RALEIGH, N.C. — East No. 1 seed Meredith College scored a goal in the 81st minute to edge the East No. 5 seed Averett University women's soccer team 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the USA South Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Meredith Athletic Field. 

Cassie Padilla nailed a shot from five yards out after her squad struggled to find the insides of the posts with ith previous 21 attempts. Averett (10-10) held strong against the Avenging Angels for the majority of the match as Meredith (12-5) attempted 13 shots in the first half alone. The Cougars' defense found a way to keep them from going in the net, sacrificing their bodies to make good blocks and backing up their sophomore goalkeeper Bailee Brown when the ball was out of her reach. Brown finished the match with nine saves to end her second season with 125 total, ranking third in the USA South.

The Cougars took only five shots compared to Meredith's 22, but four of Averett's were on goal and just couldn't manage to sneak past Meredith goalie Jaisa Loch. Despite Averett's loss, the Cougars have shown plenty of improvement throughout the season. From 2015, the Cougars doubled their winning percentage and increased the strikes in their win column by seven.