VIDEO: Felicia Frick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Karli Pettitt (Kingston, Tenn.) scored or assisted on all three of Carson-Newman's (4-1-1, 1-0-1) goals to propel the Eagles to their first South Atlantic Conference win of the season Saturday evening against Coker (3-1-1, 1-1 SAC).
Carson-Newman extends its unbeaten streak to five games and has four wins during this impressive stretch that has spanned the past two weeks. It has outscored its opponents 12-4 during this five-game stretch as well.
"That third goal and the two-goal cushion was important," Carson-Newman women's soccer head coach Simon Duffy said. "We said it at halftime, this next goal is vital. I'm glad we got it and pushed on because it is a very dogged and talented Coker team. I'm certainly impressed with our performance, chasing that first goal. A bit disappointed we didn't get the clean sheet, but I thought we really controlled the game when we needed to and moved the ball really well."
The win for Carson-Newman extends a winning streak over the Coker that is now nine. Over this winning streak in the series, C-N has outscored Coker 42-2.
The Eagles win their SAC home opener for the third time in the past four seasons and remain unbeaten in league games with four total points in two games.
Coker had the first chance of the game. Silke Nielsen sent a header toward the goal, forcing Berna Kabakci (Zeddam, Netherlands) to make her first save of the match in the seventh minute.
The Eagles then began to pile on the pressure, taking the next five shots, with the fifth being a goal. Pettitt dished a pass off for Felicia Frick (Eschen, Liechtenstein.) who booted a ball into the bottom right corner of goal from the left side to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute.
C-N's next shot resulted in its next goal. Pettitt dribbled her way into the middle of the defense and took aim at goal from five yards outside the box, finding the bottom left corner of goal to increase the Eagles' lead in the 27th minute.
That 2-0 lead would get cut in half late in the opening half. A perfect corner kick from Coker's Mallie Bates. The corner was headed by Lily Borgman, and it ended up at the feet of Isabella Rychel to make it 2-1 in the 37th minute.
With the Eagles leading at halftime by just one, they were eager to get some cushion in the second half. C-N took four shots in the first twelve minutes but came up empty after Coker keeper Rhyan Parkin made a pair of impressive saves.
The Coker defense would make a mistake in the 58th minute. A failed clearance by a Cobras defender allowed Pettitt to sneak behind the defense and drop a shot into the bottom right corner to increase Carson-Newman's lead to 3-1.
Carson-Newman would take nine shots in the second half, pressing forward and maintaining lots of possession to limit Coker's chances forward. The Cobras only managed seven shots in the game, three of which came in the second half.
Pettitt recorded her first multi-goal game of her career and first by a C-N player this season. The last multi-goal performance from an Eagle was Alba Delgado's two goal effort 366 days ago against Emory & Henry. The sophomore now has a team-high four goals this season and has five in her career. All of her goals have been scored at home.
"Four five years ago I could have told you this would happen," Duffy said. "I saw her at a high school camp here and said if we are lucky enough to have her, she is going to be a player for us. I'm not surprised, she's come on leaps and bounds from last year. Karli is doing what we hoped she would do and I hope it continues. She's levelheaded, humble, hard-working and a super kid. So so happy for her."
Frick's goal was her first of 2024 and seventh in her C-N career. She becomes the eighth different Eagle to score a goal, now six games into the season.
Scoring multiple goals for the fourth time in six games, Carson-Newman improves to an impressive 68-2-5 when scoring multiple goals in a game.
The Eagles remain unbeaten this season when they take more shots and corner kicks than their opponent. They are also still unbeaten when scoring the first goal and leading at halftime.
Coker goalkeeper Helena Sedelmaier made one save in a losing effort, splitting time in the net.
Carson-Newman gets a week off and returns to the pitch on Saturday night against Newberry. The match is set for a 7:30 p.m. start. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports.
Fans can also follow along by following @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.
