September 7, 2021

Eagles continue early season road trip against Belmont Abbey

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a loss in the second game of the 2021 season, Carson-Newman continues their early season road trip in search of win number one for 2021

Carson-Newman

1-1-1, 0-0-0

Belmont Abbey

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Final	1	2	T
Carson-Newman (1-1-1, 0-0-0)	2	0	2
Belmont Abbey (0-2-0, 0-0-0)	0	1	1

Video: Simon Duffy Interview

Game Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following a loss in the second game of the 2021 season, Carson-Newman continues their early season road trip in search of win number one for 2021. The Eagles head to Belmont, N.C. for a 4:30 p.m. Wednesday showdown with the Belmont Abbey Crusaders from Alumni Field.

"We were excellent for most against North Georgia. Against Young Harris on Sunday and the statistic show we should've won, but you have to put the ball into the net which they did better than we did," head coach Simon Duffy said. "Luckily, we get to exercise our demons tomorrow and we hope we get the win against a very solid Belmont Abbey team."

Carson-Newman (0-1-1) tried to continue their win streak on Sunday against the Young Harris Mountain Lions, but thanks to two timely goals, the Eagles saw a 2-0 defeat and dropped to 0-1-1 for the first time since the 2013 season. In Sunday's contest, the Eagles fired 18 shots while keeping Young Harris to only five attempts all game. However, it was goals by Aimee Durn in the 43^rd minute and Anika Elias in the 57^th minute that handed C-N their first loss against the Mountain Lions since the same 2013 season.

Wednesday marks another tough road test for the Eagles this season. Since head coach Simon Duffy took over in 2017, the Eagles are 20-5-1 on the road and have outscored opponents 69-19 in that span as well. Since 2009, the Eagles are 54-36-6 all-time on the road.

This is the first trip to Belmont, N.C. for C-N since 2009 when the Eagles handed the Crusaders a 1-0 defeat in overtime. Under Duffy, the Eagles are 25-3-2 against teams from the Tar Heel State.

The series between Carson-Newman and Belmont Abbey dates back to 2005 and since then, C-N holds a 4-2 series advantage. In the first-ever matchup in 2005, it was the Crusaders taking home a 2-1 victory and maintaining home turf advantage. Since then, the series has gone back-and-forth as C-N was able to rattle off three straight victories in 2006, 2007, and 2009 before Belmont Abbey claimed their last win in 2010 with a 2-0 victory from Mossy Creek.

"It's enjoyable to have top-tier talent from top to bottom and hopefully we have learned that every game deserves our upmost importance and preparation. It's a long way to go and we know what we can do because we excelled in the second half against North Georgia," Duffy said. "Hopefully we can use this road test against another top non-conference opponent before we open SAC play in the coming weeks."

In the latest installment of Crusaders against Eagles, it was graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) who netted a brace with goals in the 53^rd and 64^th minute before senior Elena Propst (Maiden, N.C.) topped it off in the 66^th minute to hand C-N a convincing 3-0 victory in 2019. This pushed C-N ahead in the series 4-2 as the two programs square off Wednesday night.

Belmont Abbey is the first Conference Carolinas opponent the Eagles have seen this season, and first one they will face since the last matchup with the Crusaders in 2019. Under Duffy, the Eagles are 4-0 all-time against Conference Carolinas opponents, with wins over Belmont Abbey, Lees-McRae and King (Tenn.). The Eagles will be the second straight non-conference side for the Crusaders in 2021 after fellow SAC member, Limestone, hosted the Crusaders last Thursday and won 4-0. In the last full season for Belmont Abbey, they finished 4-4-1 in non-conference action, winning two out of the first three contests in 2019. When facing the South Atlantic Conference, Belmont Abbey has gone 6-3-3 since 2014, outscoring the SAC 17-14 in that time.

Tenth-year head coach Mike Lynch leads a Belmont Abbey program that went 3-2-4 in the shortened spring season, but return 28 players this fall. Under the direction of Lynch, the Crusaders have played in eight conference finals with titles in 2012 and 2014. Lynch has also led the program to three NCAA Tournament appearances, as he has gone 119-48-16 overall.

The Crusaders finished the spring season losing to Lees-McRae 1-0 in overtime after tying the Bobcats 1-1 in the first part of the home-and-home series of the Conference Carolinas Tournament. They received a fifth-place projection in the CC preseason poll with 103 points and one first-place vote.

Leading scorer for Crusaders, Goose Andrews, returns to the team after a spring season where she netted three goals off 19 shot attempts, compiled seven points, and added one assist. The other Crusaders who scored at least two last spring return in Emily Doty who netted a pair of goals to go along with one game-winner and Corrine Shovlain who found the back of the net twice herself on eight shot attempts.

Lauryn Harding also returns for Lynch's squad as a pair of goalkeepers who saw action last season. In the spring campaign, Harding maintained a GAA of 0.76 with only allowing seven goals, making 28 saves, and having two shutouts. Her best game came in the season opener against Emmanuel (Ga.) when she and the Crusader defense secured a shutout and held the Lions shotless and scoreless all 90 minutes.

Wednesday's contest is set for 4:30 p.m. kickoff from Alumni Field in Belmont, N.C. Fans can follow along with video and live scoring provided by Belmont Abbey Athletics at this link.