Video: Sydnee Duncan Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman women's soccer cracked open their 2021 South Atlantic Conference slate on Wednesday against the Mars Hill Lions (1-3-1, 0-1 SAC). Thanks to the efforts of the young guns in Sydnee Duncan and Nellie Bryneus, the Eagles (2-1-2, 1-0 SAC) start conference play with a win for the first time since 2019 when they defeated their rivals from Harrogate, LMU, by a 2-1 margin.
Wednesday also marked the first time since the 1995, 1996, and 1997 seasons when Carson-Newman has opened up conference play at home. In 1995, it was a 1-0 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne, a 2-0 loss to Elon in 1996, and a 0-0 tied to Lenoir-Rhyne in 1997.
Most recently, C-N under head coach Simon Duffy opened up the 2019 SAC conference slate against Lincoln Memorial, winning 2-1. The Railsplitters returned the favor last season as they left McCown Field with a heartbreaking 2-1 double overtime victory as Rachel Taylor netted the game-winner with 24.3 seconds left on the clock.
The last time the Eagles started a season 2-1-2 was under Will Beddingfield when the Eagles started 2-1-2 before going on to finish 11-6-2 and claiming a spot in the SAC Tournament in Beddingfield's last season as head coach.
Under Duffy's direction, the Eagles are a resounding 19-5-2 all-time against current South Atlantic Conference opponents at McCown Field, including postseason.
"Glad we came out and did what we know we can do. Got the shots off and made sure we kept control of the game," head coach Simon Duffy said. "Happy for Sydnee to come out and step up in absence of Addie but we know she and Nellie are talented for this team."
Once the ball was put into play to start the 2021 SAC season for both programs, it was all about the Eagles keeping up their impressive offensive prowess. It was freshman Nellie Bryneus (Halmstad, Sweden) making her presence known early as she held two quality attempts in the first 10 minutes against Camryn Miller of Mars Hill.
The first 15 minutes of action were all in favor of the Eagles as they attempted three shots, forcing one save while both teams played a decently clean game as only three fouls were called combined.
Making her first career start for Carson-Newman, freshman Sydnee Duncan (Athens, Tenn.) wasted no time to also notch her first collegiate goal to put the Eagles ahead. Off a nice offensive move by sophomore Abbie Zander (Baneberry, Tenn.), junior Mic Kriebel (Greenville, Tenn.) finished the attack off and crossed into the box for Duncan. After making Mars Hill's Miller slip, Duncan slipped around her and poked the ball into the net for the early 1-0 lead.
"So happy to be able to come out here and help the team start conference play off strong. We know we can continue shooting multiple attempts, but when we get the back into the net, that makes the difference," Duncan said. "Playing here at McCown Field is just a special place with all the fans including the men's team here supporting. We know we face a formidable foe in Wingate on Saturday so we need to mentally prepare and get ready to hopefully get the win."
The Eagles continued putting the pressure on the Lions defense as they made a total of 13 attempts during the entire first half. Meanwhile, it was the Eagles defense standing strong as they held the Lions to zero attempts through the first 45.
This is the first time an Eagle opponent has been held shotless in an half since April 1, when the Eagles did the same exact thing to the Lions in the 2020 season.
"Can't complain too much when we get the shots and score. We should have had some more than what we finished with, but still happy we leave with the win and three valuable points," Duffy said. "We know what this conference can do and being able to start with a win means a lot for the future."
Once the second half kicked off, Duffy's squad kept up the pressure as they added four more quality attempts in the first seven minutes of action to make the shot margin 16-0. It was the 57th minute when sophomore Savannah Fields (Johnson City, Tenn.) would help C-N cushion their lead.
In the 57th minute, Fields found Bryneus who was able to escape the Lions defense as she doubled the Eagles lead and made it 2-0. So far this season, Bryneus has scored at least once in every one of C-N's three home contests.
The first Lions attempt came with 11:22 left in the second half as Sanne Martinsen had a shot attempt blocked in the 79th minute. This is the first time an Eagle opponent has been held with five or fewer shot attempts since earlier this year against Young Harris as the Mountain Lions finished with five total attempts in a 2-0 victory.
The Eagles finished the 90 minutes of action with 24 shot attempts while holding the Lions to a pair themselves. This is the fourth match this season where C-N has held at least 20 or more shot attempts, with the only exception being the Young Harris matchup when C-N was held to only 18.
When the Eagles and Lions have squared off from Mossy Creek, the line reads 16-0-1 all-time with the Eagles outscoring the Lions 65-9 in all contests in Jefferson City. The closest Mars Hill has come to victory was during the 1996 season when the two sides battled to the lone draw (1-1) in the series history from Mossy Creek.
In the entire series history, C-N has now outscored Mars Hill 120-25 including 16 shutouts, with ten of those coming from Mossy Creek. Under Duffy, the Eagles are outscoring the Lions 22-3 and are unbeaten against the Lions at McCown Field.
The Eagles now continue their SAC season slate, making the first conference road trip of the season as they trek to Wingate, N.C. on Saturday for a battle with the Wingate Bulldogs. First kick between the Eagles and Bulldogs is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Saturday from the Wingate Soccer Complex & Pride Park.
Live in-game stats and video will be provided by Wingate Athletics as well as live in-game updates provided on Twitter at @CN_Eagles.
Against the Bulldogs, Carson-Newman are leading the series 28-7-2, including a 10-3-1 mark on the road in Wingate. The last time these two sides met in Wingate was during the 2018 season as C-N left the Wingate Soccer Complex as 3-0 victors.
Under head coach Simon Duffy, the Eagles are 4-1 overall against Wingate. The latest installment of this SAC contest was 2019 when Wingate returned the 2018 favor and left McCown Field as 2-1 winners that season.
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman women's soccer at cneagles.com and on all social media accounts.
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