JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After capturing their first SAC win of 2021, Carson-Newman women's soccer turns the page to another formidable opponent, the Wingate Bulldogs (2-1, 0-1 SAC) on Saturday. First kick between the Eagles and Bulldogs is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Saturday from the Wingate Soccer Complex & Pride Park.
Against the Bulldogs, Carson-Newman are leading the series 28-7-2, including a 10-3-1 mark on the road in Wingate. Under head coach Simon Duffy, the Eagles are 4-1 overall against Wingate. The latest installment of this SAC contest was 2019 when Wingate returned the 2018 favor and left McCown Field as 2-1 winners that season.
The last time the Eagles started a season 2-1-2 was under Will Beddingfield when the Eagles started 2-1-2 before going on to finish 11-6-2 and claiming a spot in the SAC Tournament in Beddingfield's last season as head coach.
"We held movement and kept a clean sheet against Mars Hill. Excellent and we have three points on the board, a win in the league so we march on from here," head coach Simon Duffy said. "Last two games for Sydnee have been good with her efforts on the ball. We knew what we were getting when we recruited her and these last few games have made her more comfortable and help her understand what she is capable of."
The Eagles kicked off the 2021 SAC season on Wednesday as they continued their series dominance over the Mars Hill Lions. The Eagles have now won 16 consecutive matches against the Lions, and are outscoring them 120-25 all-time. In Wednesday's contest, it was the youth of Duffy's squad proving to be the ultimate difference. In the 37th minute, freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn). was able to find the back of the net after junior teammate Mic Kriebel (Greenville, Tenn.) found her off a cross in front of goal. Duncan was also making her first career start in place of preseason first-team All-SAC selection, junior Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
"It was really special to get out there for the first time and be able to step up where Addie normally is. I felt like I just needed to come and bring something. I worked really hard and got the goal which was just really special," Duncan said. "If we keep making opportunities and being patient, we can finish like we do in practice and not freak out in those moments so we can be set. We just have to work really hard and execute in the final third and communicate, but we have to just keep working hard and pushing."
The Eagles were once again dominant on the offensive side of the ball, as they held Mars Hill shotless in the entire first half while compiling 11 shot attempts of their own. The Eagles were once again able to see freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) make her mark at McCown Field as she scored her third goal in as many home matches for C-N. Wednesday saw Bryneus finish off an assist by sophomore Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.) in the 58th minute to double the Eagle lead and make it 2-0.
As the Eagles held Mars Hill without a single shot for the entire first half, marking the first time an Eagle opponent had been held shotless in a single half since April 1, 2021 this year when the Eagles did the same thing on the road at Mars Hill. As C-N held the Lions to only two shots on Wednesday, this marks the first time an Eagles opponent had been held with fewer than five shot attempts since earlier this year during the 2-0 loss to Young Harris.
"Everything about the win on Wednesday boosts our confidence heading into Saturday. We score goals and we kept a clean sheet. There are the two things that have been alluded us right now," Duffy said. "Hopefully we can continue this effort against a very good Wingate side. Frustration now there after Mars Hill, we score the goals and now we move on."
Turning the page to the Bulldogs on Saturday, when the two SAC sides have met here from Wingate, the matches have fallen 10-3-1 in favor of the Eagles all-time. In the first away meeting of the series for C-N, the Eagles took a 1-1 draw during the 1992 season. Since then, the Eagles have outscored the Bulldogs 29-13 all-time when playing on the road.
The last time the Eagles and Lions met in Wingate was in October of 2018 as C-N walked away as 3-0 winners. In that match, it was Alex Brandan getting the scoring started early as she netted the Eagles' first goal in the ninth minute of action before teammate Magda Mosengo doubled the lead in the 14th minute. Finally, with just mere seconds left on the clock, Holly Talbut-Smith found an assist in the middle of the field before making it 3-0 for C-N as they outshot the Bulldogs 22-8 that match.
Wingate comes into the second SAC match of the season after dropping their conference opener to the Queens (N.C.) Royals on Wednesday by a final of 2-0. So far this season, the Bulldogs have attempted 50 shots, scored four goals, held two opponents to be shutout, and average 16.7 shots per game. The Bulldogs also average the third-highest shot percentage in the SAC at 0.571 through three contests.
Leading the Bulldogs is interim head coach and former Bulldogs goalkeeping standout, Abbey Frail. Frail joined the coaching staff in the fall of 2020 after graduating with her undergraduate degree from Wingate. In the 2020 season, she helped lead the Bulldogs to an appearance in the NCAA regional title match.
During her senior season, Frail captured first team Academic All-American honors from CoSIDA and was named the 2019 women's soccer SAC Scholar-Athlete. She was able to garner first-team All-SAC accolades in her senior season and was named All-Region from the United Soccer Coaches and D2CCA.
The Winston-Salem native was a goalie for the Bulldogs in her playing career. She and the team played in the SAC Tournament title match for three of her four season, including finishing 16th in the nation after 2019. That year, she entered the NCAA Tournament as the SAC leader with a 0.56 goals-against-average and led the conference with 12 shutouts. She was ninth nationally in shutouts and 16th in the goals-against-average category. Over the final seven games of 2019, Frail and her team notched five shutouts including a pair over top-20 opponents in the NCAA Tournament.
This season, the Bulldogs are led by a quartet of athletes who have each scored one goal this season. Of those four athletes, it is senior Alicia Rubio Garcia leading the team with eight shots and five shots on goal followed closely by junior Brianna Ditillo with seven shots and four shots on goal.
In goal, it has been the sophomore, Katrine Thisgaard, starting all three contests thus far in 2021. She has amassed a GAA of 0.67 while making 10 saves, allowing only two goals and holding two opponents to be shutout. Thisgaard is 2-1 on the season with a save percentage of 0.833%.
Live in-game stats and video for Saturday's match will be provided by Wingate Athletics as well as live in-game updates provided on Twitter at @CN_Eagles
