Eagles finish season ranked 11th by NSCAA

Posted: Dec 08, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The South Atlantic Conference's regular season and tournament champions Carson-Newman Eagles finished the season ranked 11^th in the nation in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll released on Tuesday after finishing the season 19-3.

Carson-Newman advanced to the Southeast Regional Championship before succumbing to eventual national runners-up Columbus State 4-1. The Eagles were the only SAC team to end the season ranked in the NSCAA poll; the Armstrong State Pirates were the only C-N opponent to end the year ranked or receiving votes.

C-N completed their first sweep of the conference titles in six seasons and became the first SAC program to perform the feat in three years.

The Eagles led the SAC in 2015 in goals scored and shots tallied and had the second-most assists, goals against average and shots per game average. C-N averaged 2.50 goals per game and handed out 40 assists. The Eagles also knocked off two ranked opponents with the first coming against Lenoir-Rhyne on Sept. 16^th; the win over the Bears was the team's first win over a ranked foe since 20009.

Carson-Newman completed the best turnaround in SAC history after the Eagles went from 3-14 in 2014. The 19 wins are the second-most in school history and just one off the 20 wins that the 2009 team achieved. Carson-Newman ended the season ranked 13^th in the nation; when the Eagles first became ranked on 20^th, it was the first ranking since the 2010 preseason poll.

Junior forward Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland) was named third team All-American by the NSCAA last Thursday. Herrity was joined by freshmen midfielders Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway) and Heida Ragney (Akureyri, Iceland) on various All-Region teams. Herrity was named a first team forward on the NSCAA and Division II Conference Commissioners Association while Ness was a second team midfielder on both squads; Ragney garnered third team NSCAA honors. Coach Richard Moodie was named the NSCAA's Southeast Region Coach of the Year and is a candidate for the National Coach of the Year award.

The Eagles are ranked in the final poll for the first time since finishing the season ranked fifth in 2009.

Rank	School	Prev.	W-L-T
1	Grand Valley State University	1	24-1-0
2	Columbus State University	3	23-3-1
3	Western Washington University	2	21-2-1
4	University Of Bridgeport	5	20-2-1
5	University of Central Missouri	8	21-2-0
6	Barry University	4	15-3-1
7	Dallas Baptist University	6	14-4-3
8	Minnesota State University-Mankato	9	18-2-1
9	East Stroudsburg University	RV	13-7-2
10	Bellarmine University	14	17-3-2
11	Carson-Newman University	13	19-3-0
12	Azusa Pacific University	23	16-3-0
13	Adelphi University	12	18-3-2
14	St. Edward's University	NR	13-6-1
15	University Of Tampa	24	12-5-5
16	Angelo State	10	14-3-1
17	Augustana University	18	18-3-1
18	University of North Alabama	15	14-3-2
19	University of North Georgia	16	16-4-1
20	Edinboro University	NR	16-8-0
21	Gannon University	7	18-3-0
22	West Virginia Wesleyan	11	17-1-3
23	Colorado School Of Mines	21	15-5-2
24	Sonoma State University	17	14-3-3
25	Truman State University	22	15-4-4