Carolina U. vs. Salem| Saturday, September 24th | 2:00 p.m.
Varsity Field | Winston-Salem, N.C.
LAST TIME OUT
Salem soccer capped off a two-match in three-day road trip with a decisive 4-1 win at Agnes Scott on Sunday, September 18th. The Spirits halted a two-match winning streak with a four-goal outing from first-year Darilyn Nieto. Defensively, Salem goalkeeper Alexcina Wartski was a key factor in the victory, making five saves in 66 minutes, claiming her first win of the slate.
DEFENDING THE HOME TURF
The Spirits claimed their 85th all-time win at Varsity Field when they downed Johnson & Wales by a 3-1 margin in a rain-soaked match on September 10th. That triumph marked the second win at home this season for Salem.
This weekend the Spirits will look to close out September with a home victory against Carolina University, which would equal Robin Ramirez's first-season win total at home a year ago. Salem is 85-25-4, resulting in a .746 all-time win percentage at Varsity Field in program history.
SALEM'S UNSUNG DEFENSE
Some of the major unsung heroes of the team this year are Caelen Gaul, Kylie Clark, Cristina Battistini, Miriam Moctezuma, Olivia Nivens, Serenity Powell, April Salas, Isabel Scott, Alexcina Wartski and Jordan Tomberlin. Those players have put together one of best defenses for Salem in program history.
Through the first seven matches of the season, Salem's defense has allowed just five goals. The 2022 Spirits defense is tied with the 2008 and 2014 unit for the third-fewest goals allowed through the first seven matches in program history. The only two teams to allow fewer goals, both the 2010 and 2016 units, surrendered just three goals through their first seven matches.
SQUARING OFF WITH THE BRUINS
Saturday's match marks just the third time in program history that Salem has squared off against crosstown foe Carolina University. Carolina, formerly known as Piedmont International, first met Salem on October 17, 2019. Two years later, on September 22, 2021, the two met again on the pitch in Bermuda Run, N.C.
Salem earned a win in the first-ever meeting between the two in 2019. The Spirits took advantage of a pair of second half goals by Courtney Chaplin and Kim Sephaphathi to hold off the Bruins. Carolina's offense had 14 shots on the day, including five on goal, and Hannah Wagner finished the match with four saves to earn her fifth win of the season.
The Bruins evened the all-time series last season with a 2-1 overtime contest at Truist Soccer Park in Bermuda Run. The match, twice halted by lightning delays, took a turn when Alondra Ramon scored the game-tying goal in the 72nd minute. That goal came 28 minutes after Ashley Linden gave Salem the 1-0 lead on an unassisted goal. Cameron Dubuc delivered the game-winning strike just 1:32 into the overtime session, following a pass from Mary Jester, for the Bruins.
WHERE IT STANDS ENTERING THE WEEK
-Salem head coach Robin Ramirez earned his 11th win at Salem College following a win over Agnes Scott. He is eight away from Octavia Saunders on the program's all-time win list.
-Following a four-goal performance against Agnes Scott on Sunday, September 19th, Darilyn Nieto became the sixth first-year player in program history with at least 10 goals in a season.
Nieto tied Tia Bringhurst's 2009 mark with 10 goals. Her next goal will move her into a tie with Brooke Bukas for fifth with 11 single-season goals.
The program record (15) is shared by Alexi Saganich and Tarryn Johnson, who accomplished the feat in 2010 and 2014, respectively.
-Senior netminder Alexcina Wartski is a perfect 3-0-0 for Salem, claiming her first win of the season against Agnes Scott on Sunday.
NIETO JOINS SELECT GROUP WITH RECENT ACCOLADE
For the third time in as many weeks, Salem soccer first-year Darilyn Nieto earned USA South Conference Rookie of the Week honors from the league office, which came in a formal announcement on Monday, September 19th.
Nieto became just the fourth player in conference history, dating back to the 2010 season, to receive USA South Conference Rookie of the Week accolades on three occasions in the same season and the second player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks.
Nieto joins Cassidy Reich (Piedmont), Payton Stuart (Ferrum) and Celia de Diego (Averett) as the only players to receive the honor at least three times in the same season. More specifically, Nieto and Reich are the only two players in league history to receive the distinction in consecutive weeks.
Reich claimed the honor six times during the course of the 2015 season, including a stretch of four straight weeks between September 21st and October 12th, where she received the honor. Stuart brought home the honors on September 26th, October 3rd and October 24th in 2016. In 2021, de Diego earned the award on September 6th, September 20th and October 4th for the Cougars.
Nieto received the USA South Rookie of the Week on September 19th due in large part to her four-goal performance in Salem's 4-1 victory over Agnes Scott on Sunday afternoon. Nieto's four-goal tied her alongside Sawyer Ferguson for second-most in a single-match in program history. Ferguson accomplished the feat on October 18, 2013 versus Judson. That was shortly after her teammate Tarryn Bundy had netted five goals against Wesleyan (Ga.) on September 28, 2013.
With four goals against the Scotties, Nieto also became the sixth different Salem first-year player to net double-digit goals in program history.
