Opponent:
Salem at Johnson & Wales | September 19 | Pineville, N.C. | OrthoCarolina Sportsplex | 6 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE SPIRITS
Darilyn Nieto netted the first goal of the contest for the Spirits in the 52nd minute and Kira Cousin answered with an unassisted goal of her own two minutes later as Salem and Agnes Scott battled to a 1-1 tie in a clash on the pitch on Friday, September 15th at Varsity Field.

It marks the second tie in the head-to-head series between the two programs since a 1-1 contest, eventually decided by a penalty kick on November 4, 2012.

Nieto, who notched her ninth goal of the campaign, drove home a series of passes from Layla Locklear and Nathaly Berrezueta just seven minutes into the second half.

However, Agnes Scott answered with an unassisted goal from Kira Cousin, who scored the equalizer. It was one of five shots on goal for the Scotties. Agnes Scott attempted 12 shots on the match, receiving four from Peighton Freeman and three off the foot of Iris Ray.

Salem countered with 18 shots (12 shots on goal) with Nieto attempting 10 shots (seven SOG). Giselle Ramos and Caitlin Clements had three shots each for the Spirits.

Olivia Rosario made a match-high 11 saves for the Scotties, while Salem sent both Mireya Sanchez and Marissa Doutrich tallied two saves each for Salem.

Salem had 11 of its 18 shots in the first half, while Agnes Scott posted eight of its 12 shots by the intermission. The Scotties made six saves in the opening half while Salem countered with two.

SALEM MAKES HOME DEBUT VERSUS SCOTTIES
The Spirits had their first tie in program history in a home season opener, moving their all-time mark to 12-2-1 mark in home openers dating back to 2008, missing the 2021 home opener because of the cancellation of the season due to COVID-19. Salem rattled off 10 straight victories in its home openers between 2009 and 2018.

LOOKING TO BECOME THE FIFTH
In Salem's last match, sophomore Darilyn Nieto netted her ninth goal of the 2023 season. With her next goal, Nieto will become the fifth player in program history to score at least 10 goals in multiple seasons in her career as a Spirit.

Nieto, who tallied 14 goals in her rookie campaign of 2022, will join Tia Bringhurst, Brooke Bukas, Sawyer Ferguson and Jordan Lanier as the only Spirits to reach double figure goals in multiple season. Three of those players (Bukas, Ferguson and Lanier) had at least 10 goals in three separate seasons.

Coincidentally, Nieto tied Bringhurst for ninth-most goals in a Salem career with 23. She is two shy of Ellie Montes for eighth on the all-time list (25) and three away from tying Tarryn Johnson and Taylor Norman, who are deadlocked for sixth-most career goals (26) in Salem soccer history.

SPIRITS WITH AT LEAST 10 GOALS IN MULTIPLE SEASON

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH JOHNSON & WALES
Tuesday marks the first-ever clash between Salem and Johnson & Wales (N.C.) on the pitch.

JOHNSON & WALES AT THIS POINT OF THE SEASON
The Wildcats enter the match with a 2-3-1 overall mark after tying with Agnes Scott on Sunday, September 17th.

Entering the weekend, Johnson & Wales was led in goals by the tandem of Katie Douglas and Azalianna Absalom, who had scored four goals apiece. That same pair shares the team lead in shots on goal with seven. Douglas led the way in scoring with 12 points, which comes from a team-best four assists.

Taylor Witherspoon ranks third on the unit with three goals, while three others have one.

Three players have played between the pipes for Johnson & Wales, including Zoe Balmer, Hanna Ciplickas and Makenzie Stocum. Balmer has logged the most minutes (315:00), making a team-best 14 saves along the way. Stocum is second with 10 saves, while Ciplickas ranks third on the unit with four saves.