JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Their song is "Just can't get enough" and nothing could ring more true for Carson-Newman women's soccer as they left it all on the pitch for Senior Day on Saturday. The Eagles (8-3-3, 6-2-1 SAC) continued their winning streak over the Coker Cobras (1-9-2, 1-8 SAC) with a 9-0 offensive onslaught from McCown Field Saturday.
With their win on Saturday, this marks the first time C-N has won three straight SAC matches at McCown Field since October 2018 when they defeated Mars Hill (4-1), Limestone (1-0), and Catawba (2-1). The Eagles went on to win two more home matches that season against SAC foes, one being in the SAC Quarterfinals and then the 2018 NCAA Southeast Regional.
Under head coach Simon Duffy, the Eagles are now 30-7-4 from McCown Field, including 18-4-1 against the SAC on the home pitch. This is the third straight home victory over the Cobras for Carson-Newman as they have not lost on the home pitch to Coker since 1993 when they were handed a 1-0 loss.
This is also the last time Coker has won in the series, as Carson-Newman has won six straight over Coker. In their winning span, the Eagles are outscoring the Cobras 36-1 including 23-0 in the matches in Jefferson City.
The Eagles peppered Coker goalkeeper Sarah Swaim with 16 shots in the first 45 minutes, four of which were on goal before freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) continued to build her team lead with her sixth goal on the season off a cross and pass into the box by senior Kristina Markfort (Munster, Germany) and sophomore Carina Wust (Hausen im Wiesental, Germany). Duncan was not done with her offensive outing as she added another, her seventh of the season, in the 23rd minute after senior Jente Kuper (Ottersberg, Germany) sent a beautiful cross behind the Cobras defense.
The final first half goal came in the 33rd minute as sophomore Abbie Zander (Baneberry, Tenn.) finished off an assist by Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.). The pass from Fields was intended for Duncan, but after Duncan juked out the defense and allowed Zander to receive the ball, she did not miss as she made it 3-0 Eagles after the first 45.
"Very impressed with our efforts today and nothing against Coker, but we needed a match like today to show us that we can actually score and not be a second-half team," Coach Simon Duffy mentioned. "For the goal onslaught to come on a day like Senior Day, just means so much more for the girls. We knew we could be an offensive firepower of a team, but we are performing at the level we always talk about and the last few matches show the efforts as a result."
Duffy's group led the shot category at the half ripping off a total of 16 shots compared to only one for Coker. Of their 16 attempts, six would be on frame for C-N as Coker's attempt by Lillia Rodriguez would fall on frame as well.
The second half got started and C-N wasted little to no time opening up the floodgates and putting the match out of reach for the Cobras. In the final 45, the Eagles would add on six more goals, including a brace from senior Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) and Sydnee Duncan capping off a hat trick.
Sydnee Duncan capped off her hat trick on Saturday in the 54th minute as she found a pass into the box before firing it and pushing it right above a Cobras defender's head and into the net to make it 4-0 Eagles. This marked the first time an Eagles player has scored a hat trick in a match since Magda Mosengo did so in October 2018 against the same team in Coker. With her third goal on the afternoon, Duncan also became the first Eagle athlete to collect six points in a match since Holly Talbut-Smith did so against the Cobras in September 2018.
Just a minute later, Emilee Futrell joined the scoring party as she netted her 35th career goal in the 55th minute, thanks to an assist by freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden). Futrell would move ahead of former C-N assistant Jules Herrity with the goal as she had been looking to score since the game-tying goal against North Georgia in the season opener.
The Wilson, N.C. native was not done though as mere seconds later, she found her way on a breakaway behind the Cobras defense. She made a couple nifty moves, fired off a beauty of a shot, and made it 6-0 Eagles and notched no. 36 for her career. Futrell is now only one goal away from tying former C-N All-American Lauren Wade with 37 career goals.
"To score these goals in front of my family adds so much more meaning to the instance," Futrell said. "I've been looking to push some into the net all season, but it really came to fruition today thanks to the play of my team. We played as a whole team and played for each other which helped propel us to the massive win."
The Eagles onslaught kept on rolling in the 62nd minute as Bryneus got her fifth goal on the season. Coming off an assist by Kristina Markfort, Bryneus made some moves to get behind the Cobras defense and make it 7-0 in favor of the home squad. Bryneus now moves into second on the team behind Duncan in goals as the two have been battling lately for their mark in the SAC Freshman of the Year race.
The wheels started to slowly come to a halt for C-N as it would take 19 minutes of action between their seventh and eighth goal on Saturday. Junior Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) took advantage of a timely Cobras turnover in the 81st minute, before netting her third on the season and blowing the bulge of C-N up to 8-0.
Finally, junior Katie Koumiss (Gallatin, Tenn.) got some personal reassurance as after missing a penalty kick in the 86th minute. The Gallatin, Tenn. native found a breakway attempt behind the Cobras defense and did not miss this time around, netting her first career goal and solidifying the 9-0 victory for the Eagles. The nine goals mark the highest goal total for C-N under coach Simon Duffy and the most goals for an Eagles team since 2016 when the Eagles upended USC-Aiken 9-0 on the road.
"We love that we were able to come out and get this victory today in front of a very nice crowd," Duff said. "It allowed us to not only get to honor the seniors for their time as an Eagle, but also allows us to continue building our resume in SAC play as we head into crunch time and the last few matches of regular season."
Duffy's squad allowed just two shots on the day, the lowest in a match since playing Mars Hill earlier this season, with Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany) called into action to make a pair of saves during the 90 minutes action. The Eagles posted a total of 42 shots, 21 of which were on frame. Their 42 shot attempts are the most by an Eagles team since October 2016 when the Eagles held 55 shot attempts against Brevard.
The Eagles also held seven assists on the nine goals, something that has not been done since September 2018 when the Eagles had six assists against Lees-McRae.
C-N is now 4-1 against conference opponents when playing at McCown Field this season and are outscoring opponents 13-8. The last goal C-N allowed at home in SAC play came at the 29:57 mark in the matchup against Tusculum.
The Cobras have played Carson-Newman now played ten times, as C-N holds the 6-3-1 series lead. Overall, it has been the Eagles not suffering a loss to Coker since 1993 as they are now unbeaten in the last seven matches. In the entire series history, the Eagles have outscored the Cobras 38-8. At home, that margin shifts to 23-3 in Jefferson City in favor of the Eagles.
Carson-Newman will continue their brief homestand as they will now have another week off to prepare for a pivotal matchup with the Limestone Saints. The Saints and Eagles are the two teams battling to finish as one of the top four teams in the final SAC standings.
"We know today was nothing short of what we're capable of and we have to repeat that type of success next week against Limestone. They're a good team who can easily adapt in game which is something I'm sure we'll be working on over the next week," Duffy said. "They are a good team and we expect a good battle from them. We just have to do what we did this last time around and use the week to prepare and be ready to go when kickoff takes place next Saturday."
Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on October 30 from McCown Field at Wayne and Beth Harvey Stadium between the Eagles and Saints.
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.
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