JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to rebound from a 3-1 loss to Alabama-Huntsville in their most recent game on Tuesday, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team has a pair of road games on their schedule as they look to get back on track. They will first be traveling to Francis Marion on Saturday to play at 4pm and then they will trek on to USC-Aiken to play the Pacers at 1pm on Monday.
The Eagles loss to UAH was their first in three games this season after opening with consecutive wins over Trevecca Nazarene and Lees-McRae. The one bright spot in their loss was Lauren Wade's (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) third goal in three games. Wade is the first Carson-Newman player to score goals in the first three games of a season since 2009, when Trenna Howell did it. The team will also be looking help from the reigning Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week in Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland). The senior forward received the honor for scoring three goals and adding an assist in C-N's first two games. Meanwhile, Sophomore Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway) sits atop the South Atlantic Conference leaderboard with three assists.
The start to the season for Francis Marion has not been as successful, as they are still searching for their first win after three games. In their first matchup of the season at Pfeiffer, they took the early lead on a goal by Tori Whigham, but lost 4-2 and have been shutout in their last two games. Their most recent showing was a 6-0 loss to Newberry, in which two Newberry players registered a brace. In their last two matches, the Patriots have registered 13 shots, seven which were on goal. Their leader in shots this season is freshman Carli Gauthier who has nine.
Saturday will mark the second meeting between these two programs, with the first coming in 2004. Carson-Newman came away with a 2-0 victory in that contest.
Just over 48 hours after the opening whistle at Francis Marion, the Eagles will be back in action on Monday against USC-Aiken. This game will be the home opener for the Patriots, who have a 2-1 record through three games. They will also have a quick turnaround for this game as they'll be in Hickory, N.C. to play Lenior-Rhyne on Saturday. Through three games, the Pacers have a pair of shutouts to their credit, which is one more clean sheet than they had all of last season. Junior goalkeeper Karin Cadwalader has 12 saves this year, which is the second most in the Peach Belt Conference.
Offensively, the team has been led through the early stages by sophomore Sarah Drury, who is in her first season in Aiken after transferring from Chicago State. She has two goals for a team that didn't have any players with more than three through all of 2015. Those two scores are also tied for the fourth most in the PBC.
Carson-Newman and USC-Aiken have played just once previously, back in 1997, when the Eagles trounced the Pacers 7-0.
