JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- Two second half goals by Wingate (10-3-4) pushed them past Carson-Newman women's soccer (9-4-4) in the South Atlantic Conference quarterfinals Saturday evening in Mossy Creek.
The Bulldogs snap a 13-game home unbeaten streak for the Eagles. C-N was previously unbeaten McCown field this season. C-N loses for just the second time under Simon Duffy when hosting a quarterfinal match.
"They're (Wingate) transition and movement were excellent all evening," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "They are well-coached and they're really good players. We knew it was going to be a tight game. It seems like we have played Wingate a lot over the past couple of years. They did a good job with their movement throughout the game."
Wingate threatened and scored early. In the third minute, a ball was played forward for Sophia Husted who won a foot race and booted the ball into the bottom right corner to put Wingate ahead 1-0.
C-N had a quick response. Junior Abbie Zander made a run near the box and was knocked down. A foul was called, and the officials determined that Zander was inside the box when the foul occurred, granting the Eagles a penalty kick. Senior Addie Henry stepped up and kicked the ball into the bottom right corner past Wingate goalkeeper Katrine Thisgaard to level the match at 1 in the 12th minute. Henry's goal was her third goal of the season.
Each team fired one shot on target in the final 33 minutes of action, with both goalkeepers making the saves. The two teams went into the half knotted up and 1, just like last season's quarterfinal match.
Wingate continued to create chances on the attack into the second half. In the 58th minute, Brianna Ditillo was on the receiving end of a cross from Yasmin Cowley to make it 2-1.
Just seven minutes later, Caroline Peters fired a shot from the middle and sent it past C-N goalkeeper Laura Germes.
C-N had multiple chances to draw closer to the Eagles. In the 76th minute, freshman Selina Jud was behind the defense and sent a shot that forced a diving save from Thisgaard to keep a two-goal advantage for Wingate.
Senior Addie Henry sent the only other shot on target for C-N and it came on a free kick in the 83rd minute. The Bulldogs held strong defensively to secure the quarterfinal win.
C-N outshot Wingate 14-11, with ten of their fourteen shots coming in the second half. Both teams had two corner kicks each in the match.
The Eagles will await the Southeast region rankings, with hopes at an at-large NCAA tournament berth.
Eagle fans can stay up to date with the women's soccer team and the rest of Carson-Newman athletics at cneagles.com.
