SALISBURY, N.C. – Carson-Newman women's soccer (9-3-3, 7-2-1) gave No. 8 Catawba (13-0-2, 7-0-2) all it could handle on Saturday, tying the nationally ranked Lady Indians.
"So proud of the team's effort today," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "We went up 1-0 with a wonderful strike from Maja (Bengtsson) and unfortunately conceded one but were able to hold out for a well-earned draw."
The tie is the first in South Atlantic Conference play for the Eagles. C-N remains in third place in the SAC table with 22 points.
The country's second-best offensive attack came out firing early in the match. The Lady Indians sent four shots on target in the first 12 minutes of action. But freshman goalkeeper Laura Germes saved all four shots.
C-N's first opportunity came off its first corner kick of the game, as sophomore Nellie Bryneus sent a shot wide right in the 21st minute.
Neither team took a shot in the final 15 minutes and the two best offenses played the first half scoreless.
C-N got the scoring started with its second shot of the match. In the 65th minute, freshman Maja Bengtsson sent a shot past goalkeeper Sierra Davis to put the Eagles ahead 1-0. The goal ended a 859 minute scoreless streak for the Lady Indians defense.
Catawba had an answer just eight minutes later. Maria Rayburn found the SAC's second leading goal scorer Helen Summerell to tie the match at 1.
Only two more shots were fired after Catawba's goal, as the two teams ended the match in a 1-1 tie.
C-N recorded a season-low two shots in the match, one in each half. It's just the third time this season that Catawba was held to one goal or less.
Germes made a season and career-high seven saves.
Under Duffy, C-N is now 20-6-3 against the SAC on the road.
The Eagles get 11 days off before wrapping up the regular season with a trip to Tusculum on October 26.
The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Follow along on Twitter and Instagram @CN_eagles for updates throughout the match.
