September 4, 2015

Eagles look for first 2-0 start since ‘09 as Chargers come to Mossy Creek

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women’s soccer team (1-0, 0-0) will be looking for the program’s first 2-0 start since 2009 as the Eagles host the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. on McCown Field.

Ala.-Huntsville

0-1

Carson-Newman

2-0

Final	1	2	T
Ala.-Huntsville (0-1)	0	1	1
Carson-Newman (2-0)	2	1	3

Richard Moodie Interview

Game Notes

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's soccer team (1-0, 0-0) will be looking for the program's first 2-0 start since 2009 as the Eagles host the University of Alabama-Huntsville Chargers Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. on McCown Field.

C-N is fresh off a 2-1 season-opening victory over Trevecca Nazarene on Thursday afternoon that featured the game-winning goal from the foot of freshman Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England) in the 86^th-minute. Talbut-Smith's goal was the first goal by a freshman in her freshman debut since Alex Pinger's two-goal performance against Chowan in 2011.

"The girls were fantastic last night. They played hard. They knew there was a lot of pressure on them in the first game of the season. They want to get off on the right start. They worked hard. They deserved to win," coach Richard Moodie said. "."

After outshooting the Trojans 20 to seven, the Eagles have now outshot their opponent in seven of the last nine matches, dating back to the Lincoln Memorial game in 2014. During that span, C-N has tallied 139 shots compared to its opponents' 63.

Carson-Newman and Alabama-Huntsville both own two wins in the series history with one tie. The Eagles won the first-ever match-up between the two programs with an 11-0 win in 1996. At McCown Field, C-N is 1-0-1 against the Chargers.

Looking towards the Chargers, UAH is kicking off its season with a trip to Mossy Creek; Huntsville is kicking off the schedule in Jefferson City for the second time in three years. The Eagles and Chargers drew to a 1-1 tie in 2013. Huntsville ended its 2014 season with a 4-3 overtime victory over Carson-Newman. Senior Mikayla Gregg (Newport, Tenn.) scored two goals in the game, including the equalizer in the 88^th-minute, but the Eagles fell.

The Chargers finished 2014 with a 6-10 record. They averaged 2.75 goals per game and 13.4 shots per game. UAH lost leading point scorer Khadijah Jannah to graduation; Jannah tallied 24 points on the year on 10 goals and four assists. She scored a hat trick against C-N last season.

UAH welcomes back Alexica Alexander for her sophomore campaign in the Rocket City after a stellar debut season. Alexander tallied 10 goals and three assists and added Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year and All-South Region honors to her accolades. Goalkeeper Larae Breaux is also back for her sophomore season after appearing in 16 games in 2014. Breaux had a 1.97 goals against average and tallied 115 saves.

"We bring on Alabama-Huntsville, but we stay at home so there is no travel involved. We can keep the girls here, train smart. Hopefully, that will benefit us a little bit," Moodie said of the Eagles' playing two games in three days. "I think we have the advantage because we are home. We got to work out a few kinks on Thursday. Last night, we got a chance to play our first game. A lot of freshmen stepped up."

Full coverage of the Carson-Newman and Alabama-Huntsville match will be available on cneagles.com/live with live stats and HD video with Matthew Osborne and Eric Cain on the call with Michael Wottreng patrolling the sidelines. Stats and a full recap of the action will be available on cneagles.com after the contest.

-CN-