JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-0-0) finishes the first week of the regular season with a home tilt against the Lee Flames (0-0-1) tomorrow evening at McCown field.
Carson-Newman is eyeing its first 2-0 start since 2017. That special season saw the Eagles win their first five matches before a draw, with the club finishing 21-1-1 overall, appearing in the NCAA DII National Championship game.
This year's group overcame two deficits in its opening match to secure a 5-3 win over North Greenville. C-N has now scored 5 goals in a match for the second straight season. C-N improved its impressive record when scoring two goals or more to 60-2-1 under head coach Simon Duffy.
C-N got goals from four different players, led by Felicia Frick's (Eschen, Liechenstien) two penalty kick goals to pace the offensive attack. It was a day of firsts for many Eagles, with Alba Delgado (Oviedo, Spain), Krista Nielsen (Saurdarkrokur, Iceland) and Karli Pettitt (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) all recording their first career collegiate goals. All three of their goals were assisted by returning players in Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn), Anita Arnadottir (Alfantes, Iceland) and Selina Jud (Wilderswil, Switzerland). Ten Eagle players made their C-N debut as well.
20 different Eagles played in the season opener. 19 of those 20 players played more than 20 minutes.
C-N conceded three goals despite winning against North Greenville. It was the Eagles first win under Duffy when allowing three goals or more and just the ninth time his team has allowed that many goals.
Lee started 2023 with a draw to Lenoir-Rhyne in their season opener on Thursday afternoon. Avery Sides scored in the 12th minute to give the Flames a 1-0 lead. LR scored a 31st minute goal to level the match and the two defenses held strong from there out. Lee outshot LR 15-13, with both teams recording six shots on target. The Flames had 9 corner kicks in their opening match.
Lee was picked to finish 3rd in the Gulf South Conference preseason poll, receiving one first place vote. Defender Kate Dirkse and forward Ellie Crisler were both named to the Preseason All-GSC.
Excluding the covid-shortened spring 2021 season, Lee has 20 consecutive double-digit win seasons. Since transitioning to DII in women's soccer in 2015, the Flames have made the NCAA tournament every year except the covid shortened season. Two of those NCAA appearances have included multiple NCAA tournament victories. Their best run was in 2018, the Flames made it all the way to the Final Four before falling to Grand Valley State 3-0.
When the two teams kick off tomorrow, it will be the ninth all-time meeting. The first matchup came in the 1994 season, a Carson-Newman 3-1 victory in Cleveland. The most recent meeting came in the covid spring 2021 season, a Lee 3-0 win. The Flames have won back-to-back meetings and hold a 5-3 advantage in the series.
Tomorrow's match kicks off at 5:00 p.m. from McCown field. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription.
Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
