JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – It was quarterfinals Saturday from McCown Field as the fourth-seeded Carson-Newman women's soccer program went head-to-head against the fifth-seeded Wingate Bulldogs (11-6) for a spot in the 2021 SAC women's soccer semifinals next week.
The Eagles (10-4-3) would see a 2-1 result fall in their favor as they now move on to face another formidable foe, number one seed Catawba, next Friday at 11 a.m. from the Matthews Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C.
Saturday marked the first time since the 2019 SAC Quarterfinals that C-N opened postseason play on their home pitch as they welcomed in the Queens (N.C.) Royals that season. Prior to that, the Eagles had started postseason play from the home pitch every year since 2013.
Their most recent encounter with the Bulldogs came in the 2018 SAC quarterfinals. In the meeting, Carson-Newman defeated Wingate 4-1 before going on to lose in the SAC Championship game that season. Prior to the 2018 quarterfinals, C-N and Wingate squared off in the SAC Tournament Championship in 2015, 2016, and 2017 with C-N taking all three victories by a combined 7-1 margin.
When playing in SAC conference postseason, the Eagles are 6-3 under head coach Simon Duffy while holding an overall mark of 12-3 all-time. Meanwhile, under Duffy, the Eagles are now 32-7-4 from McCown Field, including 20-4-1 against the SAC on the home pitch.
"It was a great battle for the entire 90 minutes against them, Wingate is a fantastic team who is very well coached, so it means a little bit more to come out with a victory against them," head coach Simon Duffy said. "Very tough going to go up 1-0 and allow a frustrating goal to them, but we score the eventual winner off Abbie's foot (or so she says)."
The Eagles knew that Wingate would be a tough matchup, as both teams struggled out of the gate to find any sense of strong momentum. The first couple minutes of action saw both sides battling to figure each other out, as they both came in knowing it had to be a "win or go home" mentality possessed.
However, in the 14th minute, C-N took advantage of a timely Wingate mistake as Bulldog goalkeeper Katrine Thisgaard collided with one of her defenders. Freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) was in the right place at the right time as she got the ball on her feet and pushed it into the back of the net for an early 1-0 advantage for her team. Bryneus's goal would be C-N's first shot attempt of the match.
The Eagles had a pair of quality attempts in the 27th and 28th minute as Nellie Bryneus would fire off a shot that was only inches away from finding the back of the net, but it would hit the post and stay in play. Then, teammate Addie Henry (Chattanooga, Tenn.) tried her luck, but her attempt would hit the crossbar and stay out of the goal as well.
In the 30th minute, Yasmin Cowley, who came on in the 28th minute, made an immediate impact as she found herself wide open in front of net to make it tied at one, as the game started back even for both teams fighting to stay alive.
At the halftime break, C-N led in shots 10-7 as two of those would be on goal for both Wingate and Carson-Newman. The leader for C-N in shots would be freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) and Nellie Bryneus as both held three attempts, respectively. Meanwhile, Caroline Peters held four shot attempts in the first 45 to lead her team in the category.
The second half started as the intensity for both programs ramped up in physicality as neither side wanted their season to end Saturday. It was almost déjà vu for the Eagles as graduate student Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) received a yellow card in the 48th minute. In their regular season matchup, it was Futrell garnering a straight red card late in the second half as that would be a major turning point as part of C-N's 1-0 overtime thriller on September 18. Going back to Saturday, Sydnee Duncan piled up a couple more shot attempts including a near goal attempt in the 60th minute, but Thisgaard saved it to keep it tied.
Then, chaos ensued in the 64th minute as sophomore Abbie Zander (Baneberry, Tenn.) decided that she wanted to be the difference maker for the Eagles. After firing off a shot that deflected off herself and then off Thisgaard, Zander's upper leg muscles paid dividends as the ball somehow found its way into the back of the net to give C-N the 2-1 lead. This is Zander's first goal since netting the third of nine goals for C-N against Coker.
"Great example of perseverance by her and this team," Duffy said. "Just a tremendous effort and I'm really proud of the girls and their effort tonight. We always talk about we get what we deserve and I thought we deserved it tonight."
In the 68th and 70th minute, sophomore goalkeeper Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany) was called into action as she was forced to make a couple of critical saves to keep Wingate at one goal. Both teams finished the final 20 minutes of action trading shots and hoping to either secure a chance at overtime or put the nail in the coffin for their opponent. Neither side would push across another goal as the final resulted in a 2-1 victory for C-N and a rematch with the ever-so-daunting Catawba College Catawba Indians next Friday morning.
"The motto for tonight was "there's no tomorrow" because if we don't put the effort in or deserve it, we're done," Duffy said. "No one in the locker room wanted to be done, including the staff. The girls showed that and for girls to go out there and lead by example, it shows you as the coach that they don't want the season to be over. We put ourselves in a good spot but now go up against a formidable opponent in Catawba."
Once the final whistle blew, Carson-Newman finished the night with 20 shot attempts compared to 13 for the Bulldogs. Of their 20 attempts, nine would be on goal for C-N while Wingate held seven of their 13 attempts to be on goal.
For C-N offensively, Sydnee Duncan finished with five shot attempts and two shots on goal to lead the team overall. The goal scorers, Bryneus and Zander, finished with three shots apiece as all three were shots on goal by Zander while Bryneus held two out of three attempts on goal.
Starting for the Eagles between the pipes would be sophomore Lilly Ebner (Hohentengen, Germany). In regular season action, Ebner allowed 15 goals, held a goals against average of 1.09, and was able to maintain a save percentage of .762 in her 14 matches of action. Finally, Ebner has been responsible for the second-most shutouts in SAC play (six) while being responsible for the third-most wins in conference play (six) under her belt.
Saturday saw Ebner make six saves on 13 total shots by the Bulldogs, as seven were shots on goal. Ebner now has 54 saves on the season and moves to 9-3-3 in 2021 action.
Wingate was led offensively by Caroline Peters Saturday as she had four total shot attempts as none would be a shot on goal. The most accurate Bulldog was the goal scorer, Yasmin Cowley, who fired off three shots as all three would be classified as shots on goal.
In between the pipes for Wingate was Katrine Thisgaard. She has played in 16 matches with 14 starts for Wingate. Her 14 starts allow her to be second overall in the category. Thisgaard has mad the 10th most saves this season with 35 to her name while allowing the second-fewest goals with only eight allowed while in net. She is also responsible for nine of the 10 total shutouts for Wingate, making her second in the category.
On Saturday, Thisgaard made seven saves on nine shots on goal by the Eagles. The goalkeeper also was pivotal in keeping her team close at all points of the match, as she kept firing up her teammates to push the pressure and force C-N into mistakes.
The Eagles now turn their attention to the 2021 SAC women's soccer semifinals next Friday. Their opponent will be one still lodged in the memories of any Carson-Newman, the Catawba Indians, who took home a thunderous 7-0 victory over the Eagles earlier this season. So far in the postseason, Catawba defeated Newberry 1-0 in the quarterfinals to advance to next week.
"They're just like a Wingate with loads of talent and very well coached. They've been exceptional this year and I have upmost respect for them," Duffy said. "Anything can happen and we'll prep the girls to get them ready to go out and put out a performance deserving of a win."
Fans who cannot make it to the Matthews Sportsplex can catch a live broadcast of Friday's match via the SAC and Queens University as well as follow live in-game updates via Twitter from @CN_Eagles.
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