ANDERSON, S.C. - Facing one of its quickest turnarounds of the season, Anderson University women's soccer looks to rebound after a Wednesday road setback, as it returns home to square off against Lenoir-Rhyne for a South Atlantic Conference clash. Kickoff from Trojan Stadium is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Trojans
AU enters an unusual Friday matchup on a two-match winless streak
after dropping to first-place Newberry on Wednesday. With the
setback, the Trojans are 4-5-1 on the season and a carry a 2-3-1
mark in conference play as they sit alone in eighth place. If the
season ended on Thursday, Anderson would clinch the final spot into
the SAC Tournament.
For the first time in 25 days, Anderson was held scoreless, as the Wolves took a narrow 1-0 win from the Trojans. With the blanking, freshman Lyssa Engle continues to lead the squad in goals with nine of the season as she sits in third in the league. Following Engle is classmate Maddie Volz with four goals and Alaina Gay and Rachael Whaling with two goals apiece. Volz and junior Emily Cowan are tied for the team lead in assists with four apiece.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Sadie Lancaster has played in over 915 minutes in goal this season, as she holds a 1.77 goals against average. Her 36 saves rank fifth in the league as she has recorded three shutouts on the year.
The Bears
After AU tried to knock off one first-place team on Wednesday, it
will have another attempt on Friday as Lenoir-Rhyne joins Newberry
and Wingate at the top of the league table with identical 5-1
conference records. In the latest National Soccer Coaches
Association of America/Continental Tire NCAA Division II Southeast
Region Poll, the Bears were slotted eighth and were one of the five
SAC teams represented in the weekly poll. Overall, LR enters Friday
with a 7-3-1 record.
Junior midfielder Garcelle Alequine leads the conference in goals scored with 11 as she is responsible for just under 41-percent of Lenoir-Rhyne's goals this season. Alequine joins Anderson's Engle as the only players in the conference to tally four goals for a match, as she netted four in a 7-1 win at Coker on Sept. 24. As a team, the Bears have scored the most goals for conference matches with 19.
Three different goalkeepers have seen time between the posts for Lenoir-Rhyne as sophomore Andrea Leano has earned the most starts with five. Senior Genny Little has totaled three starts, while freshman Alayna Morris has been in the starting lineup twice, but ranks second among the trio in minutes played. Leano leads the pack with 11 saves on the year, but Morris has claimed 2.1 shutouts on the year, which leads the club.
The Series
Anderson seeks its first win over Lenoir-Rhyne since joining the
SAC in 2010. In the previous three meetings, the Bears have won by
a 2-0 scoreline, including an opening round SAC Tournament matchup
in 2011.
