HARROGATE, Tenn. -- Needing to make up ground in the South Atlantic Conference standings, the Lady Railsplitters (3-3-3, 1-2-2 SAC) welcome arch-rival Carson-Newman (7-2, 4-1 SAC) to the LMU Soccer Complex on Wednesday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. 
 
Fans are invited to bring their dogs out to Wednesday's match for the Bark in the Park promotion, dually sponsored by the LMU Athletic Department and the LMU School of Veterinarian Science. A variety of giveaways and prizes will be available for those furry friends in attendance.
 
Additionally, LMU Residence Life will be hosting a cookout with free food and games from around 1-6 p.m.
 
The Lady Railsplitters will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 loss to the 12th-ranked and undefeated Wingate Bulldogs on Sunday at Union College's Williamson Stadium. For the most part, Lincoln Memorial held its own against one of the nation's last remaining unbeaten teams, but a couple of defensive blunders prevented the Lady Railsplitters from getting a favorable result. A misplayed punt opened the door for the Bulldogs' first goal in the 34th minute, while a failed clearance inside the box helped Wingate file the match away in the 63rd minute.
 
It was Lincoln Memorial's 10th consecutive loss to Wingate since 2008.
 
Despite the loss, the Lady Railsplitters can draw a few positive takeaways from the second half of the Wingate match, when they outshot the Bulldogs 7-6, controlled possession and produced a 3-1 corner kick advantage. Lincoln Memorial nearly knotted the match in the 59th minute, which would have completely altered the match's complexion, but Claire Leasure's (Franklin, Tenn.) blast went a hair right of the goal. In the 82nd minute, LMU almost trimmed the Wingate lead to 2-1, but Kelsey Stafford's (Pompano Beach, Fla.) shot hit the crossbar.
 
Still, moral victories only carry so much weight as the Lady Railsplitters slipped to ninth in the SAC standings with a 1-2-2 league mark following the loss, which leaves them outside of the playoff picture for the moment. Ground can certainly be made up, though, as Lincoln Memorial has six SAC matches remaining on the regular season schedule and four of those contests, including Wednesday's showdown with Carson-Newman, comes against teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
 
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the LMU Soccer Complex. If you can't make it out to the game, live stats and video links will be available at www.LMURailsplitters.com. Updates will also be available at the official LMU Athletics Twitter page (@LMURailsplitter).   
 
Know the Opponent
 
Carson-Newman - 1 p.m. Live Stats | Video
 
The Eagles finished 11th in the South Atlantic Conference a season ago with a 3-14 overall record and a 1-10 league mark, but that disappointing showing is now nothing but a distant memory as Carson-Newman enters Wednesday's match at 7-2 overall and 4-1 in SAC play. The Eagles had won five straight matches until Anderson halted that winning streak with a 2-1 win in Spartanburg on Saturday.
 
The Eagles' resurgent season has been spawned by a rejuvenated offense that ranks among the top 30 in the NCAA Division II in scoring and total goals. After tallying just 18 goals in 17 matches last season, Carson-Newman is 23rd in the nation with 2.67 goals per match and 26th in total goals scored with 24, a number accumulated through a mere nine appearances.
 
Though they've still shown a propensity to relinquish goals, the Eagles' improvement is also undeniable on the defensive end. Carson-Newman served up an average of 2.44 goals per game and 42 total goals last season, but they have allowed only 12 goals and 1.31 per match this season.
 
Freshman midfielder Varin Ness leads the Eagle offense with six goals, one assist, 24 shots and 14 shots on goal, while Julianne Herrity has produced four goals on a team high 33 shot attempts. Camilla Olsson has three goals and two assists, while Gabrielle Gianeselli and Nikki McWilliams have three goals apiece. Holly Talbut-Smith leads the team with four assists.
 
Freshman goalkeeper Jessica Fraiture has started all nine of the Eagles' matches, accumulating a 1.31 goals against average, a .703 save percentage and 26 saves.
 
Carson-Newman claims a 12-7-1 advantage against the Lady Railsplitters all-time, but Lincoln Memorial has won two of the last three meetings, including a 4-3 double overtime thriller in 2014 that was paced by a Fernanda Miaci hat trick. However, the Lady Railsplitters have not defeated the Eagles in Harrogate since the 1999 season, losing five straight home matches since that time. Four of the last six meetings between the two programs have gone to overtime.