WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Salem soccer program concludes its longest road stretch of the 2021 campaign on Wednesday, September 15th, when it makes a trip to Virginia to square off against former USA South rival Ferrum at 7 p.m.

The Spirits (4-2), who have won two of three contest during their four-match road trip, return to the Commonwealth of Virginia in search of their fourth road win of the slate. A Salem victory would mark the ninth time in program history that the Spirits have won at least five road matches in a single season. During the current road stretch, Salem has garnered wins at Randolph (2-1) and Sweet Briar (2-0). The one setback came Saturday to Eastern Mennonite by a 3-2 margin.

GREENWOOD WRAPS UP IMPRESSIVE WEEK: Sophomore Baylee Greenwood wrapped up an impressive week for the Spirits, closing with three goals and six points along the way. She attempted eight shots, including six shots on goal, and finished with a .750 shots on goal percentage in clashes against Randolph, Eastern Mennonite and Sweet Briar. Against the Vixens she closed with two goals, marking the third time in the 2021 slate that she has recorded a two-goal match.

By virtue of her three goals on the week, Greenwood leapfrogged teammate Ellie Montes to lead the Spirits in goals with seven. Montes is second on the team with six strikes.

LOGJAM AT THE GOALKEEPER POSITION: In three matches last week netminders Jordan Tomberlin, Alexcina Wartski and Tori Long all logged 90 minutes of play. Wartski led the way with eight saves, while Tomberlin and Long came through with four saves each.

Tomberlin held both Randolph (Sept. 8) and Sweet Briar (Sept. 12) scoreless in her 45 minutes on the pitch, making two saves in each contest. Wartski contributed five saves in Salem's 2-1 win at Randolph before making three stops in the first half of the clash with Eastern Mennonite. Long opened the week with a save against Eastern Mennonite (Sept. 11) before converting three saves in Salem's third shutout of the season against Sweet Briar on Sunday afternoon.

SPIRITS RANK IN TOP-10 OF EIGHT NCAA CATEGORIES: When the NCAA statistical rankings were released on Tuesday, September 14th, the Spirits ranked among the Top-10 in eight major categories.

Three of those were team categories, including a second-place national ranking in total goals (24) along with a third-place ranking in total points (63). Salem is fifth in total assists (15) as a unit.

The trio of Baylee Greenwood, Ellie Montes and Anna Fretwell have placed themselves among the Top-10 individual performers on a national level. Greenwood ranks first in the nation in points (18) and is second in goals (seven), trailing Trine's Teresa Ashbrook, who has eight.

Fretwell, who has dished out four assists on the season, is tied with Greenwood for fifth-most goals in the country. Montes rounds out Top-10 performers for the Spirits with six goals, placing her sixth nationally.

HEAD COACH ROBIN RAMIREZ'S OUTTAKES ON FERRUM: "The team has done a good job on the road so far this season. Wednesday provides us another opportunity to keep getting better and building on the road. I believe this will be helpful later in the season as October has us on the road for a good number of conference games. Ferrum is going to be a tough test. Despite what their record shows, they are a really good team and all their games have been close. We're looking forward to another good match."

DIVING INTO THE FERRUM RIVALRY: The Spirits head into the match against their former USA South Conference rivals with a 7-2-2 lead in the all-time series. Three of those wins have come at Ferrum, including the most recent road win, which took place on October 7, 2014.

While Salem owns the all-time lead in the series with the Panthers, Ferrum is 1-0-1 in its last two meetings. The Panthers came away with a 1-0 win on September 7, 2018 and followed that with a 1-1 double overtime tie the following season. Prior to that Salem had won five straight head-to-head matches, which came between September 19, 2012 and October 11, 2017.

SALEM vs. FERRUM ALL-TIME SERIES
(Salem leads series 7-2-2)

PREVIEWING FERRUM: The Panthers head into their match against Salem with an 0-5 mark after being outscored 12-2. The two Ferrum goals came against Mary Baldwin (Sept. 3), which came in the second match of the season, and William Peace (Sept. 11) on Saturday afternoon. Jamie Adams and Allison Setlak are responsible for one goal each for the Panthers.

Both Ali Austin and Abbey Hayes have spent time in net for Ferrum, combining for 31 saves on the season. Austin leads the way with 23 saves (.719 save percentage) despite four losses on her record. Hayes has logged 134:19 in net, converting eight saves on the season (.727 save percentage).