Saints march into Mossy Creek for pivotal SAC standings battle
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The season is coming to a rapid end, and the pressure for high success is mounting all across the South Atlantic Conference
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The season is coming to a rapid end, and the pressure for high success is mounting all across the South Atlantic Conference. One of those crucial matchups will take place from McCown Field this Saturday when the Limestone Saints pay Jefferson City a visit in a pivotal SAC standings matchup.
Carson-Newman (8-3-3, 6-2-1 SAC) will welcome the Saints of Limestone (9-3-1, 5-3-1 SAC) for their first-ever meeting as South Atlantic Conference opponents. The two have met six previous times, but Limestone only recently joined the SAC as a member prior to the shortened spring season.
"As far as mindset goes for the game, same as we did against Coker last Saturday. We had a week to prepare for them and Limestone will have a week to prepare for us as well. Excellent coach and should have a good mindset against us," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "We need to be sure to be ready as we know the expectations of ourselves. A win and we're secured to host a game as well next Saturday."
Saturday holds a lot of high importance for Duffy and his team. First, a win on Saturday would not only secure another three points in the SAC standings but would almost automatically secure Carson-Newman the ability to host a first round matchup in the upcoming SAC Tournament.
Second, a victory would push C-N's regular season winning streak at home in SAC competition to four straight, the first time the Eagles will have achieved this feat since the 2016 season when they defeated Mars Hill, Anderson (S.C.), Catawba, and Tusculum.
The last time C-N won four straight overall against SAC opponents at McCown Field came during the 2018 season as the Eagles defeated Anderson (S.C.), Mars Hill, and Catawba during the regular season before going on to defeat Wingate in the 2018 SAC quarterfinals and Catawba in the 2018 NCAA Southeast Regional that season.
It has been the fountain of youth leading the way in most offensive categories for Duffy's squad as the reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week and freshman midfielder, Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) leads the team in points (16), goals (8), and game-winning goals (4). Her 16 points currently are tied for eighth in the SAC overall, while her four game-winners are tied for second in the conference alongside Hannah Dunn of Catawba and Selina Boveleth of Limestone. However, Duncan leads the conference with three game-winners in SAC competition this season.
The other part of C-N fountain of youth has been freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) who has wasted little to no time in making an immediate impact. Currently, the Sweden native is tied for the team lead with four assists while holding the team lead in shots on goal with her 21 attempts thus far. Graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) has been a menace for defenses during her time as an Eagle, and nothing has changed this season. Futrell is tied with Bryneus with four assists while holding the team lead in shots with 44 attempts this season.
In net, sophomore Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany) has allowed the third-fewest goals in SAC play with five goals allowed and holds the third-best goals against average with a 0.74 clip. Finally, Ebner has been responsible for the second-most shutouts in SAC play (five) while being responsible for the third-most wins in conference play (five) under her belt.
C-N and Limestone will meet for the seventh time with the upcoming match reigniting a series between the two dating back to 1992. In the overall series history, C-N leads 5-1 as they have won the last three matches versus the Saints. The last win for Limestone in the series came from McCown Field during the 2012 season as they took home a 2-1 overtime victory. Since then, C-N has gone 3-0 and are outscoring the Saints 5-1.
"Last Saturday against Coker was a match long coming for us. For us to come out and get the goals and shots we have piling up to fall our way, it helps boost our confidence as we get to the crunch time of the season," Duffy said. "We know the circumstances for Limestone and us this Saturday, but it's in our hands to control our own destiny. We just need to go out and play like we can and get the result we deserve and move on from there."
When playing in Jefferson City, C-N is 2-1 against the Saints, outscoring their opponent 3-2. When hitting the road to Gaffney, the Eagles maintain a 2-0 record advantage, outscoring the Saints 8-1 from Saints Field. Finally, in the lone neutral site matchup in the 2016 Southeast Regional Quarterfinals from Dahlonega, Ga., the Eagles won the match 2-0.
The Cobras and Eagles last met in October 2019 when it would be the Saints taking an early lead before C-N stormed back and took the road victory from Gaffney.
It was Emma Hickson getting Limestone on the board early as she netted a goal in the 32nd minute off an assist by teammate Selina Boveleth. The Saints would take the 1-0 lead into halftime, as they were being outshot by the Eagles 4-3 after the first 45.
Carson-Newman came out in the second half on a mission as it was Delaney Griffin finding the equalizer in the 56th minute, thanks to an assist from Emilee Futrell. Shortly after, in the 64th minute, Lara Hallgrimsdottir put away an unassisted ball to give C-N the 2-1 advantage as that would be the final score from Saints Field.
After the final whistle blew, the teams tied in shot attempts with seven apiece. The Eagles were led in attempts by Delaney Griffin while a trio of Saints players finished with two shots apiece.
However, although the Eagles have seen victory at home versus Limestone, they have not officially scored when playing at McCown Field against the Saints in over 125:28 minutes of action. The last goal for the Eagles came at the 29:29 mark of the 2012 matchup as Danna Stringle tied the match at 1-1 before Limestone took a 2-1 victory off a 101:10-minute overtime winner.
This season, Limestone has gone 5-3-1 in SAC competition, including winning three out of their last five conference matches. Over the last matches in SAC play, Limestone have outscored opponent 9-4 including holding three opponents scoreless for the victory. Their two losses in the last five matches have come against Catawba (1-0) and Queens (N.C.) (3-0).
The Saints come into Saturday's matchup after falling to the Queens (N.C.) Royals last Saturday 3-0. In the match, the Royals scored three second-half goals as they took the valuable three points despite being outshot 17-9 in the match. It was Alyssa Edwards getting the scoring started with a goal in the 57th minute off an assist by Eirinn McCafferty.
About eight minutes later in gameplay, Karen Juarez decided to join the scoring party as she netted an unassisted ball and made it 2-0 Royals in the 65th minute. The final goal came in the 87th minute as McCafferty and Juarez linked up before McCafferty put the ball in the back of the net and made it 3-0 in favor of the home team.
This season, Limestone has attempted the fifth-most shots in SAC competition with 179 attempts, have scored the sixth-most conference goals at 17, and are putting the fourth-most shots on goal for SAC teams as they have 81 total shots on goal. In terms of physicality, the Saints only have one yellow card all season, with none in SAC play, while also holding steady with no red cards so far. Finally, the Saints are also getting off the fifth-highest shots per game total as they attempt 19.9 shots per game.
Sam Holmes was named the head coach of the Saints in January 2017 following three years as an assistant with the program. Since joining the staff in 2014, Holmes has helped the Saints skyrocket to the top of the conference and make headway in the region and nationally as well with the team earning its first ever NCAA Tournament bid in the 2015 campaign.
In his first campaign with the Saints, Holmes led Limestone to one of its best seasons in program history with a 10-4-3 record and a runner-up finish in the Conference Carolinas standings.
Holmes came to Gaffney after serving as the assistant coach at Minot State University (N.D.). He played an instrumental role in building Minot State into a regional powerhouse in just four short years. He helped launch the women's soccer program in 2010 and promptly guided the Beavers to a 9-7-3 overall record and a berth in the NAIA postseason during their inaugural campaign.
Selina Boveleth currently leads the team with six goals and is tied for second on the team with 15 points. Meanwhile, Tabea Schutt is the team leader in points with 16, third on the team with 30 shots and leads the team with 24 shots on goal.
Senior goalkeeper Katie Maher has been who Holmes and his staff have turned to the most in net. So far this season, Maher has made 13 appearances with 10 starts. In her appearances, she has made 33 saves, been responsible for four shutouts, has a GAA of 1.01 and holds an overall record of 9-3-1. Maher has also been the one in net while all 12 goals for Limestone opponents have been scored.
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. from McCown Field at Wayne and Beth Harvey Stadium on the campus of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tenn.
"Limestone has been one, if not the best, teams in Conference Carolinas before coming to the SAC. Their presence will just continue building to the level of experience for this conference," Duffy said. "There are at least four or five teams, in my opinion, who can go out there and win the whole conference so we just need to get ourselves in a place where we can be one of those potential teams. It all starts Saturday night."
Fans who cannot make it to the banks of Mossy Creek can enjoy a live broadcast courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live and follow live in-game updates via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
Team Stats
Limestone
| Game Statistics | Limestone | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 10 (5) | 13 (2) |
| Saves | 1 | 5 |
| Fouls | 9 | 13 |
| Corner Kicks | 4 | 3 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
