Royals hand Eagles first road SAC loss
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Looking to play spoiler for the so-far perfect SAC record of the Queens Royals, Carson-Newman women’s soccer were on the road to the Queen City as they faced the Royals (7-2, 5-0 SAC)
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Looking to play spoiler for the so-far perfect SAC record of the Queens Royals, Carson-Newman women's soccer were on the road to the Queen City as they faced the Royals (7-2, 5-0 SAC) from Dickson Field. However, the Royals defended home turf once again Saturday as they claimed the 1-0 victory and stay undefeated in SAC play.
After Saturday's result, the Eagles (4-3-2, 3-2 SAC) now lead the series history 11-5 all-time, but have lost the last two meetings between the two programs. Under the direction of head coach Simon Duffy, Carson-Newman now has outscored the Royals 12-6 all-time on the road, as they last won from Charlotte in 2018.
When making the trek to Charlotte, C-N moves to 4-3 all-time and hold the 10-8 scoring margin in such matches. Saturday's result is the first time an Eagles program has lost to the Royals in Charlotte since 2014 when Queens took home a 2-0 victory.
"Disappointed in the result, but we cannot always expect to always come out on top when we only compete for 45 minutes," head coach Simon Duffy said. "We were a different team in the second half and created three of the best chances of the match."
Early action was back-and-forth as both sides were trying to figure each other out. In the 5th minute, it was Queens seeing team leader in Emma Rose Stockton go down as a result of the intense and competitive play, but Queens responded quickly with a pair of shots in the 6th minute to keep the pressure early and often on the Eagles defense.
Through the first 15 minutes of action, it was the Royals controlling the pace as they held the match's first three shot attempts as the Eagles struggled to find consistent rhythm as Queens continued their dominance from Dickson Field.
The pressure kept on building for the Eagles as the Royals finally broke through thanks to Mia Manuel netting her fourth goal of the season in the 28th minute to make it 1-0 for Queens. Manuel, with her goal, took over as the team leader for goals with her net-ripper. With Manuel scoring in the first half, C-N now has been outscored by all opponents 10-4 in the first half during the 2021 season.
The 1-0 deficit after the first 45 minutes of play saw the Eagles held without a shot attempt. This is the first time in 2021 that the Eagles have not had a first half shot attempts. Prior to Saturday, the lowest first half attempts for C-N was one against Wingate on September 18.
"Despite having three best chances, we couldn't put any away and equal the score," Duffy said.
Once the second half whistle sounded, the Royals kept their first half momentum rolling as they fired a pair of quality attempts against Doyle in the first 10 minutes of the second half. It was freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) who fired the first Eagles shot of the match in the early portions of the second half. The Eagles also saw a pair of quality chances in corner kicks awarded, but no Eagle could capitalize on the efforts as Queens maintained their 1-0 lead throughout the second 45 minutes.
With just about 23 minutes left in the second half, it was Queens who almost made it 2-0 as Leon fired an attempt past Doyle's reach but the attempt hit the crossbar directly before it rebounded back to Leon. The Royals attacker quickly attempted a header which Doyle was forced to step in and save to keep it 1-0 as C-N looked to find an equalizer and force the match to overtime.
Carson-Newman rebounded as they built up late match momentum and saw their best attempt of the night when freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) fired off a shot that was just wide left of the frame as the Royals breathed a sigh of relief with under 3 minutes left on the clock.
For the second straight match, junior Hope Doyle (Harrison, Ohio) was named the starting goalkeeper for the Eagles after making her first career start as an Eagle against Tusculum last Wednesday. Throughout the match, Doyle was forced to make a couple impressive and crucial saves in the first half but was unable to stop Manuel's shot as the lone goal got past her.
As Turner and her defense stepped up, it continued the impressive outings for Queens as a program in SAC play for the 2021 season. Entering Saturday and through their four-match win streak in SAC play, the Royals have only allowed one goal while now scoring 15 of their own.
The Eagles look to turn their mojo around in a positive manner when they face their last non-conference opponent of 2021, the Shaw Bears. The Bears and Eagles will meet for the first time as the two will kick-off from McCown Field on Wednesday, October 6, at 2:00 p.m.
"Even though it is a non-conference opportunity on Wednesday, we need to prepare and compete like it is," Duffy said.
Fans can watch the action via the Eagles Sports Network at cneagles.com/live and follow live in-game updates via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
Team Stats
Queens (N.C.)
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Queens (N.C.) |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 6 (2) | 13 (6) |
| Saves | 5 | 2 |
| Fouls | 10 | 6 |
| Corner Kicks | 3 | 4 |
| Offsides | 4 | 4 |
