Carrollton, Ga. – September 27, 2005 – Any conference game is going to be very big in any season. But with the release of the South Region rankings Tuesday, this weekend’s games become huge. The Braves remained fifth in the poll, but Harding and Central Arkansas, UWG’s opponents this weekend, are right on West Georgia’s heels tied for sixth.
The Braves’ win over Christian Brothers was big in the points race, but two region wins by fourth-place Lincoln Memorial kept UWG in fifth. Sunday’s rainout with Ouachita Baptist didn’t hurt the Braves in the poll, but with no points, it didn’t help either. That contest is scheduled to be made up at the end of the season.
Harding moved into the poll after beating No. 1 Tampa in Searcy, Ark. this past weekend. Tampa’s loss moved West Florida into sole possession of first place in the South, followed by Barry and Tampa.
Sara Sohlberg’s two goals against CBU moved her into sole possession of first place in the nation in goals per game. Sohlberg is scoring at a 1.86 goals per game clip, nearly half a goal higher than second place Laura Hislop from Franklin Pierce.
But Hislop kept Sohlberg in second place in points per game, taking over the top spot. The race is neck-and-neck, as Hislop averages 3.75 points per game and Sohlberg 3.71. The two players have both scored 13 goals, Sohlberg in seven games and Hislop in eight. But Hislop has four assists to add to her goal total, which put her on top.
The Braves host Harding on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. home contest with Central Arkansas on Sunday.
Rank School W-L-T Prev. Activity 1 West Florida 9-0-1 1 DH Thomas 7-0; DA Ouachita Baptist 5-0; DA Christian Brothers 4-0 2 Barry 8-1-1 3 DH Nova Southeastern 4-0; DA Rollins 3-1 3 Tampa 6-1-1 1 LA Harding 2-3 4 Lincoln Memorial 7-1-1 4 DA Delta State 8-0; DA Montevallo 1-0 5 West Georgia 7-2-0 5 DA Christian Brothers 4-0 6 Central Arkansas 5-1-0 6 No activity 6 Harding 4-4-1 -- DH Tampa 3-2 8 Saint Leo 3-2-2 7 TA Nova Southeastern 1-1 (OT) 9 Rollins 5-3-0 8 LH Barry 1-3 10 Ouachita Baptist 3-3-0 10 DH North Alabama 2-1; LH West Florida 0-5 10 Montevallo 3-3-3 -- DA Spring Hill 5-0; DH Alabama-Huntsville 1-0; LH Lincoln Memorial 0-1
Rank Name, Team Cl Games Goals Per Game 1 Sara Sohlberg, West Ga. Jr. 7 13 1.86 2 Laura Hislop, Franklin Pierce Sr. 8 13 1.63 3 Kate Murphy, Regis (Colo.) Sr. 9 13 1.44 4 Katy Tafler, Grand Valley St. Fr. 10 14 1.40 Rank Name, Team Cl G Goals Asst. Points Per Game 1 Laura Hislop, Franklin Pierce Sr. 8 13 4 30 3.75 2 Sara Sohlberg, West Ga. Jr. 7 13 0 26 3.71 3 Kate Murphy, Regis (Colo.) Sr. 9 13 7 33 3.67 4 Katy Tafler, Grand Valley St. Fr. 10 14 6 34 3.40 5 Sam White, Upper Iowa Fr. 11 15 7 37 3.36