HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's soccer team (7-2-1, 4-2 SAC) picked up its first win over the Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters (6-2-1, 3-2-1 SAC) since 2012 with a 2-1 South Atlantic Conference win at the LMU Soccer Complex in Harrogate, Tenn. on Wednesday afternoon.
Carson-Newman had not beaten the Railsplitters since a 2-1 win at McCown Field on Sept. 19th, 2012 and were held winless over the course of the next three contests before Wednesday's win.
Junior Tom Read (London, England) scored the game-winning goal in the 44th-minute on a breakaway goal and senior goalkeeper Kavi Luchowa made four saves in the winning effort.
The Eagles' win moves C-N into second-place in the conference with 12 points, while LMU is now tied for third in the SAC. Carson-Newman has now won five of its last seven contests dating back to the beginning of conference play.
"It was a lot like the Mars Hill performance. It was relentless. It was fantastic performance; Kavi Luchowa and Stuart Oliver were huge for us today," coach Richard Moodie said. "It was a good win to get against a team that is receiving votes and ranked ahead of us in the regional rankings. We had six shots blocked, but finishes from Sindre Welo and Tom Read were top-class."
A Lincoln Memorial foul in the box late in the 21st-minute set up a penalty kick for the Eagles and senior Sindre Welo (Trondheim, Norway); Welo floated his shot down the middle, while LMU goalkeeper Pedro Ozi drove to his left to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. Welo's penalty kick was his first of his career.
The Railsplitters equalized in the 33rd-minute with a goal from preseason first-team All-SAC Leonardo de Silva. The Brazilian took a pass from Yinka Lawal and shot a quick flick over Carson-Newman goalkeeper (London, England) to tie the score at 1-1.
Right before the halftime break, Read took a pass from senior Stuart Oliver (Beverly, England) at the midfield line and ran the length of the field and beat Ozi to his left to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead, which was the eventual game-winning goal. Read has now scored two goals during the 2015 campaign.
The two teams played a scoreless second half, but C-N outshot the 'Splitters 11 to eight. During the second 45-minute stanza, the Eagles had four corner kicks and Luchowa made all four of his saves.
Welo's penalty kick was the program's first attempt since the Newberry match on Sept. 19th. The Norwegian is now alone in seventh-place in the Carson-Newman record books with 23 career goals and has scored in back-to-back games.
Carson-Newman has scored the first goal of every contest in 2015; a senior has now scored in eight of the nine games this season and the Eagles are 6-2-1 when a senior scores.
The Eagles stay on the road on Saturday afternoon as they travel to face the Catawab Indians at 3:30 p.m. in Salisbury, N.C.
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