PREVIEW: #19 Women’s Soccer clashes with #9 Lenoir-Rhyne with SAC title on the line

Hickory, N.C. —- The 19th-ranked Catawba College women's soccer team enters the regular season finale on Wednesday night in Hickory with the South Atlantic Conference regular season title within grasp.

THE MATCHUP

- Who: #19 Catawba (10-1-4, 8-0-2 SAC) at #9 Lenoir-Rhyne (10-1-4, 8-0-2 SAC)

- Where: Soccer Field at Moretz Sports Athletic Campus, Hickory, N.C.

- When: Wednesday, Nov. 6, 7:30 p.m.

- How to Follow: FloSports ($) | Live stats

THE HISTORY

- Catawba leads the all-time series 23-19-5

- The Catawba Indians are 7-9-2 in Hickory

- The all-time series' goal count is exactly tied 70-70

- Third consecutive year the SAC regular season title is in balance with Catawba-Lenoir-Rhyne regular season finale

- Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne met three times in the span of 31 days last season in regular season finale, SAC final and NCAA Southeast Region final showdowns

SETTING THE STAGE

- Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne enter Wednesday night tied atop the SAC table with 23 points, so if either side wins, they claim the SAC regular season title outright

- Wingate is right behind them with 22 points, meaning if Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne end with a tie, Wingate can claim the outright title with a win at Coker

- With a win, Catawba would clinch its fifth SAC regular season title in program history; first since 2021

- Catawba Indians looking for first win over Lenoir-Rhyne since October 2021

- Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne are currently two of the top three ranked teams in the Southeast Region; top two seeds in region host NCAA First and Second Rounds

SAC SEEDING SCENARIOS

- Catawba/Lenoir-Rhyne win, Wingate win: 1) Catawba/LR winner (outright champion), 2) Wingate 3) CAT/LR loser

- Catawba/Lenoir-Rhyne win, Wingate tie or worse: 1) Catawba/LR winner (outright champion), 2) CAT/LR loser, 3) Wingate

- Catawba/Lenoir-Rhyne tie, Wingate win: 1) Wingate (outright champion), 2) Lenoir-Rhyne, 3) Catawba

- Catawba/Lenoir-Rhyne tie, Wingate tie or worse: 1) Lenoir-Rhyne, 2) Catawba (co-champions), 3) Wingate 

RED-HOT OFFENSE…

- Catawba has erupted for 16 goals in their last three games, including 12 goals in the last three halves of SAC play

- The Catawba Indians are on pace to lead the league in scoring for the fourth consecutive season

- Bree Ehmer and Kylie Morin are currently tied for second in the SAC with 10 goals and 23 points on the season

- Catawba netted four goals in the opening 22 minutes of the team's 6-0 win over Newberry on Saturday

- The team netted six goals in the second half of their Senior Night win over Mars Hill the previous Saturday, marking 10 goals scored in a 67-minute stretch of game time

… BUT NOT OUTDONE BY THE DEFENSE

- Catawba also rides into Hickory with a five-match shutout streak, its longest of the season

- The Catawba Indians have not conceded a goal since the loss at 3rd-ranked Columbus State on Oct. 9

- Catawba leads the SAC with nine shutouts of the season; the Catawba Indians have only allowed 32 shots on goal this season, 25 less than the next lowest in the SAC (Lenoir-Rhyne - 57)

- Ashley Hughes has recorded a 0.65 goals-against average to this point in the season

SCOUTING THE BEARS

- Lenoir-Rhyne enters as the second ranked team in the region with quality results including a draw vs. Columbus State, a win over Wingate and a win over Florida Tech

- The Bears lead the conference in shots per game, shots on goal per game and corner kicks per game

- LR averages over eight corner kicks per contest, good for top five in the country

- Midfielder Evan O'Leary is tied for the nation lead with 11 assists on the season and leads the SAC with 4.8 shots on goal per game

- Freshman Ava Hartman ranks fifth in the SAC with a team-high seven goals

UP NEXT

- Catawba begins SAC Tournament play this weekend at Frock Field

- For updates on game date, time and opponent follow catawbaathletics.com or @CatawbaIndians on Instagram and Twitter (X)