HARTSVILLE, SC – Carson-Newman (7-4, 3-3 SAC) prepares to take on new SAC addition Coker (5-4-2, 3-3-1 SAC) tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The Eagles are coming off a 2-0 win over Milligan last Wednesday. "You're only as good as your last game," Carson-Newman head soccer coach Richard Moodie said.
Senior captain Matheus Bachi (Caxias do Sul, Brazil) opened the scoring 30 minutes into the match. Sindre Welo (Trondheim, Norway) sent in a corner to the back post where Ross Frame (Welshpool, Powys, United Kingdom) got on the end of it to send the ball back across the box. Bachi redirected the ball with his head into the back of the net for his third goal of the year.
In the 75th minute, Jake Fielder (Talbott, Tenn.) delivered a throw in to Frame who beat one defender and placed a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of the net.
Frame leads the Eagles and the SAC in points with 25. He also leads the conference in assists with seven, and is tied for second in goals with nine. He is third in the SAC in overall shots taken with 50.
Fielder and Rurik Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) each have compiled four assists tying them for fifth in the conference.
Coker defeated Mars Hill 1-0 Wednesday with a goal from Noah Gulley, his first of the season, assisted by Chris Martin.
"There are some teams now in our conference starting to play some good soccer," Moodie said, "and I think now it's anyone's game. Being in the tournament is no guarantee."
On Oct. 9, Coker lost 4-2 to Wingate. The first goal came for the Cobras in the 68th minute when Jordan Snell put in his first of the year with the assist by Daniel Jackson.
Jackson put in a goal of his own, his eighth of the season, with four minutes left in the match.
"Going into the game against Coker," Moodie said, "you wouldn't want it any other way than coming off the back of a win."
Carson-Newman opened its home season against Wingate on Sept. 14. Nick Skoda (Knoxville, Tenn.) opened the scoring in the 6th minute by collecting a long ball sent by Lucas Siqueira (Sao Paulo, Brazil), beating his defender with speed and placing it into the lower corner of the net.
"For the boys," Moodie said, "we'd like to make it into the tournament as one of the top four teams and be the home seed."
The Eagles held their lead for the majority of the game. In the final minute, Siqueira went down with an injury. After a prolonged injury timeout, play resumed with a free kick for the Bulldogs that resulted in a goal sending the match into overtime.
Six minutes into the second overtime, the lights on the field went out while Wingate was in possession. When play resumed, the Bulldogs were awarded a free kick on which they capitalized to win the match.
Wingate outshot the Eagles 18 to 12. Carson-Newman keeper Rumwald Le Guevel (Vannes, France) had 11 saves on the match.
Coker played LMU on Sept. 14 and tied 2-2 after double overtime. Jackson is credited with both goals while Snell and Martin each claim an assist.
"Coker is flying this season," Moodie said. "They're a very, very good team that we need to respect and definitely not take lightly."
The Eagles lost 3-2 to LMU on Oct. 9. Nico Noll (Esens, Niedersachsen, Germany) put up the first goal for C-N 25 minutes into first half off a ball from Fielder.
Less than a minute into second half, Frame beat his defender 1v1 and put the Eagles up by two.
The Railsplitters came back with three goals in the last 32 minutes of play to win the match
The Eagles were outshot 22 to 14; Le Guevel made eight saves. He currently leads the SAC in saves with 58. He is second with a save percentage of .795.
"It's going to be tough with a five hour trip," Moodie said, "but we wouldn't want it any other way. We have give games left, players are coming back from injury and hopefully we'll get to see their faces out on the field on Saturday."
The match can be followed live at www.cokercobras.com/livestats/landing.