VIDEO: Richard Moodie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – On Saturday, the Carson-Newman women's soccer team will play host to the Coker Cobras for a 2 p.m. match at McCown Field in their regular season finale, a day that will also serve as senior day for the program.
About 45 minutes prior to the start of the match, there will be a ceremony celebrating the Carson-Newman careers of seniors Nora Logan (Charlotte, N.C.), Elissa Lane (Knoxville, Tenn.), Megan Peterson (Parrish, Fla.), Chelsea Jordan (Knoxville, Tenn.), Gabrielle Gianeselli (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland).
"It's always difficult to [say goodbye to] these guys and girls that you've invested so much time and effort into," coach Richard Moodie said. "My wife and I talk about, its like having adopted kids because you spend so much time with them. You're investing time and energy in young men's and women's lives. To watch someone, how they've grown and developed while they've been a part of the program, it's a great moment to celebrate the success that they've had."
The Eagles enter Saturday's contest following a win in their most recent game on Tuesday, when they knocked off Lincoln Memorial 1-0. Their overall record stands at 12-3-1 with a 7-2-1 mark in the South Atlantic Conference. They are just three points behind the SAC's top team, Tusculum. With an Eagles victory and a Pioneer loss on Saturday, the C-N would earn a share of the SAC title. Lenoir-Rhyne is also competing for a share of the championship, as they are tied with Carson-Newman for second in the SAC and will be in Newberry on Saturday. The Cobras have long since been eliminated from contention for the conference's top spot, as well as for the SAC tournament. They sit in 11th place with a 1-9 league record and a 2-10 overall mark.
Logan has played in over 40 matches and accumulated over 1300 minutes of playing time during her four years at C-N. During her time as an Eagle, Logan has made seven starts for coach Moodie, one of which came in her squad's SAC semifinal victory against Anderson last year. Logan also has a pair of goals to her credit to go with three assists, two of which she's picked up this season, and has contributed to the team as both a defender and a forward.
Lane's four years as an Eagle has seen her play in 70 contests to this point, which puts her seventh in the C-N record book, and she has started all but two games since the beginning of the 2015 season, including a 2016 campaign in which she has been a member of the Starting XI for every match so far. Last season, she was credited with five assists and she has added another this season from the fullback spot. The Knoxville native has also been a member of a back line that has allowed the fewest shots on goal in the SAC in 2016. Lane was named Honorable Mention All-SAC last season and she was a preseason second-team All-SAC selection this year.
Peterson has also garnered accolades during her four seasons at Carson-Newman, as she followed up a 2015 second-team All SAC honor by earning a place as a first-team all-conference defender in the 2016 preseason. She's closing in on 60 games played in the Blue and Orange and has made 53 starts. Last season, Peterson tallied three of her four career goals and added two assists.
Jordan has also been a contributor to the team during her four years as a midfielder at Mossy Creek. She is also nearing 60 caps to go with nearly 40 starts and has played in every match for Carson-Newman so far in 2016, starting 15. Jordan has scored twice this season, giving her a total of three goals in her Eagle career and her four assists this season give her a total of five during her time at C-N.
Gianeselli has 50 career appearances entering Saturday to go with 17 starting nods as both a midfielder and a forward. She has scored twice this year and those goals came in consecutive games against Francis Marion and USC-Aiken in September. For her career, the Knoxville native has netted nine goals, two of which have been game-winners and she's also totaled six assists.
Logan, Lane, Peterson, Jordan and Gianeselli have all been members of the program for four seasons.
Herrity transferred to Carson-Newman from the University of Ulster prior to the 2015 season and has started 36 games in-a-row since missing the first two matches last year with an injury. Last year, she was named the SAC Player of the Year and a third-team NSCAA All-American after contributing 16 goals and 36 points, totals that placed her second in the SAC, along with four assists. Her 16 scores were also the ninth-most in school history and the seven-game winning goals she collected were the seventh-most in the country. In 2016, Herrity has picked up right where she left off. Her 14 goals are the SAC's third-most and give her a career total of 30, which puts her in a tie for fifth in program history. The Donegal, Ireland native is also tied for eighth in the C-N record book with 68 career points.
For Coker, one of the biggest reasons for their struggles this season has been inability to score goals. They've found the back of the net just seven times this year. They've scored only once in the month of October and that goal came on Oct. 15th at Lincoln Memorial. Since then, they've suffered through losses of 5-0 and 6-0 against Lenoir-Rhyne and Queens (N.C.), respectively. Phoebie Eshen is the squad leader in goals with three to go with a team-high six points.
Shelby Middleton has been the Cobras goalkeeper for most of season, playing in 10 games with eight starts. She leads all SAC keepers with 87 saves, but her save percentage of .784 ranks her 13th in the SAC and she's also 14th in the league with a goals-against average of 2.56.
Last season was the first time the Carson-Newman was able to earn a victory over Coker, as the Eagles traveled to Hartsville and buried the Cobras 5-0, with Herrity tallying twice and Peterson also picking up a goal. Coker had won four of the previous five meetings with one match ending in a tie.
Live audio of the match will be streamed on cneagles.com/live, which is also where you also can go for live stats. Mark Inserra will provide the play-by-play and you can visit cneagles.com for the postgame recap.
