No. 21 C-N monopolizes on opportunities in win over Coker
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 21 Carson-Newman had a coming out party in a return to McCown Field for just the second time this season. The Eagles have claimed back-to-back 7-0 wins at home after topping conference foe Coker on Saturday afternoon. The other club included on the boat was Lees-McRae back on Sept. 5.
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Video: Magda Mosengo Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – No. 21 Carson-Newman had a coming out party in a return to McCown Field for just the second time this season. The Eagles have claimed back-to-back 7-0 wins at home after topping conference foe Coker on Saturday afternoon. The other club included on the boat was Lees-McRae back on Sept. 5.
C-N (5-2, 3-0 SAC) remains unbeaten at McCown Field having not lost a regular season game at home since Sept. 11, 2015, in a 2-1 final against Ohio Dominican. The Eagles have outscored team's 80-14 since. C-N has outscored the Cobras 24-0 during its four-game win streak.
Coker (0-3, 0-1 SAC) had played just two games in 2018 due to postponements of S.C. Beaufort and Wingate due to Hurricane Florence. Coker had not played since Sept. 5 when they traveled to Francis Marion falling in a 4-2 decision. The Cobras opened up the year at home on August 30th when they fell to Barton 2-0.
The Eagles peppered Coker goalkeeper Samantha Hoffman with seven shots in the first 45 minutes, five of which were on goal before Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England) broke through for her first goal of the season in the 27th minute just above the left side of the 8-yard box. Elena Propst (Maiden, N.C.) once again played the point guard role connecting with the senior following a long ball from the other side of midfield from Madison Huffstetler (Maryville, Tenn.). It's the third assist of the season for the freshman Propst who has added a helper in two straight contests.
"We did very well in that first half, just a bit lackadaisical in front of the goal," Coach Simon Duffy mentioned. "We needed to do a bit more and I think that second half just spoke for itself. It's fantastic to get back here on our home field."
Duffy's group led the shot category at the half ripping off a total of 11, seven of which were on frame. The Eagles did not allow a single shot from the Cobras in the half, the first time since Oct. 28 of last season against the same squad in Coker on their home turf.
The floodgates opened in the second half for the Eagles as they would account for six of their seven goals in the final 45.
Magda Mosengo (London, England) got things started in the 54th minute when Talbut-Smith collected a long ball across the field from Averi Williams (Powell, Tenn.) up the right side. The senior forward carried the ball into the right side of the 18-yard box before hitting a streaking Mosengo down the middle of the field to make it a two-score game.
The assist from Talbut-Smith puts her in sole possession of third-place all-time in assists in the program's history with a career total of 25.
Just 36 seconds later, the duo would connect once again with a little extra help. Newly entered goalkeeper Alexandra Brown, sent a drop kick to midfield as Jaidyn Zapf (St. Bonifacius, Minn.) chipped the ball forward out of midair toward Talbut-Smith. The first-team preseason All-SAC selection went straight to a flick pass off the right side of her boot as Mosengo made a perfect run past the Cobra defense leaving her to finish off the one-on-one opportunity.
The train kept rolling for Mosengo and Talbut-Smith who decided to switch roles 43 seconds later. A give and go between the two put the Crawley, England native in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper as well. Hoffman's aggressive play was to no avail as the forward grabbed her second goal of the day.
The senior forward Mosengo continued to give the Coker defense nightmares as she struck for her third goal of the day in the 62nd minute on a feed from Catarina Realista. It's the second hat trick of the season for an Eagle, with Allie-Anne Blackburn (Franklin, Tenn.) being the other in the win over Lees-McRae. Mosengo has eight goals on the year which ties her for second in the nation.
The three-goal game marks her second-career hat trick after collecting the feat in the 2017 NCAA Southeast Region Title match in a 6-0 route of Columbus State.
"It's always great playing at home," Mosengo exclaimed. "I love playing at home, there's just real comfort being here. At half, we knew there were goals to be half and just tried to relax. We played in the way we like to, keeping the ball on the floor and have a good rhythm."
The seven points on the day ties a season-high for points in a game by an Eagle joining the aforementioned Blackburn. Mosengo now moves into a three-way tie for 8th place in career points with 72 alongside Claire Ramsdale (2003-07) and Trenna Howell (2009-11).
Emilee Futrell (Wilson, N.C.) added to her goal total on the year notching No. 6 in the 76th minute. A cross from Lara Hallgrimsdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland) bounced in the middle of the box and over the head Lauren Hattery (Canton, Ohio) and a Cobra defender. Futrell played the ball off the hop from the right side of the 8-yard box rifling a shot with the left foot short side, to beat Brown.
Williams capped off the final goal of the day with a header off a Hallgrimsdottir corner kick in the 76th minute. The senior defender skied by two Coker defenders and her own teammate Alex Brandan (Knoxville, Tenn.) finishing near the left side of the 8-yard box. It marks her first goal since Sept. 27 of 2017 when C-N defeated Clayton State 2-1.
Duffy's squad allowed just one shot on the day, the lowest in a match since playing Coker last season, with Jackie Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland) being called into action for the lone save of the day during her 73 minutes of playing time. Burns was then relieved by Jessica Fraiture (Hebron, Ky.) who earned her first minutes in goal since the 2015 season after recovering from an injury.
"It was massive for that group to do what they did today," Duffy added. "It was a few mental errors on our part earlier this week against LMU. I'm really happy as anything else to have the shutout but to have that kind of defensive performance and allow one effort just says how dominate we were in the back as well."
The Eagles posted a total of 31 shots, 17 of which were on frame. C-N ended the afternoon with nine assists, something that hasn't been done since Sept. of 2016 in a 9-0 win against USC-Aiken when they tallied eight.
C-N is now 30-3-2 against conference opponents over the last three regular-season meetings outscoring opponents 114-25. Including tournament matches, the record improves to 39-3-2 with a difference in scoring of 134-27. The Eagles have won 14-consecutive matches against South Atlantic Conference opponents including the NCAA tourney match with Queens last season, plus the three victories en route to a league championship.
The Cobras have played Carson-Newman just eight in its history holding the series lead at 6-4-1. They won or tied the first seven meetings with the Eagles but have lost the last three contests. The first meeting came all the way back in 1991 when the teams met for three-straight seasons. It took till 20 years later and a move to the SAC for the two teams to meet again.
C-N will await word on its region and national rankings early next week before they hit the road once again to take on Newberry.
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Team Stats
Coker
| Game Statistics | Coker | Carson-Newman |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 1 (1) | 31 (17) |
| Saves | 10 | 1 |
| Fouls | 4 | 5 |
| Corner Kicks | 0 | 6 |
| Offsides | 0 | 6 |
