JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A five-game winning streak is on the line Wednesday when No. 15 Carson-Newman makes a road trip to the Palmetto state to take on South Atlantic Conference antagonist Newberry. Game time for is scheduled for a 3:30 p.m. kick off.
The Eagles (5-2, 3-0) will also look to extend a streak against the Wolves (4-3, 0-3) in which C-N has snatched the last four contests outscoring them 11-3.
Duffy's group matched up with the Wolves twice in 2017, once in the regular season matchup and the latter of the two coming in the first round of the SAC Tournament. Both games were played on the Eagles home lawn at McCown Field in which each game resulted in a 2-0 final.
C-N holds the all-time series lead in encounters with the Wolves which sits at 19-6; however, 12 of those wins have come at home. The Eagles still own the advantage 5-4 when they travel to Smith Road Complex.
With its 7-0 win over Coker on Saturday, C-N is 30-3-2 against conference opponents over the last three regular-season meetings outscoring opponents 114-25. Including SAC Tournament matches, the record improves to 39-3-2 with a mind-blowing difference of 134-27.
After splitting the clean sheet with Jessica Fraiture (Hebron, Ky.) in the win over the Cobras, Eagles goalkeeper Jackie Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland) remains one solo shutout away from being alone at the top of the league in career shutouts. She currently sits in sole possession of the No. 2 spot with a career total 26.4 clean sheets, which is a spot behind Wingate's Alexis Jones who accumulated 26.7 from 2014-17.
"We are up against a very tough Newberry side," coach Simon Duffy said. "They have lost their last few but they are going to want to end that and we need to have the mentality with it being a conference game on the road. It's tough playing on the road in this league, but hopefully, we can create some chances and take advantage. Our players need to realize these are the games we need to step up in."
Newberry comes off a home contest against Lenoir-Rhyne as they got pounded with 25 shots in a 5-1 loss. The Wolves hold the aforementioned 4-3 record in 2018 but have lost all three contests to league teams who include a road match against Catawba by a final of 4-1 and its home meeting against Anderson 1-0.
Newberry was selected to finish ninth in the SAC preseason polls collection collecting 39 points, ahead of Mars Hill at 25 and Coker at 21.
Two Wolves were named preseason All-SAC selections with first-team midfielder Courtney Velazquez, and second-team member Daphne Heyaime at the same position. Heyaime has seven goals for Newberry this season in seven games, after having just four career goals entering the season.
Heyaime has played all 18 games for the Wolves the past two seasons as she came off a 2017 year with four goals and nine assists as a sophomore. Velazquez played in all 18 games as a freshman recording one goal and two assists on the year.
The Wolves are led by coach Deedee Alexander who enters her fifth season at the helm. In four seasons she has an overall record of 29-37-7 reaching the SAC Tournament in each season. Alexander came to Newberry from the University of San Diego, where she helped the Toreros win their first West Coast Conference title and aided USD in a run to the round of 16 in the 2011 Women's College Cup.
Alexander's only win against C-N came in her first season when the Wolves hosted C-N, crushing the Eagles on their own soil 4-0 on Oct. 11, 2014.
The Eagles have climbed to No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches National Top-25 poll after making pit stops at No. 21 and No. 18 over the last two weeks. C-N's lone losses during the 2018 campaign have come to third and fourth-ranked Columbus State and West Florida.
Duffy's assembly also moved up in the Southeast Region rankings as they sit in the No. 2 position behind Columbus State. The top two teams in the region at the end of the year earn the right to host the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
You can follow along on Twitter at @CNAthletics or view the live stream of the match here.
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