VIDEO: Simon Duffy Interview
Game Notes
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Moving on from Wednesday's defeat at North Greenville, Saturday's road contest against Coker will serve as the longest trek thus far for the Carson-Newman Eagles on the 2019 campaign.
Traveling a roundtrip distance of 615 miles for a total of approximately 10 hours spent on a charter bus, the Eagles (6-4, 4-1 South Atlantic Conference) will make their way to Hartsville, S.C. on Friday morning to train on location at Coker Athletic Field before resting up for a Saturday afternoon kick.
Coach Simon Duffy is looking not only for a winning result, but a high-level performance from the team over the full duration of the contest.
"We need to take every game as it comes and we're not looking past Coker," Duffy said. "Albeit they're at the other end of the table, it means absolutely nothing to us. We have to respect this opponent, but we need to start putting in performances that warrant the type of player that we have here because I think we've been coming up way too short in that department. We need players to step up to the plate and put in a performance."
Coker has seen its fair share of struggles this year under first-year head coach Garrett Linquist. Through nine games, Coker has found one victory against Shaw at home on Sept. 21. With Coker's 1-8 (0-4 SAC) overall record already eclipses last year's mark of 0-13. Dating back to the 2015 season, Coker is a combined 10-54-1 overall with a 4-42 mark in SAC play, respectively.
The Eagles will look to avoid a two-game losing streak for the fourth time this season after the most recent loss Wednesday. In all three of the Eagles' previous defeats, C-N rebounded with a win in the game immediately following. The team will hope to draw even in away fixtures on the year, too, as they are currently 1-2 in road contests.
Not only will C-N have to adapt once more to playing in unfamiliar territory, they'll also be facing a team at the bottom of the table who is looking to cause an upset.
"Their record may not show a team in form or a good team, but they're at home and they're going to put in a shift," Duffy said. "And the results are different at home than on the road, we're well aware of that. We're in no way a team that can take anybody in our conference lightly."
Through the first half of SAC play on the season, the Eagles have outscored SAC foes by a combined margin of 7-5, earning a trio of wins in one-goal contests. The five goals allowed in conference play so far is the fifth-lowest mark in all of the SAC.
C-N has notched one in the win column against Coker in four of the past five meetings, with the Eagles outscoring the Cobras by a combined 24-2 margin in that time span. The last time that Coker defeated C-N was in 2014 in the midst of a 3-14 season for the Eagles. Since then, C-N has won four-straight tilts between the two sides, including a convincing 7-0 victory last season.
Senior forward Ashley Hogg is the leading goal scorer for the Cobras, scoring two goals for a total of four points thus far this season. Five players have started all nine contests for Coker in 2019, compared to six for C-N.
Play at Coker Athletic Field is set for noon, followed by the men's soccer team at 2:30 p.m.
