By Adam Greene, for Carson-Newman Athletics 

 

For the last decade Carson-Newman women's soccer has been one of the premier NCAA Division II programs in the country, making the NCAA tournament five times, including a return last season after a five-year absence, and finishing runner-up for the NCAA DII National Title in head coach Simon Duffy's first season in 2017.

 

It was no accident that C-N found itself on the national stage, with the talent brought in by Duffy and the previous regime led by Richard Moodie, now the head coach at Purdue University. It's taken a conscious effort at adding elite, world class talent and that means looking at the whole world in recruiting. 

 

Because of that, the Eagles continue to put players in the professional ranks and on national teams. According to Duffy, the secret into getting talent from Europe to Mossy Creek is making it personal. 

 

"A lot of it is down to making connections when you're over (in Europe) and connections past and present," Duffy said. "That's where a lot of it comes from. It's a lot of research. You want to put eyes on players because there are so many teams in the U.S. that blindly recruit off websites. So, we're fortunate enough go over there, meet with them, watch them play and talk with them. That's a big part as well. We want them to fit in. It's not just about talent, but also personality and fits. There's other facets other than ability."

 

Duffy has two national team players on this year's C-N squad — sophomore goalkeeper Berna Kabacki from Zeddam, Netherlands and junior midfielder Felicia Frick from Eschen, Liechtenstein. A trend that began with that 2015 NCAA Tournament team that boasted three players who turned professional, Varin Ness, Heida Ragney and Helen Seed.

 

"Before my time, (Richard) Moodie was able to bring in a player from Northern Ireland and then they had a connection with another player and so on," Duffy said." And before you know it, you have two or three quality players and you're starting to challenge and compete on a national level. Then that attracts other players. It makes it a whole lot easier to reach out to kids. Before you know it, you've got players that represent their national teams."

 

For Seed, now with the Burnley Women's Football Club in Burnley, Lancashire, England, her time at Carson-Neman was invaluable, not only in her development as a player, but the culmination of a dream to play in the United States. Something she first wanted to do as the United States Women's National team came to prominence on the world stage.

 

"My first memories of football were the US Women's National Team as far as really seeing them out there in the media," Seed said. "There wasn't much about the English teams. Over the last five years, England is really out there and you can see them all the time. It's worked out, because we've won the Euros, we're went really far in the World Cup. It's help with people seeing it. It's the exposure of it and that's what it needed."

 

At the time Seed was looking at playing in the U.S., women's soccer was more of an afterthought in the U.K. women's college sports were not a priority and if a person wanted to get an education and make a serious run at soccer, they had to make a choice.  Seed, seeing the seriousness that Carson-Newman soccer promised while at the same time offering a top-level education, made the decision to move to America for school an easy one.

 

"The whole university style in Europe, especially in England, in general, sports are more recreational," Seed said. "In the US, you're training every day. You're playing twice a week. It's intense. Women's football over here is more relaxed. It's bigger in America. Everyone's more invested in college sports."

 

And Seed became invested in Carson-Newman, using up her full eligibility, including her COVID-19 redshirt year to spend five years patrolling the pitch at McCown field. While the choice to venture to Jefferson City was easy, leaving was hard.

"It was the best time," Seed said. "That was the best part. The football memories were incredible, but I found it difficult to leave. I stayed an extra year. I struggled with leaving. The people make the place and there were a lot of incredible people that I played with over the years. I made a lot of really close friends."

 

Seed wasn't alone in future pros. In addition to Ragney and Ness, she also played alongside Northern Ireland National Team members Lauren Wade and Jackie Burns and Lisbon, Portugal's Caterina Realista. Wade now plays for the Heart of Midlothian Football Club in Scotland. Realista takes the pitch for the Racing Power Football Club in Portugal and Burns patrols the goal for the Bristol City Football Club in Bristol, England. 

 

For Burns, who makes a living on the national stage, the idea that she would play in college, let alone the pros, seemed like a longshot as she looked at her future as an 18-year-old in Cookstown, Northern Ireland. For a time, she considered leaving soccer behind and focusing on a University tract. Then Carson-Newman came calling.

 

"I had to be prepared for in case things didn't work out (with soccer)," Burns said. "My plan was to go to England, do a degree and then if football was added to that, it was a plus. It was on the backburner at the time, but when the opportunity came about with Carson-Newman again, I thought I might as well try it. I knew I'd at least get a degree out of it and still play football."

 

Not only did Burns get that degree in exercise science, she was in goal, playing alongside Seed, Realista and Wade, when the Eagles battled to a stalemate in the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship Game, 1-1, falling after two scoreless overtimes on penalty kicks to Central Missouri.

 

It was one of the many learning experiences she took with her from Carson-Newman as she embarked on her journey as a pro. 

 

"I always say to everyone, Carson-Newman prepped me for the professional career," Burns said. "We were treated like professionals in the way we trained and our schedules. I think if I didn't have that experience, I wouldn't be able to cope with the demands here. It goes down to the coaches and the players too. They prepared me in different ways to cope with the demands of being a goalkeeper in the modern day." 

 

For Seed and Burns, the choice to come to Carson-Newman was helped by its size. Both women didn't want to get overwhelmed by a giant school experience in a new country. They wanted to be in America, but still feel like they found a home. 

 

"I knew a lot of girls who'd gone over on scholarships to America," Seed said. "With Carson-Newman, it was just the general vibe. It seemed like a nice place to go. I knew quite a bit about America and I'd been there on holidays, so I knew what it was like. I knew the south was some nice communities and nice people and I thought if I'm going that far away from home, I wanted to be sure it would somewhere that I would enjoy and feel comfortable. I wanted to feel safe and looked after, for my parents' sake as well."

 

For Burns too, it was the smaller campus and more family-oriented atmosphere that sold her on Mossy Creek.

 

"It was small and not crazy and that was something I quite liked about it," Burns said. "The fact that the university wasn't a crazy big size. There were so many different teams on the campus and we all got along. The volleyball girls, basketball and swimming. We were all really close, especially with all the internationals going to Carson-Newman."

 

And C-N offered other opportunities as well as Burns took advantage of work study, serving as a key camera operator on Associate Athletic Director of Media Relations and External Operations Adam Cavalier's sports information department. Burns still tries to use those skills in England today, though the Bristol and Northern Ireland media groups have yet to take her up on the offer.

 

"I loved it," Burns said. "The media side I still miss. I brag about it. If I'm doing the national team stuff and we have a video day or media day, I offer to help with the camera. I do miss it. It sort of made different friend groups. The media side were people I would have probably never gotten to know otherwise. You didn't realize how much it impacts you."

 

It's that kind of experience that helps Duffy keep the Europe-to Jefferson City-to professional soccer pipeline going strong. Not only with the top-notch facilities at Carson-Newman, but the social and educational opportunities that just aren't available in Europe for student athletes.

 

"With the Masters Program and what we're adding in the MBA programs, it's not just the undergrad," Duffy said. "From the facilities that we have, to the education, what we're able to offer and the level of athletics we put on top of that. We're able to offer them a great experience on campus and in the classroom. I think that's what does it, really."