JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time ever, Carson-Newman (5-4-3, 2-3-3 SAC) and Newberry (6-4-3, 1-4-3 SAC) played to a tie in Wednesday afternoon's match at McCown Field.
"I feel for the players because it's the same thing, déjà vu," Carson-Newman women's soccer head coach Simon Duffy said. "Great effort, great performance but just not clinical enough. I think if we had scored in the first half with those opportunities, we score a couple in the second half. It's the most attack-minded we looked this year. We tweaked the system just slightly and I think it benefited us well. We just need to figure out a way to put the ball in the back of the net."
It's just the second time in eight seasons that Carson-Newman has played to a scoreless tie under Duffy.
The tie with the Wolves is the first draw ever in 31 meetings between the two schools.
The Eagles put together their fourth clean sheet of the season and second in conference play. They've allowed just three goals over their last four games.
"I think we've built on well from the first game," Duffy said. "We've gotten much stronger and better and been more cohesive. It's not just the keeper but the back three, a whole defensive effort. If we can continue to keep clean sheets and keep teams at bay, I think we will do very well."
Newberry took the game's first two shots. The second one was on target from Kirsty Cameron toward the bottom right of the net, forcing Berna Kabakci (Zeddam, Netherlands.).
In the 12th minute, Carson-Newman took its first of many chances. Selina Jud's shot toward the center of goal was saved by Newberry goalkeeper Sarah Waller.
The Wolves' second shot on goal came in the 16th minute. Lillan Miller's shot forced Kabakci to make a diving stop toward her left.
Carson-Newman's second shot on goal in the opening half was from Cameron Giles (Chattanooga, Tenn.) at the top of the box that was saved.
The Eagles had two separate sequences where they fired off three consecutive shots and came up empty in all six chances. Malia Kim took aim from the top of the box and drilled the cross bar. Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.) had the only shot that hit the target in the 34th minute. Three of the six shots were blocked. That flurry of opportunity turned out to be the final chances from either side in the opening 45 minutes.
Carson-Newman continued its efforts forward with opportunity. C-N took the first two shots of the half but Newberry had the first shirt on target in the 51st minute. Molly Quartly took aim from well-outside the box and Kabakci made a routine.
C-N's first shot on goal in half number two came in the 52nd minute. Felicia Frick's (Eschen, Liechtenstein) shot toward the center of goal was saved by Sarah Waller to keep things scoreless.
Selina Jud (Wilderswil, Switzerland) tried her hand in the 56th minute, but Waller made an easy save on a ground shot.
Emily Castaneda fired a shot on goal in the 63rd minute but Kabakci once again was up for the task of saving another shot.
The Eagles continued to pile more shots on but the next on target was from Krista Nielsen in the 72nd minute. Waller made a diving stop to her left to keep the match scoreless.
In the 86th minute, C-N had back-to-back shots from Karli Pettitt (Kingston, Tenn.) and Noel Criser (West Yarmouth, MA) blocked away from going toward goal.
Carson-Newman's last chance was an excellent one in the 88th minute. Annika Fend raced up the right side and delivered a perfect cross to the back post for Frick, but her right-footed shot ended up rolling just wide of the right post.
C-N fired a season-high 28 shots, but only six hit the target. Nielsen took a team-high five, while seven others had multiple shots. Jud had two of C-N's six on target in the match. The Eagles matched their season-high with seven corner kicks as well.
Newberry was efficient with its shots. Six of its 11 found the target.
Both goalkeepers made six saves in the tie.
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday for their final regular season home contest versus Wingate. The match will start at 12:00 p.m. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flowsoc.
Fans can also follow along by following @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.
