JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (5-4-3, 2-3-3 SAC) concludes its home regular season slate on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes Wingate (8-2-3, 6-1-1 SAC) to McCown Field for a South Atlantic Conference contest at high noon.
Carson-Newman's defense has shined on several occasions this season. C-N's 15 goals allowed are fourth-best in the South Atlantic Conference. In C-N's eight conference games, the defensive unit has surrendered just eight goals, the fourth fewest. In the month of October, the Eagles have allowed just five goals in six games, 0.83 goals against average mark.
"I think we've built on well from the first game," Carson-Newman head coach Simon 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."
Sophomore defender Karli Pettitt (Kingston, Tenn.) leads Carson-Newman's offense with four goals this season. Anita Arnadottir (Alftanes, Iceland), Selina Jud (Wilderswil, Switzerland), Krista Nielsen (Saudarkrokur, Iceland) and Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.) are all multi-goal scorers with Pettitt this season, each having two. Eight different players have scored a goal this season. Four others, that have not scored a goal, have assisted on a goal. 12 different players that have recorded a point this season.
Carson-Newman has been strong in South Atlantic Conference play under Simon Duffy. The 8th year head coach has posted a 50-18-10 record against the league since taking over in 2017.
C-N holds the 32-8-2 advantage all-time in this series but has dropped the last two meetings. Both wins for Wingate have come by two goals in 2022 and 2023. 2022's meeting in Jefferson City ended Carson-Newman's season, losing in the SAC quarterfinals. Over the past six meetings, the series is deadlocked at 3 wins for both sides, with Wingate holding a slight 9-8 in goals scored.
Wingate has solidified itself as one of the top teams in the South Atlantic Conference. The Bulldogs have 19 points thanks to six wins and one tie through eight league games. They can lock up a top four seed in the South Atlantic Conference tournament by securing one point in one of their final three matches.
In Katie Mitchell's first year as head coach, Wingate began the year unbeaten in its first five matches of the season, going 3-0-2. The first loss of the year came was a 1-0 defeat against #6 Lenoir-Rhyne at the end of September. The Bulldogs went on another five-match unbeaten streak to begin October. It won four straight conference games by scoring three goals or more in each match and ended the stretch with a scoreless tie against #21 Catawba. Belmont Abbey handed WU its only other loss of the season, one week ago.
Manu Baptista Filipe leads Wingate's offense with a team-high of five goals this season. Helga Halldorsdottir has also been exceptional with four goals and two assists to also total ten points. Katie Ensalaco has a team-best five assists, the third-most in the SAC. Nine different players have scored a goal for the third-best scoring offense in the league.
Goalkeeper Haley Faucette has made starts in all 12 games this season. She is allowing 1.09 goals per game on average. Her 48 saves are the fourth-most in the conference. She has a 77% save percentage.
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.
