WINGATE, N.C. – Wingate (3-0-1, 1-0-0) scored two goals in a three-minute stretch of the second half to hand Carson-Newman (1-3-1, 0-2-0) its second straight conference loss Saturday afternoon at the Wingate Soccer Complex.
"Another disappointing result when we played well and competed for 90 minutes," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "I have no doubt we can turn this around and start getting the results we deserve."
It's the first time under Duffy that his team has begun conference play with a pair of losses. The Eagles have lost back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of the 2018 season. Previously, C-N went 14 consecutive occasions without suffering back-to-back losses.
Both teams had several shot attempts in the first 19 minutes of action, but it was C-N that got the first good looks of the game. Felicia Frick (Eschen, Liechtenstein) sent a shot on frame that was saved by Katrine Thisgaard, who made another save 23 seconds later on a shot attempt from Krista Nielsen (Saurdarkrokur, Iceland).
Wingate's first shot on goal came from Angelina Musilli in the 22nd minute that Berna Kabakci (Zeddam, Netherlands) saved.
Carson-Newman had the other two shots on goal in the opening half, but Thisgaard was able to make saves to keep the match scoreless entering halftime.
Six minutes into the second half, Wingate's Caroline Peters booted a ball past Kabakci to give the Bulldogs an early second half lead. The goal was just Wingate's second shot on goal in the match.
Three minutes later, after a pair of corner kicks, Nicole Cristy found Brianna Ditillo to put Wingate ahead 2-0 in the 54th minute.
C-N had chances to respond as the second half wore on. Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) sent two shots on frame in the 62nd and 73rd minutes but had both attempts saved. C-N's last shot on goal came from Frick but Thisgaard made her sixth and final save of the match.
Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.) led Carson-Newman with five shots in the match. Eight other Eagles recorded a shot in the losing effort.
18 different Eagles saw time on the pitch in the conference road opener.
Carson-Newman outshot Wingate 17-14 and 7-5 on shots at goal. Wingate edged C-N 6-5 in corner kicks.
Kabakci finished the contest with two saves on the four shots sent her direction.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Wednesday when it welcomes Emory & Henry to McCown field for a 7:30 p.m. first touch.
The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
