VIDEO: Simon Duffy Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Despite flashes of promise from the Carson-Newman Eagles, a pair of goals scored by the No. 12 Lee Flames proved to be too much to overcome, as Eagles fell by a 2-0 final at McCown Field Friday night.
"I don't think (it was) a disappointing effort, disappointing result," head coach Simon Duffy said postgame. "I thought the effort was there. Two very good teams."
Scoring opened up in the 26th minute for the Flames (2-1), when Devin Healy was rewarded with her first overall goal of the season – a rocket shot to the left-hand side of net off an Eagles (1-2) defender near the six-yard box.
As the half came to a close and the teams were off the pitch for a 15-minute intermission, a lightning bolt struck ground within the eight-mile radius of Mossy Creek, enacting a lightning delay which lasted for 30 minutes. Despite the prolonged break, however, C-N came out firing in the second half with a shot by freshman forward Makayla Garner (Fort Mill, S.C.) that nearly found the back of the net.
Emma Higgins scored in the 88th minute to close out the game for Lee, coming off of a nifty assist by Riley Henry.
Coach Simon Duffy knows that the road from here doesn't get any easier, with Lincoln Memorial traveling to McCown Field Wednesday.
"I'm disappointed and they should be (too), we didn't get the result. But it's something that you sleep on and we come in tomorrow to re-evaluate. We'll do some video, we'll do some recovery and regen work, but body language needs to be different. We can't carry that loss and that disappointment on, it's something that you have to deal with as a player quickly and move on.
"Because we've got an outstanding team coming, LMU are a fantastic team, they had a great year last year and so have to give them that respect. But we're going to be up for this game on Wednesday."
Goalie Jasmine Rizk (Andersonville, Tenn.) recorded four saves in net for C-N. The best chance on the night to score may have come off the boot of senior forward Delaney Griffin (Franklin, Tenn.) in the 73rd minute when a weaving Griffin criss crossed her defender and shot a screaming line drive ball about a foot high from the Flames' crossbar.
C-N registered eight shots on the contest, while the Flames had 12 shots total.
Junior defense Kristina Markfort (Munster, Germany) earned a yellow card in the 13th minute.
Looking to rebound, the Eagles will host LMU Wednesday at 5 p.m. to begin South Atlantic Conference play. Live coverage of the match can be found on the Eagles Sports Network.
