Simon Duffy unravels 2021 spring schedule
With the women's soccer season beginning in just under two months, Carson-Newman coach Simon Duffy unravels the eight-game slate his team will face in his fourth season at the helm of the program.
VIDEO: Simon Duffy Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With the women's soccer season beginning in just under two months, Carson-Newman coach Simon Duffy unravels the eight-game slate his team will face in his fourth season at the helm of the program. In his four years with the Eagles, Duffy has posted a 46-11-3 record with a 25-3-2 in SAC Conference play.
The Eagles are coming off a strong 2019 season where they garnered a third-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference, posting a 7-2-1 SAC record. The Spring 2021 season is taking the place of the 2020 season and will see the Eagles splitting playing time on the road and at McCown Field with four matches each way. Lucky enough for the Eagles, three of the first four games take place along the banks of Mossy Creek.
"Scheduling and preparation have been trying and I think it's been trying for everybody in this conference. It's been a matter of stop and start, but we're anxious and ready to get the players back in January and hopefully make our way back on the pitch," Duffy said. "We've tried to challenge our players during the Fall to get them ready for the Spring season."
The schedule for Duffy's squad is primarily a "conference-only" pod arrangement with Lincoln Memorial, Tusculum, and Mars Hill. Duffy's team will start off the year by hosting the Anderson (S.C.) University Trojans as one of the allowed two "non-conference" games on Feb. 11 at 5:00 pm. The Eagles will then make a quick road trip up to Cleveland, Tennessee to play a familiar foe in the Flames of Lee University on Feb. 17 at 7:00 pm.
When the Eagles take to the pitch on Feb. 11, it will be the first time they start the season off at home since Duffy took over the reins in 2017, and the first competition in 460 days for the Eagles, since losing back in Nov. 2019 to Queens in the SAC Championship Quarterfinals.
The Lady Trojans are coming off a 2019 season where they finished 16-6 overall, but ultimately fell to Wingate in the SAC Quarterfinals. The Lady Flames finished 2019 with a 16-6 record, including a 2-0 victory over the Eagles in Mossy Creek, and finishing with a strong third place in the Gulf South Conference regular season standings. The Flames proceeded to make it to the GSC Championship before hosting Embry-Riddle University in the first round of DII Nationals, falling 2-1.
"Having the ability to start off with Anderson at home and then on the road at Lee will help us prepare for our pod games both home and away. The scheduling aspect will help us to do a "proper" week training with enough recovery and focus instead of encountering a quick turnaround in-between a couple days," Duffy said.
The Eagles will look to open up 2021 SAC conference play on February 25 at 7:30 pm when the Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial pay McCown Field a visit. Last time these two squads faced off, the Eagles took a 2-1 victory in Mossy Creek. The Railsplitters, however, were able to finish with an overall 17-5 record including winning the SAC Conference Tournament and making it all the way to the Second Round of the DII National Tournament where they fell to Flagler University 2-1.
"It's going to be interesting for all of us with only one game a week. As a coach, I've had to do some reshuffling and readjusting because I've only had to encounter two games a week. When you put yourself in these pods, you look at the teams who are really nearby which makes it that much more competitive. These are going to be tough games, just because of our proximity, and the rivalries within each game," Duffy said. "We're just hopeful that we can make it to the top 8 and make it into postseason to maximize the amount of games for our players this spring."
Mars Hill will come to Mossy Creek on Mar. 4 at 5:00 pm before the Eagles hit the road for a two-game road trip to Tusculum (March 11) at 5:00 pm and Lincoln Memorial (March 18) at 12:30 pm. After their two-game away stint, the Eagles return home one last time to face Tusculum on March 25 at 7:30 pm. The last game slated for the Eagles comes on April 1 with a trip to Mars Hill at 5:00 pm.
SAC Conference Championships will be played April 6 with semifinals and the championship taking place April 9-10. Location(s) for Conference Championships has yet to be decided.
Each home game will be streamed courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live. Additional coverage and news will be provided on Twitter via @CNathletics and @CNWSoccer.
