BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Coming off a huge 1-0 win over Millsaps last Saturday night, the #6 seed Birmingham-Southern women's soccer team looks to carry momentum into their SAA Quarterfinal matchup on the road against #3 seed Rhodes.

Rhodes is looking to bring the SAA Tournament Title back to Memphis after winning the championship for the first time in 2021. The Lynx have won the past four meetings by a combined score of 14-2. BSC has a tall task ahead but will be looking to put the past behind them and pull off the upset in the quarterfinals. SAA Women's Soccer Tournament Central

2023 Regular Season Match vs. Rhodes
On September 30, the Panthers traveled to Memphis to take on Rhodes in the second match of the SAA season. Rhodes was coming off a 1-0 conference opening win over Millsaps and a midweek 5-0 victory over MUW. 'Southern entered the match against Rhodes with a 3-1 defeat to Hendrix in their SAA opener and a midweek 3-0 loss to a tough Belhaven side on the road. From the first whistle, Rhodes came ready to play. Godwin opened the flood gates for the Lynx inside the opening seven minutes, and her side would tack on four additional goals before halftime. Rhodes then scored three more in the second half with braces from both #7 Sophia Rall and #9 Grace Culver. Despite the defeat, the Panthers were able to take some great moments of possession and build up to use as building blocks going forward.

BSC Keys to the Game
1. Score the first goal... and early. Obviously, any team would like to score the first goal of a soccer game. That is what you play for. Rhodes also has an excellent back line with nine shutouts this season and only allowing 13 goals in 15 games on the season for second in the SAA. However, BSC is 2-1-1 this season when scoring the first goal including their last match against Millsaps. Of course, it is difficult to play from behind, but the Lynx are 0-3-1 when conceding first this season. The Panthers did not get a look at the net in the regular season matchup in September, but an early goal could shake things up.

2. Lock in on Rall. #7 Sophia Rall has been excellent for the Lynx this season and finished the regular season as top scorer of the conference with 11 goals in just 15 games. Against the Panthers in the regular season, she recorded two goals and one assist in just 44 minutes played. The back line of Lauren Byers, Katie Capron, Natalie Howell, Halle Morton, and goalkeeper Grace Elsevier lead 'Southern in minutes played and hopefully their chemistry together can key in on the Lynx attack.

3. Find Morton out wide. Despite being a right back, senior Halle Morton leads the team in points with six (two goals and two assists). The Panthers haven't had a ton of opportunities at goal but have found success when finding Morton's feet out wide. Seniors Ali Schroeder and Pearce Kross are a very experienced pivot in the middle of the field for BSC and have excellent passing abiliity. They will be looking to take control of the game and find those Morton forward runs. She wasn't able to get up the field in the last match against Rhodes, but this could be something to look out for in the quarterfinals.

Game Details
Saturday, Oct. 28
#6 Birmingham-Southern vs. #3 Rhodes
Kickoff at 3:00 p.m. CT
Rhodes Soccer Field 
Memphis, Tenn.