September 17, 2025

Eagles drop SAC opener to #11 Catawba

An early goal in each half helped #11 Catawba (5-0, 1-0 SAC) leave McCown Field with a 2-0 victory over Carson-Newman (3-2, 0-1 SAC0 in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Wednesday evening.

#11 Catawba

5-0-0, 1-0-0

Carson-Newman

3-2-0, 0-1-0

Final	1	2	T
#11 Catawba (5-0-0, 1-0-0)	1	1	2
Carson-Newman (3-2-0, 0-1-0)	0	0	0

VIDEO: Simon Duffy Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – An early goal in each half helped #11 Catawba (5-0, 1-0 SAC) leave McCown Field with a 2-0 victory over Carson-Newman (3-2, 0-1 SAC0 in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Wednesday evening.

"I am really happy with the effort overall," Carson-Newman head coach Simon Duffy said. "I cannot fault any one of them for there effort. Glad we approached the game like that, against Catawba because if you don't they are a quality team that can steam roll you. We switched off in two moments and against a team like that, they will punish you. We kept pushing and pushing, can't fault anyone in this game."

Catawba has now won three straight meetings in Jefferson City and snapped Carson-Newman's three game-winning streak.

Carson-Newman goalkeeper Berna Kabakci (Zeddam, Netherlands) would make a save on the game's first shot. Morgan Delair had her attempt toward the bottom right saved.

Five minutes later, Delair would win the second battle. Bree Ehmer set up Delair, who made a run into the middle of the box and slotted a shot into the bottom left corner to make it 1-0 Catawba in the 10th minute.

The Eagles began gathering shots in a hurry. Two minutes after the goal, Krista Nielsen's shot was saved by Catawba keeper Jenni Dahne. C-N would keep possession and it led to four shots in a 19-second stretch. Selina Jud (Wilderswil, Switzerland) took two of the shots, both of which were blocked. In between Jud's shots, was a Malia Kim (Clinton, Tenn.) shot that was blocked. The final shot of the sequence was from Felicia Frick (Eschen, Liechtenstein) and it missed high.

As the half grew on, Carson-Newman would compile two corner kicks and one more shot but was unable to find a first half equalizer. Jud attempted that last shot, forcing Dahne make an easy catch on a shot from far away.

The first shot from either side after halftime was a goal off a corner kick. Natalie Peterson took Catawba's second corner kick. Ali Skinner was positioned well and headed the ball into the bottom left corner to extend the advantage. Skinner's goal was her first of the year and Peterson's assist was her second.

Karli Pettitt (Kingston, Tenn.) fired Carson-Newman's first two shots after halftime, the first was blocked and the second shortly after missed wide.

The Eagles sporadically took shots throughout the second half, but none of which hit the target. Two of the five shots after halftime stood out more than the others. One was an Iris Palsdottir header off a free kick that missed just wide left of goal. The other was on a cross to Molly Bukiewicz (Beavercreek, OH) in the 85th minute that just sailed high of goal. Bukiewicz's attempt was C-N's last in the match.

C-N outshot Catawba 13-9, but Catawba had five of their nine attempts go toward goal. The Eagles had just two of 13 hit the target.

Carson-Newman attempted a season-high six corner kicks in the match.

Defensively, Kabakci made three stops on five shots her way. Carson-Newman allowed multiple goals for the first time this season and ended a five-game stretch allowing one or less dating back to last year.

The Eagles begin a three-game road stretch on Saturday at Coker. First touch in Hartsville, South Carolina is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. A video stream is available with a subscription to FloSports.