BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Despite a recent rough run of form, the Birmingham-Southern men's soccer team clinched the #5 seed in the SAA Tournament after a 2-1 win over Millsaps on Saturday night. They will take on the #4 seed Sewanee Tigers in the quarterfinals.

After an historic tournament run in 2022, BSC hopes to have that same spark they created at the end of last season where they took home their first SAA Tournament Title in the Division III era. On the other hand, Sewanee will be looking for revenge on the Panthers after last season's 2-1 defeat in the conference semifinals in Memphis. SAA Men's Soccer Tournament Central

2023 Regular Season Match vs. Sewanee
On October 15, The Tigers got the best of the Panthers in the annual regular season conference match up. Payne Gridley and Tyler Cozzie scored a goal each in the first half to give Sewanee a 2-0 lead at the break. Early in the second half, the Tigers earned a penalty kick as BSC received their first red card. They converted the penalty and were a man up for the remainder of the match. BSC then received a second red card and was forced to play with nine men for the remainder of the afternoon. Sewanee saw out the remainder on the match and took home the win on an emotional senior day for 'Southern.

BSC Keys to the Game
1. Be alert early. This season, the Panthers have conceded a goal inside the opening 25 minutes in 10 of 16 matches played this season. In those 10 games, their record is 2-6-2. When BSC does not give up an early goal, they are much more successful at 3-1-2 on the year. Being the high-pressing team they are, Sewanee has found lots of success this season scoring inside of the opening 25 minutes. The Tigers are an impressive 4-0-2 when scoring early. The Panthers back line will have to be on their toes from the first whistle and keep their side in it throughout the opening minutes.

2. Quality not quantity. 'Southern finished the regular season sixth in goals per game but are second in shots in the SAA. Even in this season's match against Sewanee, the Panthers out-shot the Tigers despite losing 3-0. The team is 4-1-1 this season when they score more than one goal in the game, and these games are won through quality chances of higher expected goals than games where they are forcing lots of shots away from goal. The Panthers have proven they can win 1-0 with their season opener vs. LaGrange, but the Panthers are much more successful when getting at least two in. BSC will look to turn to points leaders Alessandro Jr. and Vittorio Vopicelli in the middle of the field to create these quality looks at goal.

3. Lean on experience. The Panthers have reached at least the semifinals in the last three SAA tournaments. Before this past Saturday, the Panthers had gained three points in their last seven contests. The numbers may indicate that they have not been in great form, but BSC will go into the tournament with a fresh 0-0 record. 12 of the 16 minutes leaders on the roster were part of the SAA Tournament Championship team from last season including seven seniors. Elimination matches tend to be tighter with each side not looking to make a mistake, so the Panthers will be looking to build off this experience in their quarterfinal match.

Game Details
Saturday, Oct. 28
#5 Birmingham-Southern vs. #4 Sewanee
Kickoff at 5:00 p.m. CT
Sewanee, Tenn.