Henry secures WePlayed Sports SAC Defensive Player of the Week honor
For the fourth time this season, Carson-Newman earns a weekly honor. Olivia Henry was named the WePlayed Sports South Atlantic Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday morning by the league office.
ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the fourth time this season, Carson-Newman earns a weekly honor. Olivia Henry was named the WePlayed Sports South Atlantic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday morning by the league office.
The Eagles have earned four weekly honors from the SAC this season, the most for the program since the conference began handing out weekly honors over the past two decades. Carson-Newman matches Catawba for the most weekly honors from the league this season.
Henry joins fellow goalkeeper Berna Kabakci and defender Annika Fend as winners of the defensive player of the week honor this season. Molly Bukiewicz is C-N's lone offensive player of the week winner in 2025. No other South Atlantic Conference school has more defensive player of the weeks than Carson-Newman.
Henry stepped up for the Eagles on Saturday afternoon, helping her team to a 1-0 victory over Wingate. Impressive marks were set by the freshman keeper in her first career start. She became the first Eagle goalkeeper in the past 20 seasons to record a clean sheet in their first career start. Henry did so by recording six stops in the match, the second-most by a C-N keeper in their first career start. Berna Kabakci's 10 saves versus Anderson on September 9, 2023 is the most by a goalie in their C-N debut.
The Knoxville, Tenn. native was tested twice in the first half of Saturday's game. She made stops in the 38th and 41st minutes to keep the score level at intermission. The freshman would make an early stop in the 49th minute, before seeing her team take the lead on a Bukiewicz goal in the 53rd minute. Her final three saves of the match came in the final 10 minutes. Two of those were in the final 80 seconds. The last of her six saves came as the buzzer sounded. Ellie Polk came up with possession after a C-N turnover, but Henry saved her shot to secure the shutout.
Henry's shutout is Carson-Newman's sixth this season and second that she has been involved in. The six clean sheets are tied for the most in a season since 2022. Half of C-N's shutouts this season are in SAC play.
Carson-Newman returns to action on Saturday for Senior Day versus Anderson. First touch from McCown Field is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floWsoc.
