October 16, 2015

Championship ramifications on the line as Eagles host No. 9 Bulldogs

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in three weeks, the Carson-Newman women’s soccer team (10-2, 6-1 SAC) will return to McCown Field and host a match between the South Atlantic Conference’s top-two teams as the No. 9 Wingate Bulldogs (11-0, 6-0 SAC) come to Mossy Creek that could determine the conference regular season title.

Wingate

11-1 (7-1 SAC)

Carson-Newman

11-2 (7-1 SAC)

Final	1	2	T
Wingate (11-1 (7-1 SAC))	0	0	0
Carson-Newman (11-2 (7-1 SAC))	0	1	1

Richard Moodie Interview

Game Notes

Video Link

Live Stats

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in three weeks, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team (10-2, 6-1 SAC) will return to McCown Field and host a match between the South Atlantic Conference's top-two teams as the No. 9 Wingate Bulldogs (11-0, 6-0 SAC) come to Mossy Creek that could determine the conference regular season title.

Wingate leads Carson-Newman by three points in the SAC and a win for either team could swing the title race in the winner's favor.

Each team is coming off a road nonconference double-overtime victory on Wednesday as the Eagles knocked off the Young Harris Mountain Lions 2-1 and the Bulldogs beat North Carolina – Pembroke 1-0. The lone loss for either team in conference play was Carson-Newman's 2-1 loss to Anderson (S.C.) in a torrential downpour.

Carson-Newman is looking for its first multi-win season over ranked foes since 2009 when the Eagles beat the Indians and #22 Lynn.

"We've still got a long way to go. I think we have to win on Saturday to go on to be a contender for conference, but I don't think that's what it's about for us. We were a team that was picked to finish ninth in the conference. Moving forward, the game itself is an opportunity for us to see how good we are this year," coach Richard Moodie said. "Tactically, we've got to get it right. I think we've got to get our team motivated. This is about proving a point to see how good we actually are as a team and what all we need to work on and how to build on it."

The Bulldogs enter the contest with an offense that is ranked 30th in Division II as they average 2.45 goals a game. Kimmi Moore leads the team with five goals, while seven other players have scored multiple goals on the year. Kaitlyn Brunworth and Victoria Fichman lead Wingate with three assists each.

Wingate's defense has the 10th-lowest goals against average as the Bulldogs concede just 0.44 goals against average. Goalkeeper Alexis Jones has the third-lowest goals against average for an individual with 0.29 goals against in 10 appearances; Jones has the 11th-best save percentage at 88.9 percent and she has started in all seven shutouts for Wingate.

Carson-Newman's offense ranks 21^st in the nation with 33 goals scored scored and 17^th in Division II with 25 assists. Freshman Heida Ragney (Akureyri, Iceland) leads the conference with seven assists, which ranks eighth in the nation.

The Eagles' 2.82 goals per game average is the most for the program since 2007 when C-N averaged 2.67 goals in 21 contests.

"We've had some great results; the girls are sitting at 10-2. On Saturday, we've got a team coming here that is one of the few teams in the country that hasn't loss. They have only conceded three goals this year (in conference). For me personally as a coach, these are the games I love to play against," Moodie said. "Superb team. Well coached. These are the best games for us as a coaching staff."

Carson-Newman owns the series record 20-5-2 over Wingate, but the Bulldogs have taken each of the last four contests; Wingate has shutout the Eagles in three of the four games. C-N's last win came on the road in the Tar Heel State 2-1 in 2010.

The contest kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday on the Eagle Sports Network with a recap following the contest.

-CN-