HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (2-3-2, 1-2-1 SAC) heads off to play Lincoln Memorial (6-2-1, 4-1 SAC), the no. 5 SAC preseason vote, Wednesday at 1 p.m.

The Eagles dropped a close 3-2 match Saturday evening to the top-ranked team of the 2013 SAC preseason poll and three-time defending conference champion Lenoir-Rhyne.

"Genuinely I think that's one of our best performances this season," Carson-Newman head soccer coach Richard Moodie said. "We worked hard, we fought for each other, we never gave up."

Mikayla Gregg (Newport, Tenn.) scored the first goal for the Eagles in the 28^th minute to make the score 2-1 to L-R. Senior Lizeth Munguia (Wilmington, NC) laid off a ball back to the center of the box for Gregg to hit first time.

Lenoir-Rhyne went up 3-1 thirty minutes into second half. Five minutes later, freshman Gabrielle Gianeselli (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked off a poor clear by the keeper and shot from 30 yards out into the Bears' empty net.

"We went to sleep for ten minutes and they scored twice," Moodie said, "but we kept fighting to get back in the game."

Gregg, Gianeselli and Sidnee Edwards (Knoxville, Tenn.) are tied for most overall points for C-N with seven. Gianeselli and Edwards both have 17 shots on record; nine were on target for Edwards, and eight for Gianeselli. Gregg has released ten shots, six of which were on net.

"Out wide we have Gianeselli," Moodie said. "As a freshman, we are very impressed."

Danna Stringle (Woodstock, Ontario, Canada) has taken the most shots with 23, landed eight on goal and accumulated six points.

On Sept. 28, the Railsplitters lost 3-1 to Lenoir-Rhyne. L-R scored in the first five minutes of the match and was up 3-0 by halftime. In the 62^nd minute of action, Michelle Hunter got her third goal of the season by receiving a long pass from Olivia Thompson and beating the keeper to the left.

Lincoln Memorial is coming off a 3-0 win over Brevard last Saturday. Hunter put up two points for the Railsplitters. Her first goal came in the 31^st minute to open up scoring from a cross by Michelle Allen. Hunter settled the ball and chipped it in over the keeper.

Hunter's second goal, fifth of the season, was an unassisted bullet just inside the 18-yard box in the last minute of the match.

In the 88^th minute, Nicole McKinney put up her fifth goal on the year from a rebounded shot off the crossbar.

The Eagles tied Brevard 2-2 Sept. 28. The match was scoreless at halftime. Eight minutes into the second half, Gianeselli delivered a beautiful corner that Edwards headed in for her third goal of the season.

Within two minutes, Brevard tied it up.

After 66 minutes of action, Gianeselli took another flawless corner kick that landed at Gregg's feet for a one-time volley into the bottom corner of the net.

"Gregg is not naturally a right midfielder," Moodie said, "but she has been very successful for us."

With 18 minutes remaining, the Tornadoes put in another goal to set the final score at twos.

Last season, LMU beat the Eagles 3-1. In the 32^nd minute, C-N received a penalty kick on which Gregg capitalized to take a 1-0 lead.

Seven minutes later, Josefin Hedstrom placed a shot from 30 yards out to make it a tie game.

Rachael Vienneau headed a corner kick over the keeper in the 53^rd minute to take the lead for the Railsplitters. With just under ten minutes in the match, Thompson sent in a shot from the left side of the box that sailed in over the goalie to make it 3-1.

The Railsplitters outshot C-N 17 to 12. Hedstrom led LMU in shots with five taken and two on frame. Maddy Nagy took three shots and landed two on net.

Stringle released three shots, two of which were on goal. Gregg had two shots with one on target.

The C-N goalkeeping team of Kendra Ivins (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Tiarna McKenna (Lisburn, Northern Ireland) made eight saves to Kayla Hanson's three.

Both senior captain McKenna and freshman keeper Katy Hill (Farragut, Tenn.) are currently ranked in the top 15 in the conference for goals against. Hill is second in the SAC with a mere five goals against and 21 saves in 256 minutes played. McKenna has only allowed 12 goals and made 23 saves in 505 minutes of action ranking her 12^th in the conference.

"We have a good platform to build off," Moodie said, "going into a week of conference games."

The game can be followed live at www.cneagles.com/live.