Atlanta, GA -- During one of the program's most successful seasons, the 2011 Piedmont College women's soccer team had several key moments on the way to 17 wins, a Great South Athletic Conference championship, and a berth in the NCAA National Tournament.  Head Coach Stephen Andrew remembers one of those moments very specifically and recounts how it showed the growth of his Lady Lion soccer program over the last four years.

"Midway through Septemeber, we traveled to Raleigh to face off with Meredith College in a Friday night game under the lights at their place," recalled Andrew of his team's early season showdown with the Avenging Angels. "After we gave away a goal in the opening moments, we came back quickly to level the score before playing through two overtime periods to a 1-1 draw."

That 1-1 tie with Meredith was the only result other than a win in the Lady Lions' first 13 games of the season, but Andrew looks at that Friday night in North Carolina as the moment he knew what his team was capable of if they stayed calm and absorbed pressure.

"Though we had our chances to win it in extra time, I was pleased with getting a result on the road against a well-coached team, but our girls were disappointed because they felt they could have won," said Andrew.  "In the past, if we had given up an early goal to a good team like that, we may have let down the rest of the way, but our girls responded well and handled the pressure."

And the Lady Lions have continued to do so throughout the 2011 season including a pair of comeback victories in the conference tournament.  Twice in the GSAC semifinal against rival Salem College, Piedmont trailed by two goals but came back to draw level before scoring the game winning goal in a dominant second half performance.  

The following day at the championship tournament, Andrew's team would again have to overcome a deficit in the final to have a chance at claiming the program's first GSAC crown since 2001.  The Lady Lions did just that with a pair of second half scores against tourney host LaGrange College to win 3-2 earning the league championship and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Piedmont will have to channel that same ability to absorb pressure as they face #5 Emory University in the first round of the National Tournament, a team that has yet to lose a game in 2011 under Head Coach Sue Patberg.  The Eagles won the University Athletic Association title with a 6-0-1 regular season record and will host Saturday night's matchup with PC in perhaps the toughest test for Coach Andrew since taking over the Lady Lion soccer program in 2008.

"Emory is a fantastic program, well-coached and dangerous going forward," stated Andrew of his team's test this weekend. "This is going to be a great test for us as a program, but it's also a great opportunity to face a nationally ranked, top five team on their own field in the highest level of competition in Division III, the National Tournament."

Indeed this will be one of if not the most anticipated game for Andrew as the Head Coach at PC.  Saturday's contest will be the first match against a nationally ranked opponent for Piedmont under their current head coach who owns a 57-19-1 overall record as the leader of the green and gold.

Scoring more than three goals per game on average, Piedmont brings the 18th ranked offensive attack in Division III into this weekend's contest with Emory who ranks fourth in goals against average as a team in 2011.  Something will have to give in this battle of potent offense and stingy defense though Andrew hopes his team can continue to create scoring opportunities.

"We had a lot of success going forward during the conference tournament, and we hope to keep it going this weekend.  The girls have been training well the past few days, I think they're prepared for the challenge of playing a great team Saturday night."

Piedmont's November 12th match against fifth ranked Emory University is set for a 5:00 pm kickoff and fans can follow the action live online with live stats coverage or a video webcast.