JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's soccer team (6-1) is set for a non-conference match as the Eagles travel to Boone, N.C. and face the Lees-McRae Bobcats (2-4) at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex on the campus of Appalachian State University for a 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
The match was originally slated for a 5 p.m. kickoff at Lees-McRae's Tate Field but due to rains overnight on Monday and into Tuesday, field conditions forced the match to be moved to Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex, which has a turf field.
Carson-Newman is ranked sixth in the Southeast region according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in the rankings that was released Tuesday.
The match between the Eagles and Bobcats is a rematch from the women's soccer program's inaugural game in 1991 that was won by Lees-McRae 4-0.
This season, the Eagles are 2-1 out of South Atlantic Conference with wins over Trevecca Nazarene and Alabama-Huntsville and the lone loss of the season against Ohio Dominican.
Lees-McRae enters the contest on a two-game losing streak after losses on the road at Limestone and Pfeiffer by a combined score of 7-1. The Bobcats' two wins have come on the road at Mars Hill and at home in Banner Elk against Southern Wesleyan. Lees-McRae is coached by Kiko Magana who is his first year as the Bobcats' head man. Magana coached at Bellevue College before coming to Banner Elk from 2012-15. Magana played for Lees-McRae on the men's team from 2005-2008 and was a member of the Bobcats' 2007 Elite 8 team.
Senior Sarah Mahar is the leading Bobcat scorer with two goals and an assist. Mahar has 17 shots on the year, which leads the team. Erin Barcal, Maggie Overholt, Kelsey Twigg and Cheyenne Warrick have also tallied scores. The Bobcats average just 0.9 goals per game.
Freshman Alexis Feely is the first-team goalkeeper for Lees-McRae who has made six starts on the year. Feely averages two goals against and has a save percentage of .765. The freshman has 39 saves on the year and has allowed 12 goals.
Carson-Newman enters the contest averaging 22.4 shots per game compared to the Bobcats' 12.9 shot average. C-N has outshot every opponent in 2015 and by a double-digit total in six of the seven contests.
Lees-McRae leads the all-time series history with seven wins, while Carson-Newman has five wins. The two teams last played in 2012 at Tate Field and C-N won 1-0 thanks to Danna Stringle's game-winning goal in the 81st-minute.
Links for Lees-McRae's UStream feed and live stats are available and a full recap with stats will be available on cneagles.com after the match.
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