Second-ranked Eagles ready for test in National Semifinal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Top seeded and second-ranked Carson-Newman arrives to the National Semifinal for the third time in program history and its first time since 2005. Their opponent, second seeded UC Colorado Springs, who continues to impress in their first ever NCAA tournament appearance since the program began in 2008.
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Game Notes v. UC Colorado Springs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Top seeded and second-ranked Carson-Newman arrives to the National Semifinal for the third time in program history and its first time since 2005. Their opponent, second seeded UC Colorado Springs, who continues to impress in their first ever NCAA tournament appearance since the program began in 2008.
Game time for Thursday, Nov. 30 is set for 12:00 p.m. at Children's Mercy Victory Field.
"This weekend is something I've thought about and dreamt about," Coach Simon Duffy said. "Looking forward to it and hoping we can go down and do some good things."
Coming in at No. 23 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll, the Mountain Lions (17-4-1) are a member out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in the South Central Region. The team collected their first ever league title this season in a 1-0 victory over CSU-Pueblo earning a guaranteed NCAA bid. Carson-Newman (20-0-1) will be the first South Atlantic Conference matchup for UC-Colo. Springs in its history.
UCCS comes into the National Semifinal after knocking off third-ranked and No. 1 seed UC San Diego in penalty kicks 4-3, after a 1-1 tie through two overtimes.
The win puts the Mountain Lions at 2-2 this season against ranked opponents. The other victory came against No. 6 ranked Colorado Mines on Oct. 13 in a 2-1 OT win. Losses came at the hands of St. Edwards who was No. 23 at the time, and No. 16 Regis.
Led by first-year head coach Sian Hudson who spent the past two seasons as an assistant at Colorado College, the 17 wins on the campaign tops a previous program record of 13.
"The coach there has done a great job and they've beat some great teams to get to this point," Duffy mentioned. "They play similar to us and are very comfortable on the ball."
Two players were named to all-region with sophomore midfielder Tarah Patterson earning first-team honors and goalkeeper Taylor Proctor getting the nod on the second-team. Patterson has a team-best 19 points on the year, while the 6'0" frame of Proctor has allowed just 12 goals in her senior season.
With the win over the Argonauts in the NCAA Quarterfinals, Carson-Newman has tied the program record for most wins in a single season when it was topped in 2009.
The Eagles will play their first game away from McCown Field in the NCAA Championships recording wins over Queens, Columbus State and West Florida en route to Kansas City.
In neutral site games this season, Carson-Newman is 3-0 with a regular season win coming over Clayton State and two conference tournament wins over Tusculum and Wingate in Rock Hill, S.C. They are 3-4 all-time in neutral site games in NCAA tourney play.
Junior forward Magda Mosengo owns a program record eight-career goals in NCAA tournament games after recording seven over the past three matches. The previous record of six occurred over a three-year span from 2004-06 by Rebecca Angus.
It will be the first time since 2008 that the Eagles will have played against an RMAC opponent when falling in back-to-back regular season games to No. 11 Metro State and Regis.
Simon Duffy's squad has trailed for just a total of 42:44 out of a possible 1912 minutes in 2017.
"Training and focus has been sharp this week," Duffy added. "Hopefully we can have the big wheel keep on turning here."
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Team Stats
UC-Colo. Springs
| Game Statistics | UC-Colo. Springs | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 15 (7) | 12 (5) |
| Saves | 3 | 6 |
| Fouls | 13 | 11 |
| Corner Kicks | 4 | 1 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
