February 3, 2021

Eagles tout trio of preseason All-SAC selections

The South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason poll placements along with the first and second team honors.

ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason poll placements along with the first and second team honors. This marks the sixth straight year the Eagles tout preseason All-SAC selections. C-N boast two first team and one second-team All-SAC plaudits heading into the spring 2021 season. Carson-Newman is joined by Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate, Catawba, and Queens as the only programs in the league with a pair of players earning preseason accolades.

Seniors Emilee Futrell (Wilson, NC) and Kristina Markfort (Munster, Germany) were named to the first-team preseason team while teammate Jente Kuper (Ottersberg, Germany) earned second team honors.

For Futrell, this is her third straight season of winning either first or second team laudits. Most recently, Futrell was a preseason first-team All-SAC selection prior to the 2019-20 season alongside two teammates (Kuper and GK Jackie Burns). Futrell's first honor came prior to the 2018-19 season when she was named preseason second-team All-SAC while teammates Holly Talbut-Smith, Magda Mosengo, Alex Brandan, Averi Williams, and Jackie Burns were all first-team honors.

"It's really cool to be recognized among all the other players in this conference. I'm looking forward to keeping this goal in the actual season," Futrell said. "I feel like it will be a good start to the season. It brings a lot of good energy to have other teammates honored as well."

Futrell is the lone four-year player returning for the Eagles forwards in 2020-21. Last year, she was named to the All-South Atlantic Conference second team when she started in 14 of her 16 appearances. Futrell led the team in scoring with nine goals, 70 shots, 35 shots on goal, and a mounting 20 points throughout the season. She also was the producer of three game-winning goals, with two coming in SAC competition.

2018, Futrell's sophomore campaign, was just as impressive. She was named second-team All-SAC where she started in 20 games on the year. She scored nine goals, totaled five assists, and 23 points on the season. Futrell also shot a nice total of 69 shots, 32 shots on goal, and a game-winner against Newberry.

In her freshman campaign, Futrell come off the bench to see action in 22 of the 23 games played as part of the historic 2017 season for the Eagles. She was a Freshman Athlete of the Year finalist, compiling a league-high nine goals and 21 points. Futrell also propelled the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over UC-Colorado Springs in the National Semifinals. She opened up her scoring for the Eagles in her second career game and followed that up with goals in back-to-back games.

"We've really created a great team bond during the Fall. I'm really excited to see what the freshman can do for this team," Futrell said. "It would be great to score 10 goals but we'll see how this go as we have multiple scoring forces on this squad."

Following the 2019-20 season, Markfort finished off with the team's second-most points (10) and goals (3) but led the team with four assists. She took Markfort took 28 shots on the season and had 14 fell on goal. For her tremendous efforts, she was named a second-team All-SAC and a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-region member.

"It means a lot to me to be recognized alongside teammates. There are many people worthy of this and having it come to me as a senior means a lot," Markfort said. "Having three players awarded shows we have success at any position."

Her sophomore season, 2018, saw Markfort log 844 minutes of play during 20 games, notching two goals and one assists on 15 shots. Both of her goals were proven to be game-winners against Lincoln Memorial and Mars Hill. The 2017 season (her freshman year) was cut short for the Germany native, as she started in seven of nine games before suffering a season-ending injury. However, in the nine games she played in, Markfort helped the Eagles held opponents to only seven goals combined.

"I'm really excited along with the team to play again. We've only had one scrimmage in the Fall so seeing other opponent will be nice," Markfort said. "We want to try and win the Conference but as this year is something we don't know what will happen, just getting to play is nice."

Kuper is the lone Eagle on the second-team All-SAC, but this is her second time being selected All-SAC in three years. Last season, she logged over 1274 minutes in 16 appearances (14 starts). She was a crucial part of the Eagles defense, alongside Markfort, which held opponents scoreless in four games on the season, three times coming against SAC opponents. Her valiant effort on the pitch landed her All-SAC second-team honors.

During her freshman season of 2018, Kuper made 17 starts while making an appearance in all 20 games, playing over 1655 minutes and adding a goal and a pair of assists to her record. At the end of her freshman campaign, Kuper was awarded her first second-team All-SAC recognition. For her career, Kuper enters her junior season with eight shots on goals, two goals, a whopping 2,953 minutes played and a mere three assists over 35 total career games in action.

-CN-

2020-21 SAC Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference

First Team
F- Emilee Futrell, Carson-Newman

F- Jessica Cravero, Lincoln Memorial

F- Nia Gaither, Queens

F- Sanne Martinsen, Mars Hill

MF- Jovana Sanchez, Catawba

MF- McKenna DeLong, Wingate

MF- Kristina Markfort, Carson-Newman

MF- Neve Duston, Lenoir-Rhyne

D- Chandler Hendrix, Wingate

D- Katie Beck, Catawba