October 8, 2021

Eagles welcome Trojans to McCown Field

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following their final non-conference contest of 2021, Carson-Newman women's soccer will jump back into South Atlantic Conference play as they welcome in the Anderson Trojans (3-5-1, 1-3-1 SAC)

Anderson (S.C.)

3-6-1, 1-4-1 SAC

Carson-Newman

6-3-2, 4-2 SAC

Final	1	2	T
Anderson (S.C.) (3-6-1, 1-4-1 SAC)	0	0	0
Carson-Newman (6-3-2, 4-2 SAC)	2	0	2

Video: Simon Duffy Interview

Match Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following their final non-conference contest of 2021, Carson-Newman women's soccer will jump back into South Atlantic Conference play as they welcome in the Anderson Trojans (3-5-1, 1-3-1 SAC) for a Saturday night showdown. The Eagles and Trojans will kick off their 20^th all-time meeting at 5:00 p.m. Saturday from McCown Field.

The Eagles (5-3-2, 3-2 SAC) come into Saturday after capturing their first home non-conference win since September 2019 after freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) netted a brace as the Eagles defeated Shaw 2-0 Wednesday. Wednesday marked the first non-conference home win for a Duffy-led squad since September 25, 2019, when the Eagles defeated Belmont Abbey 3-0.

Since head coach Simon Duffy took over in 2017, when playing in the friendly confines of McCown Field, the Eagles are 28-6-4 and have never lost back-to-back home matches since 2014. When playing the SAC at home, Carson-Newman holds a 20-6-2 record under Duffy since 2017.

So far in the 2021 season, it is the youth of the Eagles leading the charge as freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) continues to lead Carson-Newman in points (8) and shots on goal (14). Bryneus is also tied for the team lead in goals with Duncan at three apiece, while being tied with junior Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) for the team lead in shot attempts at 26.

Other notable category leaders include Sydnee Duncan with the team-leading two game-winners and graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) with three assists in the 2021 season.

"It's tough to go from non-conference back into conference action, especially with the opponent being one like Anderson. I know that Anderson will come in here and give us a true test and battle from start to finish," Carson-Newman coach Simon Duffy said. "We knew what we were getting when we recruited someone like Sydnee, but I think that not only her, but the other freshman as well have shined for us and have helped us to get to where we are. One of the most interesting parts to her game is that she fits in like she's been here for a long time and not like she's only in her 10^th match as a collegiate player."

Turning the page to the Trojans, the series history favors C-N as they lead 11-7-1 all-time. When playing from McCown Field, the Eagles are 5-3 all-time including winning the last four matches in Jefferson City. When the Eagles and Trojans have seen action in Mossy Creek, the Eagles also hold an overall 30-12 scoring margin including the largest victory in the series during the 1997 season when C-N dominated the match and won 10-0.

The last time the Eagles and Trojans met from Mossy Creek was October 2018 as the Eagles came away with the 2-0 victory. In the match, it was Magda Mosengo receiving a cross from Alex Brandan in the 7^th minute before cracking up the scoreboard and giving C-N the early 1-0 lead. From there, the Trojans and Eagles continued going back-and-forth until Brandan once again played helper in the 77^th minute.

Brandan found herself at the end of a free kick before it was current senior Jente Kuper (Ottersberg, Germany) who netted her first goal of the 2018 season and gave C-N the decisive goal in the 2—0 victory. After the final whistle blew, Carson-Newman saw 34 shot attempts on their ledger, including 13 shot attempts being shots on goal. Meanwhile, the stout Eagles defense held Anderson (S.C.) to only two attempts the entire 90 minutes

"I think if we play like we did in the second half against Shaw, we can continue making a push in our conference as we head into the rest of the season," Duffy said. "It is important for us to not lose focus on what we can do and what we are capable of, but as I've said in the past, we need a full ninety minutes of action to get the win. We can't just be a second-half team."

Anderson travel to Jefferson City after capturing their first SAC win of the season over the Tusculum Pioneers, 2-1. In the match, a special Pink Out for Anderson, all three goals occurred within the last 14 minutes of game action. First, Briana Garcia got the scoring going for Tusculum in the 76^th minute off an Elise Gallo assist. However, Anderson would not be denied as they responded with goals by Ansley Donovan in the 80^th minute and Bethany Morgan in the 85^th minute to leave with the 2-1 victory and more importantly, their first three points in SAC play for 2021. Anderson ended up out-shooting Tusculum 24-9 through the 90 minutes as seven of those attempts would be shots on goal.

So far in 2021 SAC play, the Trojans have been outscored 9-4 as only one SAC opponent has scored more than two goals against Anderson, a 4-0 loss to now-#14 Catawba College Catawba Indians. The Trojans have also fired off the third-fewest shot attempts with 98 overall this year, including 42 shots on goal. In SAC play, Anderson has fired 50 shot attempts and have seen 17 of them be shots on goal, both ranking third fewest in the conference.

Anderson is led by fourth-year head coach, Sarah Jacobs. In her first season, she led the Trojans to a fourth-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference over taking over the program in February 2018 after serving as an assistant under Julie Carlson in 2017.

Through her first three years, Anderson has gone 15-23-1 overall and have seen two runs to the SAC quarterfinals in the 2018 and 2019 season. Last spring, Anderson finished 1-6 overall with a 1-5 mark in SAC play.

Under Jacobs' leadership, the 2019-20 squad earned the top academic honor in the Athletic Department following the fall semester. This was the first time that the women's soccer program earned this honor, since the award's inception in 2007. The team posted a stellar 3.625 GPA winning the Dr. Shirley Jack Academic Excellence Award for the fall of 2019. Following the spring 2021 semester, the 2020-21 team once again claimed the Department's top-academic honor with a team GPA of 3.64.

Jacobs was a four-year letterwinner at Clemson (2008-11) and was named MVP in 2010. After exhausting her eligibility, Jacobs extended her playing career playing professionally in the Netherlands and Australia. Following her time overseas, she played for the Boston Breakers Reserves and had stints with Orlando Pride and NC Courage. Jacobs arrived in the Electric City prior to the 2017 season after a season with FC Dallas and continues to play for Asheville City SC in the WPSL.

On the offensive side of the ball, Ansley Donovan has been the team leader thus far as she has compiled two goals, as she has attempted seven shots with three shots on goal. After Donovan, there are six Trojans who have collected one goal for their 2021 efforts, including the team's leading shot taker in Haley Sink who has fired off 11 shots and has three shots on goal.

In goal, the Trojans have used both Jeannette Campbell and Macy McDufford throughout the season, but it is Campbell who has compiled the most decisions as she has gone 2-5-1 in 2021. During her 791:26 minutes of action, Campbell has made the most overall saves with 71, holds a GAA of 1.36, and allowed 12 goals, including seven goals to SAC opponents. In SAC play, Campbell has made the second-most saves with 44 while holding the third highest save percentage of .863.

"We need to take advantage of the home matches we have this season, especially when we have fans in attendance," Duffy said. "It is important for us to see the matches go our way, but for us to make a run in our conference as we continue SAC play, getting a win on our home pitch is a great way to continue our success."

Carson-Newman will conclude their brief two-match homestand when Anderson and the Eagles get things rolling from McCown Field at 5:00 p.m. Saturday.

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.