JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Predicted to finish ninth in the preseason South Atlantic Conference coaches' poll, the 15th-ranked Carson-Newman women's soccer team (14-2, 9-1 SAC) has the opportunity to clinch the conference regular season title outright for the first time since 2009 on Saturday afternoon as the Eagles travel to face the Coker Cobras (4-10, 2-8 SAC) at 2 p.m. at the Coker Soccer Complex.
Carson-Newman's last share of the regular season title came in 2010 when the Eagles shared with Lenoir-Rhyne. A C-N win would also tie the conference record for SAC wins in a season and tie last season's Lenoir-Rhyne team with 10 wins in one year.
The Eagles have already clinched the best turnaround in SAC history; last season, Carson-Newman finished the year 1-10 against conference foes, but it already has nine conferences this year with the possibility of gaining a 10th win on Saturday.
"It's a dream for every team that starts a season to come out as the number one team. I think it's always been a reality as a staff as we've worked hard with recruiting and getting the players in. It means everything, to the girls first and foremost, to us as a staff and obviously the school and everyone that is involved with the program," coach Richard Moodie said. "It just demonstrates that last year we had a really good team, but was just missing pieces. People couldn't see it with a team that won three games, but as a staff, we believed in the kids, we believed in the players and here we are, one game away from winning the conference."
Coker has lost its last three matches heading into the contest with the Cobras last win coming with a 6-1 result over Chowan, while Coker has lost its last five conference contests. Its wins this season have come against Division-III Greensboro, Catawba, at Mars Hill and Chowan.
The Cobras only average 7.6 shots per game, while only averaging 1.36 goals per game. Coker allows an average of 2.77 goals against, which plays into Carson-Newman's advantage with the Eagles averaging 2.69 goals for per contest. Junior midfielder Anna Vig leads the Cobras with eight goals on the season. Renee Ledesma and Batavia Mata are the only other Coker players that has scored more than one goal on the year.
Freshman goalkeeper Shelby Middleton has the majority of time in goal for Coker. Middleton has made 95 saves on the year with a save percentage of .720. She's conceded 37 goals and allows an average of 2.65 goals against per contest.
Carson-Newman has never defeated Coker in the five meetings between the two programs. The Eagles and Cobras met three times between 1991 and 1993 with Coker taking all three wins. Once Coker joined the SAC in 2013, the teams played to a scoreless draw in 2013 and Coker won 2-0 last year at McCown Field.
"The girls know what is on the line, but for me as a coach, they beat us last year. We won three games last year. A lot of these teams at the bottom of the table beat us last year. We were one of the few wins they had, and so, scouting-wise, we have to get it right. We have to make sure we do our job. During the Tusculum game mid-week, we preached about jumping on them early, and five minutes, we were 2-0 up," Moodie said. "I think for us, we have to just focus on us, come in and play hard. We respect everybody, because being a team coming from three wins, we're not walking around thinking we've done this or that. I coach the most humble group of kids. They know they've done well this year, but they want more, they want to keep going and just keep playing for memories."
Carson-Newman and Coker kick off at 2 p.m. from the Coker Soccer Complex in Hartsville with live stats and video provided by the Coker media relations department.
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