles) in 28:46 (5:48 average); Elliott Strouse in 30:27 (6:08); Ben Pegott in 31:29 (6:20); Jeremiah McDuffie in 31:37 (6:22); Ian Craven in 32:16 (6:30); and Jason Hotalen in 35:57 (7:14). Cheney ran the best time TFC has ever run in this race and Strouse set a PR by more than 2 minutes from his time last year. In the top five for TFC, only Strouse is an upperclassman, the rest are freshmen. This certainly bodes well for the future of cross-country men at TFC.
The women did not fare as well as the men. At this point in the season the team is still not complete as the Eagles only had three to participate in the Eye Opener. Coach Garside lost two runners due to injury and one to illness. Those who ran for TFC were Sarah Sharpe, Anna Hunter and Stephanie Abbott. Sharpe had the best time for the 5K (3.1 miles) at 25:00 (8:03 average). The next meet will be held at Johnson Bible College in Knoxville, TN.
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