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VIDEO: Richard Moodie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – Following a clean sweep of three straight home matches, the 25th ranked Carson-Newman women's soccer team travels to Wingate on Saturday for a South Atlantic Conference contest at WU Soccer Complex in Wingate, N.C. at 5pm.
"I think it's important for us to come out the same way we started against Catawba," Soccer Coach Richard Moodie said. "It's a great opportunity to travel. The biggest thing for us is just starting with energy and achieving a top level of performance."
The Eagles enter this match four points out of first place, as they are 5-1 in the SAC, to go with a 10-2 overall record. Tusculum remains the only undefeated team in conference play, with a mark of 6-0-1 and their 19 points grant them sole possession of first place. C-N has moved into their current position in the standings by picking up three consecutive wins, two of which came against conference opponents. During their current win streak, they've outscored the opposition 10-0 and have averaged allowing less than three shots on goal per contest. Over their last six games, they've permitted just one goal, the best stretch the program has had since 2009, and in their last nine contests, they have given up only two, matching a nine game period from last season.
"I think the energy level of our team has been great," Moodie said. "We've been hungry and the players want to achieve and work hard. They've been out there working hard and doing extra. It's admirable, but its the way it should be and that's how you'd expect a top program to be run. The players have been looking after the little things. Hopefully, they can push hard these last five matches and cross the finish line."
Wingate is one of two teams tied with Carson-Newman for second place in the SAC, with Catawba being the other. The Bulldogs, however, have played one more SAC match than the Eagles, as they are 5-2 in the league and 7-4-1 overall. After a 1-2 start to their conference schedule, Wingate reeled off four straight wins, a streak that also included three consecutive shutouts. Entering this match, they are looking to rebound from a 2-1 road loss to non-conference opponent North Georgia.
"Defensively," Moodie said, "they don't give up many goals. Playing at their place, that makes it tough, too. The biggest challenge for us is making sure we can get out the gate and be high energy early on."
The Bulldogs' offense has been one of the SAC's best this season. They've scored 23 goals, tied for the third-most and they also rank second in the conference in assists and shots. Sophomore Kimmi Moore has led the way for Wingate with seven goals, tied for the fifth most in the SAC and she's also the team leader with 15 points. Freshman Taylor Krakower tops the team with four assists and has also scored five goals, putting her just a single point behind Moore. Coach Chip Wiggins has seen ten different players score goals for him this season following a 2015 campaign in which his team had 15 different goal scorers.
One of the teams ahead of Wingate in the SAC's offensive rankings is Carson-Newman, as they've led the conference in goals and assists for most of the year. Their six goals on Saturday put them at 52 this season, 27 ahead of second-place Catawba and two ahead of Grand Valley State for the most in Division II. The Eagles scoring offense is also tops in the nation. C-N's assist total of 46 is the county's second most and leads the SAC by 25. The Eagles have the top three point scorers in the conference in Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland), Lauren Wade (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) and Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England). Herrity has 14 goals and 32 points and Wade has totaled 12 goals and 31 points and both players are in the top 10 in the country in those categories. Talbut-Smith has racked up eight assist, the most in the SAC and tied for third in the Division II. Wade would be leading the country in points-per-game at 4.42, but she has not played in the 75% of her team's games which is need to qualify for that statistic.
In her first season at Mossy Creek, freshman goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland) has started every game in net and has put herself among the SAC's best at the position. Her goals-against average of 0.50 leads the conference and is 17th in the nation. The Cookstown native is also the league leader in shutouts with eight, including three in row. She's allowed just six goals this year, tied for the fewest in the SAC and her save percentage of .833 is the fourth-best.
Wingate has started junior Alexis Jones in net and she hasn't missed a game in 2016. She is just one behind Burns in shutouts and also owns a 0.71 goals-against average, the SAC's third-best. Jones has allowed nine goals in 12 games this year and has made 37 saves.
Saturday will be the 30th meeting between these two programs and Carson-Newman has dominated the series to this point. The Eagles have won 22 of 29 contests, losing five times to go with two ties. Last season, Coach Moodie's team collected a pair of 1-0 victories over Wingate, the first one on Homecoming, the second in the SAC title game. The Bulldogs had taken four straight in the series entering last season. Five of the last six games between these squads have ended in shutouts, two for Carson-Newman and three for Wingate.
Once the action concludes at WU Soccer Complex, you can find a recap of the match on cneagles.com.
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