MITCHELL'S LATE STRIKE LIFTS HIGHLANDERS OVER CAMELS IN BIG SOUTH QUARTERFINAL

BOX SCORE

RADFORD, Va. – Freshman Asyia Mitchell scored in the 80^th minute and junior Che' Brown made a critical save with three minutes remaining as Radford edged Campbell, 1-0, in a Big South Tournament quarterfinal on a chilly Saturday evening from Cupp Memorial Stadium.

The Highlanders (12-2-4) advance to the semifinals and will take on third-seeded Longwood, a 2-1 shootout winner over Liberty, on Friday at 7:00 p.m. from Eagle Field at Winthrop University.

“It was a great victory,” head coach Ben Sohrabi said. “The maturity and experience showed tonight in that it was the best we've played in a while.”

Following a flurry of offensive chances, Mitchell took a slip from sophomore Kara Nay and curled a left footed shot into the far corner of the net for the game-winner and third goal of the season. That flurry included a kick save by Camel defender Jeannie Borda on a low rocket shot by senior Mary Wiley when the keeper was out of position five minutes earlier.

“It was the most exciting thing in my life,” said Mitchell. “Kara played me a really good ball and I knew I had to finish it. I wanted to give it my all and prove that I could do it.”

Campbell (10-8-1) had its best chance of the night when Camel leading scorer Ashley Clark had a wide-open blast from 15 yards, but Brown's fifth and final save was a beauty, parrying the ball one-handed over the crossbar and away from danger.

Her counterpart on the other end of the field was the reason why the Camels where within striking distance the whole match. CU keeper Alexis Connors made 10 saves, six in the second half.

It was Brown's 11^th shutout of the season and the 12th overall for the Highlanders, who extended their undefeated streak to 15 matches. The clean sheet marks tie for the best totals in program history. For Brown, she matches a record that was set by Nyiesha Ford in 1997.

The teams went into the break scoreless with the Highlanders holding an 11-5 advantage in shots. Connors made four saves, while Brown stopped three shots.

“I want to give Campbell a lot of credit,” commented Sohrabi. “They came ready and prepared and are a tough team to beat.”

NOTES: The Highlanders have allowed just one goal over the last eight matches (780 minutes) after their fourth straight shutout tonight... Radford finishes undefeated at Cupp Stadium for the first time in program history (8-0-2)... First undefeated home season since 1997 (8-0-1).

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