February 5, 2015

Moodie inks six on National Signing Day

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman director of soccer Richard Moodie announced the addition of six new Eagles to the women’s soccer program.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman director of soccer Richard Moodie announced the addition of six new Eagles to the women's soccer program.

Sarah Benton, Alex Brandan, Hannah Henry, Mackenzie King, Avery Williams and Bailey Williams totaled 160 goals and 74 assists during their high school careers. The six picked up 13 All-Conference accolades and five championships.

Sarah Benton (Grand Junction, Colo.) @8SarahBenton: Benton, the daughter of Nancy and Tom Benton, is the high school teammate of C-N signee Mackenzie King at Fruita Monument High School in Grand Junction, Colo. As a Wildcat, she led the team in assists for three seasons. As a sophomore, she was the team's highest scorer and the team's second-highest scorer as a junior. She garnered All-Conference all four seasons and was the captain of her club team. She won the Club State Championship in 2010. Academically, she is: Fruita Monument Senior Class President, a member of the National Honors Society and currently holds a GPA over 4.0. She is a two-sport athlete as she also plays basketball. Benton will be an attacking midfielder or forward at Carson-Newman. Other schools that recruited Benton included Westmount University, Wittenberg University and Colorado Mesa University. She plans to major in Elementary Education.

Moodie on Benton: "Sarah Benton pretty much ended up on our campus because of Mackenzie King. She came down to one our of summer camps, performed very well and we weren't going to let her leave campus till she committed to us. She's also a top-notch striker and someone who is going to come to us with a wealth of experience, proven to score goals. This young lady is relentless and if she does miss, she works even harder to make sure she doesn't."

Alex Brandan (Knoxville, Tenn.) @abrandan6: Brandan, a Knoxville, Tenn. and Bearden High Schoool product, is the daughter of Georges and Cindy Brandan. She played club soccer for FC Alliance 97 Girls Black and volleyball for Bearden. With FC Alliance, she was a member of the 2012 and 2014 Tennessee State Finalist and the 2013 Tennessee State Champions. She led her club team in goals scored via a header. The two-sport athlete was named to All-District, All-District Tournament, Prepxtra Second-Team volleyball teams. As a Bulldog, she was the Team MVP and Captain. The Bearden volleyball team won the District 4-AAA Championship in 2013 and 2014 and the 2012 Region 2-AAA Championship. Her father, Georges, played soccer and tennis at Tennessee Tech, her cousin, Katelyn Hurst, played soccer at Lee and her grandmother, Beverly Cope Little, graduated from Carson-Newman. She chose C-N over Maryville College and plans to major in Veterinary Medicine.

Moodie on Brandan: "She is a top recruit, all left-footed, can play a variety of positions, very versatile defensively and going forward on that left and right side. Holds a lot of value for us in that program. She is one of the few girls we have that is a naturally left-footed player. Looking for big things and is definitely someone you will hear her name on the score sheet throughout the season."

Hannah Henry (Signal Mountain, Tenn.): Henry, the daughter of David and Jeannie Henry, is a product of Chattanooga Christian School and hails from Signal Mountain, Tenn. During her career as a Charger, the future forward scored 62 goals and contributed 16 assists. She was a two-time leading scorer for Chattanooga Christian and has been named All-State twice. In 2012, Henry was a member of a District and Region Championship-winning team. As a senior, she led the Chargers to the state semifinals. A three-sport athlete, Henry played basketball and tennis as well. She was named to the All-District team in basketball in 2013 and 2014. She was a Doubles State Champion with her sister, Ellie, in 2012. She is undecided on a major.

Moodie on Henry: "Hannah Henry is a young lady coming out of Chattanooga, attended Chattanooga Christian and also spent some time training with the WPSL franchise there, Chattanooga Football Club, so we have kind of got to see her grow through that system. Fantastic forward, proven goal scorer. Just very athletic, you're kind of typical American striker. She's tall, strong, fast, aggressive. "

Mackenzie King (Grand Junction, Colo.) @KenzieKing7: King, the daughter of Kevin and Sheri King, comes to Carson-Newman from Grand Junction, Colorado's Fruita Monument High School and coach Alex Garza. Her high school teammate, Sarah Benton, also signed with the Eagles. She played soccer, volleyball and ran cross country for the Wildcats. King led her high school defense in goals and assists and was second overall as a junior with 45 shots and 17 shots on frame as an outside defender. During her first three seasons with Fruita Monument, King was named Second-Team All-Conference. She garnered an Academic Letter in 2011 and 2012. She chose Carson-Newman over Miami University (Ohio), Florida Southern, Knox College and Converse College. King plans to major in Special Education.

Moodie on King: "Mackenzie King is a young lady that we are very excited to get on our campus. She's is one of the few defensive players that we actually signed for this year. I think she is going to fit in straight away. She shows lots of qualities in the modern fullback, loves to press forward, something she has been working at this past year. Loves to press on. She's a quality player and very, very technical and I would say would have an immediate impact on this team.

Averi Williams (Powell, Tenn.) @HeyItsAveri: Averi Williams, the daughter of Randy and Janet Williams, joins the Carson-Newman women's soccer program after spending her last four season at Powell High School in Powell, Tenn. As a Panther, Williams scored 24 career goals and tallied 39 assists as a midfielder. She was named All-District three times, All-Region twice, Second-Team All-Prepxtra two times, First-Team All-KIL twice and she is the two-time reigning District 3-AAA Midfielder of the Year. During her senior campaign, Averi helped lead Powell to the school's best record at 13-3. Her coach, Mark Smith, is a former Carson-Newman soccer player She played club soccer for FC Alliance and they have won three State Championships.. Her twin sister, Bailey, also signed to play soccer at Carson-Newman.. She chose Carson-Newman over LMU, Tennesse Tech, UT-Martin and ETSU. Averi is undecided on a major.

Moodie on A. Williams: "Averi Williams is a young lady coming out of Knoxville. For us, she is a very versatile player that has kind of played everywhere on her club team. She played for Powell High School under former Carson-Newman graduate Mark Smith so we know she is coming from a soccer-educated background. For us, I think she is going to fit into one of those holding mid roles. She's definitely someone who will come in and have an impact on this team and she is someone I think who can pick the game apart. She's very good on the ball and she makes very good decisions, but she is a fighter. She is very, very athletic and someone I think can be a huge attribute for our team moving forward."

Bailey Williams (Powell, Tenn.) @AyeBayBay22: Bailey Williams, the daughter of Randy and Janet Williams, is a product of Powell High School and coach and former C-N soccer play Mark Smith. As a Panther, Bailey accumulated 74 goals and 19 assists in three seasons. She is a three-time First-Team All-District, two-time All-Region, two-time First-Team All-Prepxtra, two-time First-Team All-KIL and a two-time member of the All-State team. As a junior, she was named District 3-AAA Offensive Player of the Year and was named District MVP during her senior campaign. Her twin sister, Averi, also signed with Carson-Newman. Bailey chose to attend over Carson-Newman after being recruited by: UT-Martin, Tennessee Tech, ETSU, Murray State and LMU. Her father, Randy, played basketball at Tennessee Wesleyan, her grandfather played basketball at East Tennessee State University and her uncle played basketball at LMU Bailey is undecided on a major.

Moodie on B. Williams: "Bailey is just a proven goal scorer. Bailey will be one of those (a player who can score in the final third). She loves to score goals. She loves to get on the ball, very aggressive. You'll need to fight her tooth and nail to get her off the ball. She was recruited heavily by a variety of schools and we are thankful that they have chosen to come to Carson-Newman."

-CN-