JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 12 ranked Carson-Newman bounced back into the win column on Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 victory over Anderson at McCown Field, handing the Trojans their first South Atlantic Conference loss of 2018.
C-N (7-3, 5-1) outshot Anderson (4-5, 4-1) 34-2 through the 90 minutes marking the largest margin in coach Simon Duffy's tenure at the helm. The previous high came against King on Oct. 25 of last season when they let off 31 shots while holding the Tornado to a big goose egg. This season, C-N added to a list of large differences outshooting Lees-McRae 35-6 and Coker 33-1.
Anderson drops its fifth-straight match to the Eagles ending its own four-game conference winning streak. The Trojans were the only team remaining in the SAC who was unbeaten in league play.
"There were some very terrific efforts from us today," Duffy said. "We didn't get to finish off a lot of them but it wasn't for the lack of trying. Credit to Anderson and their keeper but when we are creating those chances, sooner or later they're going to start going in. We knew we had to be on our game with them being unbeaten in conference. I thought we were excellent on the ball and its simple stuff for us that makes the difference."
Magda Mosengo (London, England) continues her dominant season as she recorded her 11th goal of the year seven minutes of the match. A beautiful cross from senior defender Alex Brandan (Knoxville, Tenn.) along the left side landed on the foot of Mosengo in the box who drilled it past Anderson goalkeeper Abby Helm. The tally moves Mosengo into 7th all-time in program history with 31 goals in her career.
The senior forward has recorded at least one point in eight straight games for C-N as she entered the day tied for 8th in the nation in goals (10) and tied for 9th in total points (24).
With the goal at the 6:37 mark, the program has scored within the first 12 minutes of the match in five out of the last seven outings.
C-N dominated possession in the first half as most of the 45 minutes were spent in the Anderson third. The Eagles would let off 11 shots before Anderson mustered their first in the 36th minute, which would require the assistance of C-N's goalkeeper Jasmine Rizk (Andersonville, Tenn.). The Trojans were outshot 16-1 at the break.
The C-N side hit the post or crossbar three different times in the first half, an area that hampered the team's opportunities on Wednesday against Tusculum when they clanked two shots off the bar.
The Trojans netminder Helm collected a season-high 11 saves which is nearly three times higher than her previous mark before C-N would eventually grab its second goal of the match to gain breathing room.
A foul outside of the box in the 77th minute set up the Eagles with a free kick opportunity. Brandan connected on a touch pass from Lara Hallgrimsdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland) that hit the chest of the aforementioned Helms. Freshman defender Jente Kuper (Ottersberg, Germany) cleaned up the rebound as she was being dragged to the ground collecting her first goal as an Eagle.
Rizk ended the evening with two saves to collect her second clean sheet of 2018 and the team's fourth.
"She was excellent," Duffy said. "She did everything we asked of her. She was calm, cool, and collected. She moved the ball well in the back and we're a team that likes to play out of the back. Keeping possession of the ball is the main thing."
"It feels great to have that defense in front of you and it's truly the biggest part of the shutout," Rizk said. "To play with such high caliber players like we have is fantastic. Our response to Tusculum was we just had to keep pushing. The cards didn't fall like we wanted but just to keep doing what we do and results will come."
C-N moves to 32-4-2 against league opponents over the last three regular-season meetings outscoring opponents 120-28. Including tournament matches, the record bulges to 41-4-2 with a difference in scoring of 140-30.
The Eagles had 13 corners on the evening as it notched the first time C-N had 10 or more opportunities since Oct. 4 against Lincoln Memorial last season.
C-N will have a week off before they hit the field again when they travel to Charlotte, N.C. to take on the Queens Royals. That game is set for Saturday, Oct. 13 at 5:00 p.m.
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