JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time this season, Carson-Newman was outshot in a match, but thanks to junior Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.). in the 97th minute, it was the Eagles starting SAC play with another valuable three points.
Saturday marked the first time the Eagles (3-1-2, 2-0 SAC) have scored off a penalty kick since Magda Mosengo completed the action against Catawba in November of 2018. The Eagles were outshot 25-10 on Saturday, marking the first time an Eagles team has allowed between 20-29 shots from an opponent since October 2019 against Catawba, who had 23 that night.
"Loved the tenacity of the girls and how they kept fighting even though we didn't really show up in the first half," head coach Simon Duffy said. "We knew it was going to be a tough place to play and win so I'm happy we're able to come back home with the three points."
The last time an Eagles team has been outshout under coach Duffy was last spring in the season opener against Lincoln Memorial. In the 2-1 double overtime loss, it was the Railsplitters leading the way with 17 shot attempts to a mere 12 for C-N. In games which they have been outshot, the Eagles are 2-4-1 all-time.
Saturday was grueling contest as C-N came out of the gates struggling in the first 45 minutes of action. Once the halftime whistle sounded, it was the Bulldogs looking to pull away from the Eagles as they were holding a 17-1 shot advantage at the break. The last time C-N was held to less than five attempts in a half was November 9, 2019 against Queens (N.C.) in the SAC Quarterfinals. The Eagles responded that game with 20 attempts in the second half, despite falling 2-1.
In Saturday's match, it was sophomore Molly Bukiewicz taking the lone attempt with only seven seconds left on the first half clock. Meanwhile, sophomore goalkeeper Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany) made six saves during the first half against the 17 registered attempts by the Bulldogs.
"Told the girls at halftime that we needed to step up and support Lilly who had kept us in the game to that point," Duffy said. "We knew Wingate was a very technical team and would challenge us but we were just outplayed at moments and it shows."
The second half was a closely contested battle as the teams combined for 15 shot attempts, including seven for the Eagles. Both teams were battling back-and-forth all half as they were whistled for nine total fouls in the half. The most significant whistle came in the 73rd minute against graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.). She was immediately shown a red card after pushing back and forth with a Wingate opponent. This marked the first time an Eagles squad played a player down since October 2018 against Tusculum when they were defeated 2-1. However, with Saturday's victory, the Eagles have now won with a player down for the first time since November 2015 in the SAC Tournament against Lincoln Memorial, winning 1-0.
"Losing a player like Emilee with almost 20 minutes left in the game spoke to the character of this team. She is a great leader and yes, it's tough to lose someone like her on the pitch," Duffy said. "However, the girls stepped up and kept fighting till the end. Once it came time for overtime, we knew we could win it if we got the chance and it came for us with Addie stepping up."
The deciding moment for either team came as the overtime period began. After absolutely rocketing a shot from 20 yards out which ended up high, Henry stepped to the line in the 97th minute. Her most recent penalty kick attempt came against Lincoln Memorial during the shortened spring season. Unlike then, the junior stepped to the spot, took a breath, and sunk the game-winner to give C-N their first 2-0 start in SAC play since 2019 when C-N took victories over Lincoln Memorial (2-1) and Newberry (2-0) that season.
Carson-Newman was outshot by Wingate 25-10, with four of the Eagle attempts falling on goal compared to eight of the Bulldogs attempts doing so.
The Bulldogs also held the advantage in corner kicks as the Bulldogs were awarded five on Saturday while C-N was not able to receive one themselves for the first time since the start of the 2019 season against Bellarmine as the Knights also held five corners that night while C-N had none.
Henry and sophomore Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) led the way for the Eagles with three shot attempts apiece, as Henry saw only one fall on goal compared to Bryneus having two of her attempts finding the frame.
Ebner compiled seven saves on 24 shots faced, as she now moves to 3-1-2 on the season to match the C-N record thus far in 2021.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs saw Sophia Husted and Caroline Peters lead the way with six shot attempts apiece. Of their six attempts, both only had two fall on goal. Wingate goalie, Katrine Thisgaard, faced nine Eagle shots and was able to make three saves. She now moves to match the Bulldogs record at 2-2 through four 2021 matches thus far. She also has now lost two straight SAC matches as she was in net for the Wingate v. Queens match on Wednesday.
"We are happy to be leaving Wingate with three points as it is a tough place to play and we know that going 2-0 to start conference helps out morale," Duffy said. "We still have some areas to work on but overall, we'll use this week and prepare to continue what we've started."
The Eagles now get an entire week to prepare before taking the field again to continue SAC play in 2021. Carson-Newman will kickstart a two-game homestand as the Catawba College Catawba Indians pay Mossy Creek a visit next Saturday, September 25, for a 7:30 p.m. kick.
Fans can watch the action via the Eagles Sports Network at cneagles.com/live and follow live in-game updates via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
-CN-
