October 17, 2025

Duffy’s club plays host to first-place Bears Saturday night

Carson-Newman (6-3-2, 2-2-2 SAC) faces one of the best offenses in the South Atlantic Conference when it welcomes first-place RV Lenoir-Rhyne (8-3-1, 5-1-1 SAC) to McCown Field on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

RV Lenoir-Rhyne

9-3-1, 6-1-1

Carson-Newman

6-4-2, 2-3-2

Final	1	2	T
RV Lenoir-Rhyne (9-3-1, 6-1-1)	0	2	2
Carson-Newman (6-4-2, 2-3-2)	0	0	0

C-N Match Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (6-3-2, 2-2-2 SAC) faces one of the best offenses in the South Atlantic Conference when it welcomes first-place RV Lenoir-Rhyne (8-3-1, 5-1-1 SAC) to McCown Field on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Playing to a scoreless draw with Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday, Carson-Newman continues to play some of its best soccer of the season now unbeaten in its past five matches, which have included three victories. During this unbeaten stretch, C-N has outscored its opponents 12-3 and has posted shutouts in three of the five games.

When scoring multiple goals under head coach Simon Duffy, C-N has been good, especially this season. All six of Carson-Newman's wins have occurred when it has scored two or more goals. The Eagles are now 77-2-6 when scoring two or more goals under Duffy.

Molly Bukiewicz (Beavercreek, Ohio) continues to shine in her sixth and final season along the banks of Mossy Creek. The graduate student is third in the SAC with seven goals. Her fantastic season has come with remarkable efficiency. Her seven goals have been scored on just 19 shots, scoring on 37 percent of shots this season. That mark is the best among attacking players who average at least 1 shot per match. Furthermore, nine of her 19 shots have hit the target and seven of those nine have gone in the back of the net.

Carson-Newman's defense will look to post a third consecutive shutout on Saturday night. The Eagles posted clean sheets in three straight non-conference games back in September and now have an opportunity to do it again here in mid-October. Junior goalkeeper Berna Kabakci (Zeddam, Netherlands) has her hand in five clean sheets this season, the most in a season in her career. She has 11 career shutouts in 41 career games.

These two sides have met ten times over the past seven seasons, with three meetings occurring during the 2023 season. The Bears have had their way against C-N, winning the past eight matchups. Carson-Newman's last win in the series was a 1-0 road win on September 12, 2018. Saturday night's meeting will be just LR's second trip to Mossy Creek since 2019.

Lenoir-Rhyne brings the second-highest winning percentage in the South Atlantic Conference to McCown Field on Saturday night. The Bears have an 8-3-1 overall record and a 5-1-1 record in league games, which is good for 16 points and a tie for first place. They are unbeaten in three straight league matches, including a tie versus Coker last Saturday. Their only loss in SAC play is a 1-0 road loss to Anderson.

The Bears head to Mossy Creek with all kinds of momentum after defeating Mars Hill 10-0 on Wednesday evening. The ten-goal performance was the most goals by a Bears team since beating NAIA Columbia (S.C.) 13-0 in 2008 and their most goals against an NCAA DII opponent since a 10-1 defeat of Newberry in 1995.

Katie Durham led the 10-goal charge for LR, scoring four times in the blowout win. Her four goals were the most by a Bears player since Garcelle Alequine scored four times against Coker in 2014. She also added two assists, just three shy of the school record for points in a match. Durham has seven goals and five assists to lead the Bears offense this season. Lucia Hidalgo is tied with Durham for most goals on the team with seven herself. Four of her seven goals are in SAC play. This dynamic duo paces a LR offense that ranks 15th nationally, averaging two and a half goals per match. Its nine shots on goal are the 19th-most nationally as well.

Goalkeeper Riley Miller has a slightly better goals against average mark than C-N's Kabakci at 0.67. The sophomore goalie has six shutouts this year with 36 saves. She saves just under 82 percent of shots that come her way.

First touch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/liveWsoc.