>OPPONENT: 
Salem at Sweet Briar | September 18 | 7:00 p.m. | Sweet Briar, Va. | Meyer Field

>SPIRITS CONCLUDE FIVE-MATCH ROAD SWING
Salem puts the finishing touches on a five-match road swing, which included matches against Agnes Scott, Wesleyan (Ga.), Warren Wilson, Johnson & Wales and the host Vixens on Wednesday evening when the two teams clash at 7 p.m. The Spirits are 3-1-0 on their current road swing. 

>SALEM SPLITS WEEKEND PAIR WITH OWLS, WILDCATS
Salem soccer split a two-day, two-match series with Warren Wilson and Johnson & Wales over the weekend. The Spirits opened the weekend with a 7-1 win at Warren Wilson before falling by a 2-0 margin to Johnson & Wales on Saturday, September 14th. 

at Warren Wilson | Sept. 13: Just over one year after tying Tarryn Bundy for the most single-match goals in program history with five, Darilyn Nieto set the program record with a six-goal outing in a 7-1 non-conference win over Warren Wilson. That performance, which came in Swannanoa, N.C., made Nieto the third player in program history with 40 career goals. 

Nieto joined Sawyer Ferguson (46) and Jordan Lanier (41) as the only three Spirits with 40 career goals, with 42 to her credit. 

The Greensboro, N.C., native provided Salem with a 2-0 lead with goals in the second and 27th minutes as the Spirits grabbed the early momentum. Warren Wilson's Lana Lemmel sliced that lead in half, following a pass from Kyra Collins, with a strike in the 34th-minute. 

Nieto led the way for the offense with her third goal in the 37th-minute and added her fourth just over five minutes later. 

First-year Alexia Valente Arreola notched her third goal of the season, first of the game, marking the first goal after the intermission in the 49th-minute. 

However, Nieto was not done as she netted two more goals for the Spirits. Her fifth goal of the contest came at the 56:59 mark, making for a 6-1 advantage, and her final strike came in the 88th-minute as Salem picked up its third win of the season. 

First-year goalkeeper Addie Roe anchored the defensive efforts with five saves, keying a unit that surrendered just 10 shots (six shots on goal) by the Owls. 

Meanwhile, the Salem offense attempted 25 shots (18 SOG), highlighted by Nieto's 10 shots. Nathaly Berrezueta (four), Valente-Arreola (three), Hallie Kramer (three) and Kylie Toilolo (three) had at least three shots for the Spirits.

at Johnson & Wales | Sept. 14: Seven players attempted a shot on goal, including Azalianna Absalom's match-high four, as Johnson & Wales closed out a non-conference match at OrthoCarolina Sports Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., with a 2-0 victory on Saturday afternoon. 

The two units battled to a scoreless tie in the first half with the Salem defense allowing just eight shots along the way. However, the Wildcats responded with an Absalom goal in the 60th-minute, following a pass from teammate Katie Douglas. 

Just over 20 minutes later, Brianna Ramos provided an insurance goal after a pass from Sarah Milne, resulting in a 2-0 advantage. The Wildcats capped off the frame with 14 shots, while Salem attempted just three shots. 

Darilyn Nieto had four shots for the Spirits, including one shot on goal, while Caitlin Clement added one of her own. Clements tallied one shot on goal on the match. Teammate Addie Roe converted nine saves for Salem in the match while her counterpart, Zoe Balmer, finished with two saves for the Wildcats. 

>NIETO NAMED USA SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After notching a program single-match record six goals in a triumph over Warren Wilson on Friday afternoon, Salem's Darilyn Nieto was named as USA South Conference Player of the Week in an announcement by the league office on Monday, September 16th. 

It marks the fifth Player of the Week honor in Nieto's career, who captured three straight USA South Rookie of the Week honors in September 2022. In 2023, the Greensboro, N.C., native earned the league's Player of the Week distinction on September 4th. 

Nieto joins Brooke Bukas as the only players in program history to win multiple USA South Player of the Week honors for the Spirits. Sawyer Ferguson leads all Spirits in Player of Week honors with four, all of which came during Salem's time in the Great South Conference. 

Nieto closed out the weekend, which also included a clash with Johnson & Wales, with six goals, 14 shots and eight shots on goal in a two-day stretch. 

>ROE SOLID IN NET FOR SALEM
First year Addie Roe has stepped up as a leader in net for the Spirits in her last three outings, making 17 saves among the 39 shots that she has faced against the likes of Wesleyan (Ga.), Warren Wilson and Johnson & Wales. 

Roe claimed her first collegiate victory in net against Wesleyan, converting three saves along the way. She followed that with a five-save outing against Warren Wilson (Sept. 13), claiming her second victory. The Glade Hill, Va., native, who makes her first appearance in the Commonwealth of Virginia on Wednesday evening, delivered nine saves in 22 shots faced against Johnson & Wales. Those 17 saves are five more than teammate Marissa Doutrich. 

>SCOUTING REPORT—SWEET BRIAR
Sweet Briar will be hosting the Spirits for the second time in the all-time series when the two teams clash in the Commonwealth of Virginia on Wednesday. The Vixens have never scored a goal in the series with Salem after suffering losses of 2-0 (2021) and 8-0 (2022). 

Head Coach Kaitlyn Barbour will square off against her former school, where she served as an assistant coach under by Ocky Saunders and Robin Ramirez, for the second time since her departure from Salem in 2021. 

The Vixens are 2-1 entering their clash with the Spirits, following a pair of shutouts against Patrick Henry College (1-0) and Trinity Washington University (11-0) in succession. Sweet Briar has allowed just one goal all season, which came in a 1-0 setback to Regent in the season opener on September 2nd. 

Sweet Briar, which returns to Old Dominion Athletic Conference after a year away, is led offensively by the tandem of Emily Michel and Yadira Castrejon, who have two goals apiece. A total of eight players have scored one goal for the Vixens in 2024. 

Meanwhile, Trista Cleaves is anchoring the defense with 10 saves in net, owning a .909 save percentage in 270 minutes between the pipes. She has faced 58 shots this season.