JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in 2021, Carson-Newman women's soccer (1-1-1, 0-0 SAC) can now claim a spot in the winner's circle after claiming victory over Belmont Abbey (0-2, 0-0 CC) on Wednesday night. With tonight's win, Carson-Newman continues their recent success against Belmont Abbey and have now won two straight over the Crusaders.
The result also marks the latest C-N victory in a season since 2018, when Duffy's squad took three games to join the three-point club in that season as well.
Under Duffy, the Eagles are now 21-5-1 on the road and have outscored opponents on the road by a margin of 71-20. Since 2009, the Eagles are 55-36-6 all-time on the road. When facing opponents from the Tar Heel State, the Eagles are 26-3-2, now moving to 5-2 ahead in the series history against the Crusaders.
"We finally can say we have won a game and I think tonight continues to show our talent on this squad. We had a couple players who rested tonight, so they will be fresh on Saturday and ready to go," Carson-Newman coach Simon Duffy said. "We came out tonight and picked up right where we ended on Sunday against Young Harris. We kept our offensive firepower going and the stats show it after the first 45. I think the girls know we are capable of doing things this year, and I'm excited to finally say we have a win."
Wednesday was an offensive onslaught for Duffy's squad for the third straight contest to start the 2021 season. Junior Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) opened the scoring for C-N in the 34th minute off an assist from senior Jente Kuper (Ottersberg,Germany). Just over two minutes later, sophomore Abbie Zander (Baneberry, Tennessee) finished off another Kuper assist in the 36th minute to double the Eagle lead and give them a 2-0 lead after the first 45.
After the first 45 were in the books, Carson-Newman saw 17 shot attempts, with seven falling on goal. The Crusaders fired off a mere two shots in the first half. The Eagles were also ahead in corners attempted as they found three attempts to their name while Belmont Abbey was only given one attempt.
For the third straight game, it was sophomore goalkeeper for Carson-Newman, Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany), getting the start as she made one save on the two Crusader attempts in the first 45 of action.
Once the second half kicked off, it was Carson-Newman on the offensive as they continued putting the pressure on the Crusaders backline. However, Belmont Abbey took advantage of some early offense as Goose Andrews scored in the 50th minute to make it a one-goal game.
C-N got a solid opportunity by graduate student Kristina Markfort (Munster, Germany) as she shot an attempt low and center but Brianna Sroka stepped up and saved it to keep it 2-1. In the 67th minute, Zander attempted to make it a brace as she fired a lower right shot as her attempt was saved by Sroka as well. Zander kept her impressive outing alive as she made another tempting attempt for a brace in the 77th minute with a shot low and center, but Sroka stepped up again for the save.
"We had a little bit of a rocky second half compared to how we started the game in the first 45. However, we still were able to get some quality attempts from both Abbie Zander and Carina Wust who came off the bench," Duffy said. "The girls knew what we were capable of after Sunday's result against Young Harris. I didn't really want to keep harping on the aspect, but I'm satsfified with our attempts and it helped us get on the winning side of things."
Carson-Newman outshot Belmont Abbey 29-7 with 14 of the Eagles attempts falling on frame compared to only two Crusaders attempts finding the frame.
The Eagles lined up for seven corners in the contest while Belmont Abbey was awarded five themselves.
Abbie Zander led the way for the Eagles with five shot attempts with four falling on goal in her 36 minutes of action. The Eagles also saw a trio of other players compiling four individual shot attempts. Markfort had four attempts with one on goal. Henry found four shot attempts in 81 minutes of action. Finally, graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) continued to notch herself in Carson-Newman women's soccer history as she added another four shot attempts to her name, including one falling on goal.
Ebner made a single save in the win, moving to 1-1-1 in the 2021 season.
KB Briones led the Crusaders in shots on Wednesday as she collected two attempts and had one be on goal. The Crusaders also had a quintet of athletes who collected single shot attempts in the contest.
Both Sroka and Lauryn Harding were solid in net for Belmont Abbey. Both played a half as it was Harding who started for the Crusaders, allowing the two Eagles goals but making five saves. Sroka came in to start the second half and held C-N scoreless while making seven saves to finish the game.
Carson-Newman returns back home to the confines of McCown Field Saturday as the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans pay Mossy Creek a visit. First kick is slated for 3:00 p.m. on Saturday with live in-game coverage being provided at cneagles.com/live and via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
"It is always nice to be able to play at McCown Field. We have had two tough road contests and now we are able to be back at home before conference play starts next week," Duffy said. "It is important for us to keep up the intensity and give our opponent the respect they deserve no matter what. Trevecca Nazarene is a very well-coached club and I think having this last tune-up before SAC play will make our girls confident for the rest of the season. We know what we can do and if we play like we have in the last two contests, we will be set."
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