VIDEO: Richard Moodie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With wins in their last two games, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team will be looking to keep their momentum going on Saturday, when they welcome the Catawba College Catawba Indians to town for a 1 p.m. match.
"It's a big game for us, but there are many big games left on the schedule," Soccer Coach Richard Moodie said. "A game at home on our field and a game I think is must-win for both teams. We're coming off the back of two wins and they're coming off the back of a loss. We've got the ball rolling again in the right direction. We've just got to keep it going."
The Eagles have toppled Anderson (S.C.) and King (Tenn.) in their last two matches to put their record at 9-2 this season, to go with a 4-1 mark in the South Atlantic Conference, good enough for fourth in the standings. In both contests, C-N held their opponent scoreless and they've permitted just 13 total shots over those two games. The two shutouts give the Eagles seven so far this season, the most in the SAC, and they've allowed just two goals over their last eight contests. The team's goals-against average of 0.543 leads the league and is 21st in the nation.
Catawba comes to McCown Field looking to rebound from a Wednesday night loss at Queens (N.C.) in which they went without a goal for the first time this year. That defeat snapped a six-game winning streak that saw the Catawba Indians rise to the top of the SAC, but they now sit in second place, one point behind Tusculum and three ahead of the Eagles. Catawba was picked to finish 10th in the SAC in the preseason, but they have outperformed that projection in a big way. Their overall record is 6-2-1 and they'll be trying to avoid taking consecutive losses for the first time this season.
"They're working hard," Moodie said. "They'll come here and play hard, that's what we're anticipating, but I think every game for us this year has been difficult. We're just going to focus on what we do well and come out on Saturday and try to do the best we can."
Offensively, the Catawba Indians have been led by two freshman, Bailey Howell and Caitlin Hill, who top the team in points. Howell holds the team lead in points, with 13, and assists, with three and is second on the squad with five goals. Her year has included a brace in her team's 5-0 blowout over Mars Hill on Sept. 17. Hill leads Catawba with six goals and tallied a hat trick against Coker on Sept. 24. She's tied with three other players for fifth in the SAC in scores.
The only SAC team with more goals than Catawba's 24 is Carson-Newman, as they've put up 46. The three they scored against King put them five scores ahead of Grand Valley State, the three-time defending national champions, for the most in Division II. Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland) hasn't scored in three games, but is still the SAC leader and is tied for second in the nation with 13 and Lauren Wade (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) remains in second place with 11 goals despite going goalless in the last five contests. Both players are tied atop the league with 28 points. Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England) added to her assist total on Wednesday, picking up her eighth, which leads the conference and is tied for the second most in the country.
Trying to prevent these offenses from lighting up the scoreboard will be a pair of freshman goalkeepers, Catawba's Liz Nail and C-N's Jacqueline Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland). Both have gotten their college careers off to great starts and rank in the top five in the South Atlantic Conference in multiple categories. Burns' .543 goals against average is the league's best, while Nail is tied for fifth. Catawba's goalie is also second in save percentage and tied for second in goals against, while Burns is tied for fourth in the latter category.
The Catawba Indians had taken three of their last four games against the Eagles prior to last year, when C-N visited Salisbury and dominated their struggling rivals, 4-1. Coach Moodie's team jumped out to a 3-0 lead, with Julianne Herrity contributing a brace, and never looked back. Catawba does lead the all-time series 19-11 with four ties and they haven't lost to Carson-Newman on their home field since 2008.
The game will be broadcast live on cneagles.com/live with live stats also available and Mark Inserra calling the match. After the final whistle, look for the recap on cneagles.com.
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