HARROGATE, Tenn. – With the toughest portion of the South Atlantic Conference schedule in the rearview mirror, the Lady Railsplitters (5-6, 0-5 SAC) will try to work their way back into the postseason discussion with a league tilt against the Newberry Wolves (2-8, 1-5 SAC) on Saturday at the LMU Soccer Complex.
Lincoln Memorial was sent to 0-5 in SAC play with a hard-to-swallow 5-2 loss at No. 9 Carson-Newman on Wednesday evening, while Newberry comes to town trying to snap a five-game losing streak.
The Basics
Saturday, October 7 vs. Newberry – 1pm
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Quick Hits
- The Lady Railsplitters were going toe-to-toe with the nation's No. 9 ranked team on Wednesday, as Lincoln Memorial and Carson-Newman were all knotted up at 1-1 at the half. However,
Melissa Carpenter, who scored LMU's first goal, was sent off the pitch with a red card in the 48th minute, and the Eagles opened the floodgates with that man-up advantage and tallied four second-half goals.
- The Lady Railsplitters continued to fight after going down 3-1, as an incredible individual effort helped
Courtney Boyd net her second goal of the season in the 71st minute to make it a 3-2 match. The Eagles later added insurance goals in the 72nd and 87th minutes to put the match out of reach.
- The first five SAC opponents of the season for the Lady Railsplitters – Wingate, Carson-Newman, Tusculum, Queens and Lenoir-Rhyne - are currently a combined 35-9-3 this season. Amongst those opponents, Lincoln Memorial suffered two 1-0 losses (Lenoir-Rhyne and Tusculum). The SAC schedule eases up substantially now, as LMU's final five league opponents are 13-30-3 so far this season.
- Balance is the name of the game for the Lady Railsplitters offensively. Eight different players have scored at least one goal, while 10 have put up at least one assist.
Isa Jara and
Patricia Roach lead the team with two assists apiece.
Melissa Carpenter and
Caroline Souza are tied for the team lead with three goals apiece.
- Junior goalkeeper
Brooke Taylor will look to rediscover her early-season form when she allowed one goal or less in each of the team's first five matches. Since then, Taylor has conceded three goals or more three times. The White Pine, Tenn. native has a 1.64 goals against average and .739 cumulative save percentage, but Taylor is allowing 2.8 goals per game in SAC play with a .576 save percentage.
- A win on Saturday would double the Lady Railsplitters' win total from the entire 2016 campaign. In addition to that, Lincoln Memorial has already eclipsed its goal total from last season, racking up 16 so far compared to 12 in 2016.
Know the Opponent
- The Wolves will be hungry for a win as Newberry invades the LMU Soccer Complex looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The Wolves have lost their last four matches by single goal, falling 1-0 in overtime at Anderson, 2-1 to Tusculum, 1-0 in overtime against Wingate and 2-1 to Catawba. Newberry also had a 1-0 loss to Lynn and a 2-1 setback to Lander.
- Scoring has been the main issue for Newberry, who has been shut out in five of 10 matches this season. The Wolves are ranked eighth in the SAC in scoring average (0.70), 10th in shooting percentage (.044) and last in shots on goal percentage (.444). Newberry does, however, launch the fourth-most shots per game in the league with 16.
- Senior Alyssa Ortega is the Newberry offense. The forward has accounted for 12 of the team's 16 points with six goals. She also leads the SAC with 58 shots while ranking second in shots on goal with 29. Freshman Deisi Hernandez is the only other Newberry player with a goal, while Sydney Dempsey and Morgan Powers have one assist apiece.
- Freshman Jayleen Gant and sophomore Korina Martinez have traded the starting goalkeeper spot throughout the season, but Gant has played the bulk of the minutes in recent weeks. The 5-7 Poway, Calif. native has a 1.42 goals against average and a stingy .825 save percentage.
- Saturday marks just the fourth road match of the season for the Wolves. Newberry is 1-2 on the road, which includes a 2-0 win at Coker, a 2-0 loss at Carson-Newman and a 1-0 overtime loss at Anderson.
Head-to-Head
Lincoln Memorial and Newberry are deadlocked at 6-6-2 in the all-time series. The Lady Railsplitters are just 2-4 against the Wolves in Harrogate, though, including a 2-1 loss during the 2015 campaign. Last season, the two teams had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
Palisa Chipendo gave LMU the lead in the 68th minute, but the Wolves scored the equalizer in the 81st minute to force overtime. LMU is trying for its first home win over Newberry since 2013.
