Game Notes v. Central Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship comes down to two unbeaten teams, with the Eagles eager to put their signature on a historic season.
The No. 1 ranked Central Missouri Jennies (25-0) and the No. 2 ranked Carson-Newman Eagles (21-0-1) have combined to win 46 games in 2017, as they both arrive to their first ever NCAA D2 title match.
Game time for Saturday is slated for 1:00 p.m. EST at Children's Mercy Victory Field at Swope Soccer Village.
Top-seeded Carson-Newman arrives via a 2-1 victory over UC-Colorado Springs on Thursday afternoon in the National Semifinal. The Mountain Lions tally in the 76th minute notched the first goal the Eagles have conceded in four tournament games, which broke a 435:30 shutout streak dating back to the South Atlantic Conference final.
Goals provided by Magda Mosengo (London, England) and Emilee Futrell (Wilson, NC) gave C-N its 21st win of the season which set a new program record previously held since 2009.
"We need to make more of an emphasis to get started early," Coach Simon Duffy stated. "It was a bit rushed and hurried and once we calmed down we started to have a lot more success."
The Eagles become the first team in any women's sport in the SAC to make it to the national title game.
Saturday's title bout will be the first matchup between the two teams in their program's history. Neither team has played an opponent in the SAC or the Mid-Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Simon Duffy's squad has trailed for a total of 42:44 out of a possible 2092 minutes this season.
The Jennies arrived to Saturday's game through 17th-ranked Mercy, defeating the Mavericks 3-0. The furthest Central Missouri had gone prior to 2017 was the NCAA Quarterfinals where they were defeated the past three seasons.
UCM has recorded at least one goal in 58 straight games, which is already a program and MIAA record. Maybe the most impressive stat is that the Jennies have allowed just four goals all season. No team has recorded more than one tally in a single game.
The team recorded 12-straight clean sheets to open up the season before conceding their first goal against Emporia State. The last goal allowed came against Grand Valley State in the NCAA Quarterfinal to the nation's leading goal scorer Gabriella Mencotti.
Senior goalkeeper and three-time All-American Ana Dilkes is Division II's all-time leader in career shutouts, recording her 64th against Mercy College.
"We've been through some tough teams and we'll be up against another one tomorrow," Duffy added. "They remind me of ourselves. They have some dangerous players up top and they move the ball well. Whoever was writing the script for this matchup did a very good job."
For C-N, United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-Region goalkeeper Jackie Burns already owns a program record for wins with 38 and shutouts with 25.
No women's team in the history of athletics at Carson-Newman has won a National Championship, let alone made it to a NCAA final. The last team to claim a National title at C-N was the 1989 Eagles football team.
