JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After an onslaught of offensive force that featured 30 shots, the 13th-ranked Carson-Newman men's soccer team (12-2-1, 7-2 SAC) used an 84th-minute header from senior Rurik Pereira (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) to breeze past the Brevard Tornados (4-8-2, 4-4-2 SAC) Saturday night on Senior Night at McCown Field.
The Eagles registered 14 shots in the first stanza and 16 attempts in the second half of play compared to just seven shots from Brevard. Tornado goalkeeper Heath Turner registered a career-high 12 saves in the loss.
"Persistence and just making sure we didn't get too antsy; we did in the first half, throwing bodies forward and they were able to catch on the counter a few times," coach Richard Moodie said of finally finding the back of the net late in the contest. "For us, it's important in games like this to have a strategy and focus and trust you can get the job done. We trust our boys and we are behind them 110 percent this year and we knew we were going to get a goal; there's too much quality on the field to not get a goal."
C-N thought it found the back of the net midway through the first half. Junior Tom Read (London, England) sent a corner kick in that was deflected out to freshman Bruno Andrade (Sao Paulo, Brazil) who sent a shot towards the net. Andrade's shot was blocked and deflected to the feet of an offside Marius Staalby (Trondheim, Norway); Staalby took a shot off the redirect and found the back of the net but the flag was up and the goal was disallowed. The contest was scoreless through 45 minutes.
Ten minutes into the second half, Brevard had its best chance of the night. Andrade swung a corner kick into the box that a Tornado defender cleared to the midway line; the ball took a high bounce that allowed Shaw Schoenfeld to run onto and create a one-on-one situation with Carson-Newman goalkeeper Kavi Luchowa (London, England). Luchowa came off his line, made a save with his chest and stopped the Brevard counter.
The Eagles finally struck six minutes before the clock ran out. Read sent a corner from the left flag stick into the box. Pereira headed the ball towards the frame from the back post that Turner got a hand on to try to make a save, but the Brevard goalkeeper was in the net and knocked the ball into the roof of the net for Pereira's first goal of the season. Read now has 11 assists on the season, which is the most for a C-N player since 2010.
"We proved today that we have what it takes. Some teams couldn't break them down. That's a tough game and they have done a good job, the coaching staff at Brevard. You could tell that they were organized and disciplined. They worked hard for 90 minutes. It took a special goal, too," Moodie said.
C-N's 30 shots were the most for the Eagles on the year and the most facing Lenoir-Rhyne in 2012. Read registered eight attempts, which was also a season-high for the Eagles; Read has tallied 15 shots in the past two contests. Brevard's seven attempts ties the second-lowest for a C-N foe tying with Belmont Abbey.
Luchowa recorded four saves in his fourth clean sheet performance of the season; the senior now has nine shutouts in his career.
Carson-Newman finishes its home portion of the schedule 6-1-1 and the Eagles won their last five contests played on McCown Field.
Carson-Newman hits the road for the final two contests of the regular season with the first trip set to Greeneville, Tenn. to face rival Tusculum at 5 p.m. on Tuesday evening.
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