JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since 2018, Carson-Newman squares off against Peach Belt foe Columbus State in a non-conference matchup Monday afternoon at 4pm from McCown field.
The matchup with the Cougars will be Carson-Newman's fourth match against a team that was ranked at some point this season. Monday's meeting will be the latest non-conference regular season game for Carson-Newman since 2018, when it met Limestone on October 24th that season. It's also the first time since the covid spring 2021 season that Carson-Newman will play a game on a Monday.
The Eagles are coming off their second non-conference win of the season, a 2-0 defeat of Bluefield State this past Wednesday. C-N is now 2-1-1 in non-conference matches this season and has scored three goals or more in three of those four contests. The Eagles are an impressive 64-2-3 when scoring two goals or more under head coach Simon Duffy.
Carson-Newman's offense has been balanced all season long. Three different players are tied for the team lead with three goals, while eleven different players have combined for the team's 20 goals. Felicia Frick has a team-high five assists, ranking sixth in the SAC.
The last time these two squads faced off, Columbus State held off Carson-Newman for a 3-2 in Columbus, Georgia on September 2nd, 2018. Emilee Futrell scored twice in the final six minutes but the Eagles fell short in their comeback attempt. The last meeting in Mossy Creek was for the Southeast regional title, a game that saw Carson-Newman storm past the Cougars for a dominate 6-0 win. Five different players scored to help C-N lift the region trophy in 2017. Columbus State leads the all-time series 6-4 and has won three of the last four meetings.
Columbus State enters the match playing its best soccer of the season, winners of nine straight matches. The nine-game winning streak is the second-best active streak in DII. After starting 1-3, the Cougars have dominated Peach Belt Conference play to improve their record to 10-3-1 overall and 7-0-1 in conference action, a mark that is best in the PBC.
During this winning streak, the Cougars have outscored their opponents 47-2. They have scored multiple goals in eight of the nine wins, including 9 in a win yesterday over USC Aiken. The one-day turnaround between games is the third time the Cougars will do so this season.
All three losses for the Cougars this season are against non-conference teams, a 2-0 loss to Embry-Riddle, 6-5 to Catawba and 3-2 to Rollins all which came in three of their first four games of the year. Columbus State played Lincoln Memorial back in early September and won 2-0.
The nation's eighth best scoring offense is led by Emma Beddow who has a team-best ten goals and eight assists. Five other Cougars have five goals for an offense that has 55 goals in 14 games, averaging 3.93 per match.
Lizzie Hedrick has 25 saves and has played in all 14 matches this year. She has 0.88 goals against average mark. The team has a combined nine shutouts in 14 matches.
Kick off from McCown Field is set for 4:00 p.m. 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.
