CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's soccer team kicked off the new school year in style as they watched the reigning Women's World Cup champions play an international friendly at Finley Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga.
The Eagles were in attendance Wednesday evening as the three-time champions United States women's national team knocked off Costa Rica 7-2 in the Scenic City.
An 80-minute delay due to passing thunderstorms and lightning in the area did not damper the fun for the Lady Eagles. Six goals in the first 30 minutes of the match, including four goals after the weather delay, jumped started the Americans to an early 6-0 lead.
Lauren Holiday, cousin of Carson-Newman All-American volleyball player Jenna Wilson, played a full 90 minutes in the Red, White and Blue.
A record crowd of 30,535 fans attended the match in Chattanooga, including the 35 from the Carson-Newman entourage. Post-match, members of the program were able to meet with some of the American players including Abby Wambuch, Christen Press and Ali Kreger for autographs and pictures.
The team raised funds during the spring for the chance to attend the friendly and get a chance to take in the game of soccer at the highest level.
"Great opportunity for the women's team when the national team comes to your doorstep and you get a chance to see the team play," coach Richard Moodie said. "Anytime you can see the world's top team and reigning Women's World Cup champions play is a great learning opportunity for our team. And coupling that with a great performance makes that even better."
Carson-Newman opens its season in two weeks on September 3rd as the Lady Eagles host Trevecca Nazarene at 4 p.m. on McCown Field with a live broadcast available on cneagles.com.
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