Saint Leo vs. Carson-Newman
Saturday, Sept. 6, 2014 – 5:00 p.m. – University Soccer Field (Saint Leo, Fla.)
Records & Rankings:
Saint Leo - 1-0-0
Carson-Newman - 0-1-0
Neither team is currently ranked
Series Record:
This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Last Time Out:
Saint Leo def. Spring Hill College, 5-0 (Sept. 4 at home)
Carson-Newman lost to No. 18 Tampa, 5-0 (Sept. 4 in Tampa, Fla.)
SAINT LEO, Fla. -- Saint Leo University women's soccer opened its 2013 season with back-to-back wins, and the Lions will be attempting to duplicate the feat to commence their 2014 season in Saturday's game against Carson-Newman. The Lions posted their fifth-straight season opening win on Thursday night against Spring Hill College; only once over the past four seasons has Saint Leo turned in a loss in its second outing of the year.
The Lions came away with a 5-0 victory over Division II-newcomer Spring Hill College in Thursday's season opener, played under a steady rain, following an hour-and-a-half rain delay, on a more-than-somewhat soggy field. While Saint Leo came away with the result it wanted, the conditions conspired to produce less-than-perfect execution by the Lions.
"Communication, team shape, and not forcing the ball when we don't need to – those were the three areas where I felt we were a little limited Thursday night," said Saint Leo head women's soccer coach Ged O'Connor. "We felt like we had to go forward every time we had the ball; we didn't slow the game, control the game in any way. It was kind of a disjointed game, and we need to work on that."
Saint Leo picked up two goals and an assist from Katie Waddell, along with a goal and two assists from Arielle Kabangu. Newcomers Victoria Covas and Lindsay Perkins each added one goal to the Lion cause. Altogether, 10 out of Saint Leo's 14 scoring points were charted by players making their collegiate debut on Thursday night.
Carson-Newman arrives at University Soccer Field on the heels of a 5-0 season-opening loss at the hands of No. 18 Tampa on Thursday night at Pepin Stadium.
The Eagles were 6-7-4 overall a year ago, with a 4-4-3 record and seventh-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference. Carson-Newman was picked to finish seventh again in 2014 in the conference's preseason poll. The Eagles' roster offers 14 freshmen and four transfers – meaning well over half the team's personnel are new to the squad in 2014.
After Saturday's game, the Lions take to the road for a two-game swing through South Carolina. Saint Leo will face USC-Aiken on Friday, Sept. 12, at 6:00 p.m. in Aiken, S.C., followed by a matchup with Lander University on Sunday, Sept. 14, at 1:00 p.m. in Greenwood, S.C.
Fans can follow Saturday night's game online via social media, live stats, and webcast; all links are available at www.saintleolions.com.
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