JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Saturday night could not seem to go in favor of Carson-Newman in any aspect. It was all about the visiting Catawba College Catawba Indians (6-0-1, 2-0 SAC) as they dominated play from the opening whistle to the final whistle, handing the Eagles (3-2-2, 2-1 SAC) their first SAC loss of 2021 by a margin of 7-0.
Saturday's result marks the worst home loss for a Simon Duffy led squad since he began in 2017. The worst home loss under Duffy prior to Saturday's result came in 2019 when the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears walked away 3-0 winners from McCown Field. Since he took over as head coach, Duffy has seen three opponents score at least three goals against his team.
Catawba was led by the efforts of Hannah Dunn and reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week, Sydney Jimmo in Saturday's match. Dunn got the scoring off to an early start as she pushed the Indians ahead with a goal in the 26th minute. The ball was crossed into Dunn before she perfectly placed the shot under the legs of sophomore goalkeeper Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany). Dunn was far from finished in the first half as she collected a brace with a goal nearly three minutes later in the 29th minute. After teammate Helen Summerall executed a perfect long-ball assist, Dunn took on two Eagle defenders before pushing the ball behind Ebner and making it 10 goals for her in 2021.
To finish her first-half efforts, Dunn wrapped up an individual hat trick in the 33rd minute after teammate Kasey Hahn sent in a corner for the Indians. The ball was deflected into the air before Dunn found her way to it and placed it for the 3-0 lead in favor of the visitors. The final first half-goal for Catawba came by way of Katie Beck who found herself in front of goal and fired off an attempt which Ebner saved. However, the rebound went straight to the feet of Beck as she chipped the ball over Ebner's head and made it 4-0 Indians after the first 45 minutes of action.
"To say we got beat by a better team is an understatement. They were better from back to front," head coach Simon Duffy said. "We knew what they would do but they were exceptional so hats off to them tonight."
Once the second half started for the Eagles and Indians, it was C-N making some lineup changes including junior Hope Doyle (Harrison, Ohio) getting her first action of 2021 in net for Duffy. She was tested early as the Indians fired off multiple attempts in the first three minutes of action in the second half. It was Helen Summerall in the 49th minute who finally broke through with her nifty moves on the ball and made it 5-0 Catawba.
Not to be outdone, Jimmo finally made her presence felt against the Eagles defense as she netted her 9th goal on the season and 8th in the last week with a 61st minute net-ripper off an Indians cross into the box. Jimmo kept the pressure on the Eagles as she was able to gain a penalty kick in the 62nd minute. She stepped up to the spot, buried the goal, and made it 7-0 Catawba.
With the 7-0 result on Saturday, this marks the first time since 2012 that an Eagles opponent has scored at least seven goals in a match. During the 2012 season, the Eagles saw the North Georgia Nighthawks rattle off an 8-1 victory from McCown Field. However, for the Eagles, Saturday marks the first time since 2011 that an opponent has scored exactly seven goals in a match.
In the second match of the 2011 season, the Eagles were on the road against the North Alabama Lions. The Lions did not hesitate to defend home turf as they thrashed the Eagles 7-0 and handed them their first loss of 2011.
"We try to prepare our players for who they will face in players such as Jimmo and Dunn," Duffy said. "Fair play for both of those two. They showed up tonight and were exceptional."
As Jimmo stepped up and buried the penalty kick, it was the first time an Eagle opponent has scored a penalty kick since October 2018 when Tusculum was able to do so.
Saturday marked the first time an Eagles squad has failed to score since the September 5 matchup earlier this year against Young Harris, a 2-0 loss for the Eagles.
The seven attempts are the lowest amount of shot attempts for C-N since October 2019 against Limestone when they also held seven attempts. Meanwhile, with Catawba holding 16 shot attempts all match, this is the first time since February 2021 that an Eagle opponent has shot between 15 and 19 attempts.
For Catawba, they have now outscored their opponents 29-3 all season. Dunn now has collected 11 goals for the 2021 season, followed by Jimmo with 10 of her own. Sierra Davis stepped up once again for the Indians as she moves to 6-0-1 in 2021 for Nick Brown and his staff.
The Eagles will look to rebound as they welcome in their rivals from Greenville, the Tusculum Pioneers on Wednesday. First kick is scheduled between the Eagles and Pioneers for 5:00 p.m. Wednesday night from McCown Field.
"I'm hoping we have a response on Wednesday," Duffy said. "I say a lot of teams are anxious to play us with what we saw tonight. I hope we can rebound and pick ourselves up as we get ready for next week."
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