C-N Announces 2009 Women's Soccer Schedule
June 1, 2009
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Lady Eagles will play four participants from last year's NCAA Tournament and will take on defending NAIA national champion Lee University as a part of its 2009 schedule, head coach Phil McNamara announced Thursday.
After grinding through one of the toughest schedules in program history last season to make its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the road to the postseason for the Carson-Newman women's soccer team will not be any easier in 2009.
"We're excited about the strength of our schedule," McNamara said. "I feel like we're going to be more talented with a bigger squad and higher expectations. We're coming off a year where we had a lot of success and we return a lot of key players. A tough schedule will be a good challenge for us as we try to reach the NCAA Tournament for a seventh consecutive season."
C-N will begin the season with four consecutive home matches, including the opener against King College on Aug. 27. The Lady Eagles will wrap up the home stand with a match on Sept. 5 against Pfeiffer, which made the NCAA Tournament last season. C-N and the Lady Falcons met during the regular season in 2008, with the Lady Eagles winning the matchup 2-0.
The Lady Eagles will travel to Milledgeville, Ga., on Sept. 11 for their road opener against Lynn University and will remain in Georgia for their next match on Sept. 13 against Georgia College & State, which made its first NCAA Tournament appearance last season and finished the year at 13-3-4.
C-N will then face the University of Tampa, another 2008 NCAA Tournament participant, on Sept. 18 in Columbus, Ga.
The Lady Eagles will begin South Atlantic Conference play at home on Sept. 26 against Lenoir-Rhyne and will travel to Greeneville, Tenn., for its first SAC road match on Sept. 30 against rival Tusculum.
C-N will take on the final NCAA Tournament participant on its schedule on Oct. 10 when it hosts Catawba. The Lady Eagles split with Catawba last season, losing the regular season matchup 1-0 before claiming the SAC Tournament title with a 6-5 win over the Indians.
C-N will then host defending-NAIA national champion Lee University on Oct. 13. The Lady Eagles will wrap up regular season play on Oct. 31 at Newberry.
C-N went 16-5-1 in 2008, claiming both the SAC regular season and tournament titles. The Lady Eagles advanced to the third round of NCAA Tournament, where they fell to Columbus State, 1-0.
