October 18, 2025

Bears use second-half goals to defeat Eagles

A pair of second half goals from RV Lenoir-Rhyne (9-3-1, 6-1-1 SAC) handed Carson-Newman (6-4-2, 2-3-2 SAC) its second home loss of the season on Saturday night at McCown Field.

RV Lenoir-Rhyne

9-3-1, 6-1-1

Carson-Newman

6-4-2, 2-3-2

Final	1	2	T
RV Lenoir-Rhyne (9-3-1, 6-1-1)	0	2	2
Carson-Newman (6-4-2, 2-3-2)	0	0	0

VIDEO: Simon Duffy Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A pair of second half goals from RV Lenoir-Rhyne (9-3-1, 6-1-1 SAC) handed Carson-Newman (6-4-2, 2-3-2 SAC) its second home loss of the season on Saturday night at McCown Field.

"I thought we approached the game in the right manner," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "The intensity in the first 45 was great, two wonderful teams going to battle. But unfortunately, two minutes into the second half we concede. They came out with a bit more intensity and we obviously pushed forward toward the end and concede that second goal which was the killer. We showed some great resilience and fight and the quality was there as well."

Carson-Newman came ready to play early on. Although it only led to one shot in the first 23 minutes, that one shot was a dangerous chance. Off C-N's first corner kick, Molly Bukiewicz headed a shot toward the right side of goal, forcing a LR defender to head it away from going into the back of the net in just the 6th minute.

The Eagles early intensity would lead to a pair of corner kicks in the 11th and 12th minutes, but were unable to attempt a shot in either sequence.

The first real test for C-N goalie Berna Kabakci came in the 26th minute. The junior keeper was forced to make a save against Katie Durham's shot toward the bottom right side.

Kabakci only saw one shot head toward goal in the first half. Tea Sabin's attempt toward the left side of goal was kept out by Kabakci in the 32nd minute.

The final shot on target in the opening half was from C-N's Annika Fend in the 37th minute. She took aim from way outside the box, forcing LR goalkeeper Riley Miller to make her first stop on a ball with plenty of loft to it.

Neither side did anything else to threaten the scoresheet and the match was scoreless at intermission. It was the fifth time in SAC play this season that C-N played to a tie in the first 45 minutes.

Two minutes into the second half, LR forced a turnover in C-N's defensive half and turned into a go-ahead goal. Mya Rivera slotted a pass toward the right side of the box, allowing Nicole Auger to go after it and slot a right-footed shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 Bears.

Carson-Newman's best chance to equalize was its first shot after the LR goal. In the 50th minute, Karli Pettitt tried her hand from 25 yards outside the box, and saw Miller barely touch Pettitt's shot toward the upper part of goal over the crossbar and out of play.

Kabakci was tasked with keeping things at a one-goal deficit and would make stops in the 55th and 65th minutes. Auger and Sabin had their attempts kept out of the net to keep C-N in the match.

The Eagles went more than 20 minutes of game action without a shot, before seeing Krista Nielsen miss wide left on a shot in the 71st minute.

Lenoir-Rhyne continued to dominate second-half possession and it turned into a second goal in the 76th minute. Kennedy Flowers dribbled around a defender to work her way into the box, and eventually booted a left-footed shot into the near side of goal to make it 2-0.

Shortly after the restart, the Eagles would catch a break after committing a foul in the penalty area. Auger would line up the PK opportunity, but missed wide left in the 78th minute and it stayed a 2-0 game.

C-N's chances were limited after halftime, with its only shot in the final 20 minutes coming from Selina Jud as the final seconds rolled off the clock, forcing Miller into her final stop of the night.

The two teams both attempted four shots in the first half, but LR took eight in the second half compared to C-N's three. It's just the third time this season that the Eagles have been outshot in a match, and the first time it has been outshot and lost.

The Eagles did manage to take more corner kicks, leading 5-4 in that category.

Pettitt was the only Eagle to attempt multiple shots in the match.

Carson-Newman will have one week to regroup, before heading to Wingate next Saturday. First touch from Wingate, North Carolina is scheduled for 12:00 p.m.