Siloam Springs, AR- The UC Women's Soccer team advances to the NAIA National Tournament Final Site for the second straight year after beating top-seeded John Brown University 2-0 in the championship match of the Siloam Springs bracket. This marks only the second time in program history that Cumberlands has advanced to the final site to compete with nine other teams for a chance at a National Title.

Jillian Zurborg and Laura Navajas Marin both tallied goals in the match to help lift the Patriots past the Golden Eagles.

In a very physical match between two aggressive teams, UC looked to control a lot of the possession during the first half. Selena Barnett used her speed multiple times to slip past the Golden Eagles backline but was never able to get the ball past the John Brown goalie. Cumberlands looked to get on the scoreboard first just 16 minutes into the match. Alanna Skinner sent a free kick up the field and Jayden Boelter headed the ball forward to a wide open Zurborg. Zurborg used two touches and fired a shot at the goal but the Golden Eagles goalie made a great save to keep the scored tied at zero.

In the 17^th minute of the match, the Patriots had another great opportunity to take an early lead. Rylee Hardley sent a corner kick in from the left side of the field. Irene Medina was able to get a touch on the ball and send it towards the goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and John Brown was able to clear the ball away from the Cumberlands offensive half.

In the 33^rd minute of the match, the Patriots found the back of the net to show for their aggressive offense. Barnett, once again, slipped past the John Brown defense and was one on one with the goalie. Barnett fired a strong shot at the goal, but the Golden Eagles goalie was able to deflect the shot. Zurborg followed the deflection and tapped the ball into the net to give UC a 1-0 lead late in the first half.

During the second half, John Brown controlled most of the possession but the UC backline played excellent defense and limited the Golden Eagles offense to only five shots in the second half, one of which was on frame. Cumberlands had several opportunities to extend their lead early in the second half but was never able to advance the ball far enough up the field to find a shot.

In the 78^th minute of the match, the Patriots finally found their opportunity to push the ball up field. Navajas received a throw in and dribbled the ball in the middle of the field. She passed the ball off to Alba Lorca who passed the ball right back to Navajas in the 18-yard box. Navajas fired a shot right past the diving John Brown goalie to extend the UC lead to two goals.

Cumberlands outshot #6 John Brown Golden Eagles 12-10, while John Brown had the edge in corner kicks 7-3.

The defensive efforts from Hardley, Skinner, Irene Medina, Daniela Aguirre Garcia, and Rita Aguye Cots limited a great John Brown offense who was averaging three goals a match to zero goals. Laura Vogt played excellent in the goal for the second straight match tallying four saves to secure her tenth shutout of the season.

The Patriots will await to figure out their schedule and seeding for the NAIA National Tournament Final Site once all the Opening Round matches have been played. The NAIA National Tournament Final Site will take place in Orange Beach, Alabama from November 30- December 4. For more information about the NAIA National Tournament click here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics, please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter - @UC_Patriots, Instagram - @UCPatriots, YouTube – Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.