SALISBURY, N.C. — The 13th-ranked Catawba College men's soccer team welcomes Lincoln Memorial to Frock Field for its first South Atlantic Conference test on Salisbury soil on Saturday afternoon.
Success in the SAC Opener
- Catawba used an early one-two punch to knock down Carson-Newman, 2-1, on the road last Saturday for a SAC opener victory
- The second score, provided by Tomas Kelly, proved to be the game-winner
- Héctor Vara saved two of the three shots he faced between the posts, earning his third career win in net
- The triumph was Catawba's first over the Eagles since 2016
Kenyeres Honored
- For his combined three-goal performance against Mount Olive and Carson-Newman, Máté Kenyeres was named the WePlayed Sports SAC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday
- The Hungarian forward has tallied a league-high five goals this season to also lead the point tally at 10; Giovanni Benericetti's four assists gives Catawba a clean sweep of the offensive statistic standings
- As a program, the weekly award is Catawba's first – offensive or defensive – since 2023
Nationally Ranked
- The Catawba Indians are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll following a 19-week drought
- Catawba's last appearance in the national poll was Oct. 3, 2023, when it was ranked No. 22 between weeks as a "receiving votes" squad
- At No. 13, the position is Catawba's highest ranking since 1996; that season, the blue and white were ranked 13th on Sept. 30 before climbing to No. 7 (Oct. 7) and No. 6 (Oct. 14) in the following two weeks
All-Time Series
- The Railsplitters have a 17-9-1 lead in the all-time series that includes a 15-5-1 split in SAC play
- The last meeting at Frock Field went in LMU's favor, 1-0, but the prior matchup was a 5-4 Catawba victory; however, the match ended in overtime and would have been a draw under the current playing rules
- It was 2018 when the last meeting decided by multiple goals occurred as the 'Splitters took a 3-0 triumph at The Frock
- Last season, Catawba took 18th-ranked LMU down to the wire as Jaime Serrano redirected a Rodrigo Albayeros corner kick into the net in the 88th minute to finalize the series' first stalemate
Scouting the Railsplitters
- Lincoln Memorial comes into Saturday's clash with a 1-3 record with the win occurring in the Railsplitters' lone conference match
- LMU defeated Lenoir-Rhyne, 2-0, last Thursday in its SAC opener but have conceded its three other matches by one goal
- Only three goals have been netted by LMU this season with different scorers
- The Railsplitters' assist total is higher than their goal total (4-3) thanks to a hockey-style helper in the opening match against UIndy
- Defending All-SAC honoree Ronan O'Mahony has dished out two helpers while Daniel Benedek Miklosi holds a .714 save percentage with 10 total stops
Follow Along
- The match will be streamed on FloCollege
- Live stats will be available on CatawbaAthletics.com
