JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – It all comes down to this for Carson-Newman women's soccer as their regular season will come to an end on Wednesday from Hickory, North Carolina. The Eagles (9-3-3, 7-2-1 SAC) will head to a familiar venue, Bears Field, on Wednesday as they wrap up 2021 regular season action against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (9-4-2, 7-3 SAC).
The Eagles currently sit in third place for the 2021 SAC standings after they handled business and defeated Limestone 1-0 last Saturday in a damp, muddy, and treacherous match. As the Eagles took the victory thanks to sophomore MJ Park (Chattanooga, Tenn.) netting her first career goal, they secured a first round match for the upcoming SAC Tournament to be held at home.
Wednesday will mark the 32nd overall meeting between the Bears and Eagles as it is Lenoir-Rhyne holding the 14-13-4 overall series lead. The two have met four previous times since Simon Duffy took over the reins of C-N, as the Eagles have seen a 1-2-1 record in those matches and have been outscored 6-3 in that span.
"I think if we play like we have in recent matches, we're unbeaten in the last six matches. Form and momentum are everything at this point of the season. We know Lenoir-Rhyne coming off two losses are going to want to right the ship," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "It's reassuring that we'll be back home on Saturday hosting, but we're going down there to take the three points and continue our consistent performance of late."
Since Simon Duffy took over, the Eagles have gone 19-3-1 on the road against SAC opponents, including a 1-0 victory in 2018 over Lenoir-Rhyne. The Eagles are also riding a three-match winning streak against SAC opponents, looking to make it four straight for the first time since 2018. During the 2018 season, C-N would defeat Anderson (S.C.), Queens (N.C.), Mars Hill, and Wingate as part of their 9-1 conference record that season.
A win on Wednesday would push Carson-Newman to their second straight road win against a SAC opponent after the Eagles defeated Newberry 1-0 on Oct. 16 this year. The last time C-N won at least two straight road matches in SAC play came during the 2019 season when they defeated Anderson (S.C.) 1-0 before going on to defeat Coker 3-1 and Mars Hill 3-0 that year.
It continues to be a duo of young guns leading the way for Duffy and his staff throughout 2021. Freshman midfielder Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) leads the team in points (16), goals (8), and game-winning goals (4). Her 16 points overall land her in 10th place, while her 12 points in SAC play rank 9th in the conference. The four game winners land Duncan second in the category overall, but she continues to lead the SAC with three of those coming against conference opponents.
The other part of C-N's young guns has been freshman forward Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden). Currently, the Sweden native is tied for the team lead with four assists while holding the team lead in shots on goal with her 21 attempts thus far. Graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) has been a menace for defenses during her time as an Eagle, and nothing has changed this season. Futrell is tied with Bryneus with four assists while holding the team lead in shots with 46 attempts this season.
In net, sophomore Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany) has allowed the third-fewest goals in SAC play with five goals allowed and holds the third-best goals against average with a 0.64 clip. Ebner holds the third-highest conference save percentage with a clip of .844 while her overall save percentage of .782 lands her seventh overall. Finally, Ebner has been responsible for the second-most shutouts in SAC play (six) while being responsible for the third-most wins in conference play (six) under her belt.
C-N and Lenoir-Rhyne get ready to square off for the 32nd time as the series between the two programs started in 1991. The Bears lead the overall series history 14-13-4, including winning the last two matchups by a combined 4-0 margin. C-N's last win in the series came in the 2018 meeting as they left Hickory with a 1-0 result.
"We know even looking back at the spring when we lost 1-0 off a goal from Ria Action, we know Lenoir-Rhyne is a good program as are we. I hope that complacency is not present for us just because we are already hosting," Duffy said. "Obviously, a win tomorrow guarantees us third place and the higher up in the league table we can finish, the better. I'm hoping we go into this match with the right mindset and right attitude because they will give us everything they have."
When playing in Jefferson City, C-N is 7-6-3 against the Bears, while holding a 6-9-1 record when traveling to Hickory. From Hickory, the scoring has been slightly lopsided as L-R has outscored the Eagles 25-15 all-time. However, Carson-Newman has won three out of the last five matchups when traveling on the road to face the Bears.
The Eagles and Bears last met in the spring 2021 SAC Tournament Quarterfinals last spring. The matchup took place from Bears Field in Hickory as it would be the home team taking the 1-0 result before advancing all the way to the SAC Championship and defeating Queens (N.C.).
Ria Acton was the hero for the Bears as she netted a goal in the 20th minute which would end up being the difference maker in the result. The shot came from Acton as she curled a beautiful ball from right outside the box and got it past the outstretched arm of C-N's Ebner.
When the final whistle blew, C-N still saw a 14-11 shot advantage but both teams were able to find eight shots on goal during the match. Sophomore Marta De Zanger (Barcelona, Spain) would lead the Eagles with four shot attempts and two shots on goal during the loss. Meanwhile, L-R saw Neve Duston lead the way with her three attempts and two shots on goal in the win.
This season, Lenoir-Rhyne has gone 7-3 in conference action and are currently riding a two-match losing streak as they have seen defeats by Newberry and Wingate in the last week. In their losses, both results ended up 1-0 in favor of the opposition. Prior to their losses, L-R had won three straight conference matches, outscoring opponents 11-1 in that span.
The last matchup for Lenoir-Rhyne was a 1-0 defeat to the Wingate Bulldogs last Saturday from Bears Field. The match was back-and-forth all night long, but it was Sophia Husted breaking through in the 83rd minute for Wingate as she netted her third goal of the season and handed the win to her team. The Bears were outshot 18-13 by the Bulldogs as only three of their 13 attempts found the frame.
This season, the Bears have scored 34 total goals which is third-most overall, but have seen 25 of those goals come in conference play which is the second-most behind Catawba's 34 in SAC play. Lenoir-Rhyne has attempted the third-most shots in conference play with 202 attempts, including the third-most shots on goal in conference action with 86. The Bears have attempted 64 corner kicks, second-most in conference, while collecting 17 assists which is third most in conference action.
In terms of physicality, Lenoir-Rhyne has been given 10 yellow cards, fifth-most overall, and have seen one red card shown which places the Bears as one of only three schools (C-N and LMU being the other two) to see red this season. Finally, the Saints are also getting off the third-highest shots per game total as they attempt 20.2 shots per game.
Gary Higgins was hired as the head coach for the Bears in January 2015 as he is now in his seventh season at the helm. Since taking over, Higgins has collected the program record for most wins by a head coach and is second for career winning percentage at L-R. During his time in Hickory, Higgins has been awarded South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors twice in his seven years. He also has helped lead the Bears to two SAC regular season championships and the SAC Tournament Championships last spring.
Since taking over, Higgins has amassed a career record of 80-29-10 overall and a mark of 48-16-1 in conference play, including the results so far in 2021. The Bears have seen NCAA Tournament appearances under Higgins in both 2016 and 2019, both years when they won SAC regular season championships. The Bears also started the 2019 season 9-0, marking the best start in program history. Finally, that 2019 season also saw the Bears be ranked as high as number eight in the nation and set the program record for longest home winning streak with 11 straight victories during the season.
Prior to joining the Bears, Higgins was an assistant coach for another SAC program, Tusculum, from 2012-2014.
Ria Acton and Leonie Proessl lead the program with nine goals. Acton is also tied for the team lead alongside freshman Evan O'Leary as the two each have six assists this season. Acton and O'Leary lead the team with 24 points and 22 points, respectively. Finally, O'Leary and Proessl are leading the charge as each have 20 shots on goal to their ledger.
Cameron Grayson has made majority of the starts in between the pipes for L-R as she has made 14 appearances and starts this season. Grayson has allowed seven goals in conference action, the fourth fewest thus far, along with making 54 total saves which is sixth overall. Her 0.62 GAA places her fourth overall, as she holds a GAA of 0.77 against SAC opponents.
Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on November 3 from the Moretz Sports Complex and Bears Field in Hickory between the Eagles and Bears.
Fans can watch the action via the Bears Sports Network at this link or follow the in-game live stats at this link as well as follow live in-game updates via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
"Just having the depth and talent have helped this program succeed. A lot of times you ask what makes the program and the answer is always the players. Being able to utilize the squad all season has been crucial," Duffy said. "We told our players to be thankful because after Wednesday, we'll be one of eight teams continuing. Take one game at a time and we need to face it and prepare for it as well as act like it's the last. I don't want it nor do I think any player wants this season to end just yet."
