JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's soccer team will be looking to rebound from their first conference loss of the season when they head to Charlotte, N.C. to face the Queens Royals on Saturday afternoon at 3:30pm.
"[The boys] will be ready to go out," assistant soccer coach Kavi Luchowa said. "It was a tough game on Wednesday, but its something they all have to learn from. They know what they need to do for Saturday and we're confident that they'll do it."
The Eagles have a record of 4-2 overall and 1-1 in the South Atlantic Conference after dropping a match against Mars Hill in which they came back from a 2-0 deficit, only to concede the deciding goal in the final minutes. This came three days after the team began its conference slate with a 3-0 victory at Newberry, which was their third consecutive shutout. The Eagles have allowed multiple goals only twice this season and both times, it has resulted in a loss.
The C-N attack has been potent in the early part of the campaign, as their 2.67 goals for average puts them at the top of the league table. They've reached that spot without having a single player score more than twice, but 11 Eagles have found the scoresheet through six games. Tom Read (London, England) has been the main spark for the squad's offense as he has seven assists, which leads the SAC and, as of Thursday night, are also tops in Division II.
On the back line, captain Thibault Mathorez (Graces, France) and goalkeeper Joe Boyd (Nottingham, England) have helped lead the charge for a group that has earned three clean sheets. Boyd's 1.00 goals against average is the third best in the SAC. The defense has also allowed just 22 shots on goal on 2016. Only Wingate has allowed fewer.
For Queens, they began the season strong, winning three of their first four, but losses in two of their first three conference games have them sitting in the bottom half of the SAC standings. The Royals dropped contests to Tusculum, who beat them in overtime, and Wingate sandwiched around a win over Lincoln Memorial. In all three of their losses, Queens has been held to less than two goals and they have limited their opponents to one goal in all four victories.
Their top offensive weapon this year has been forward Ryan Ejezie, whose four goals have tied him for third in the SAC and his eight points are tied for fifth in the conference with several players, including teammate Corey Brown. Brown has put himself among the national leaders in assists by totaling six through seven games. In all of Division II, only Tom Read has more.
In goal, the Royals have relied on sophomore Sergio Lemus, who has played every minute of every game through seven contests. While he doesn't have a shutout to his credit this year, he is in the top five in the SAC in saves, save percentage and GAA. His 34 saves are second only to Newberry's Brad Dixon.
"Queens is always a good side," Luchowa said. "I think it will be better match for us. Mars Hill played a lot of long ball. We don't expect Queens to do that as much. I will be a good opporunity for us to get the ball down and play and do what we want to do."
The two schools will meet for the eighth time on Saturday with the all-time series even at 3-3 with one tie. The tie occurred the last time these two teams met in the 2015 SAC semifinals, as the Eagles fought back from a 3-0 deficit to even the score at the end of regulation, but in penalty kicks, Queens bested Carson-Newman 5-4. That snapped a three-game win streak for the Eagles in the rivalry that included a 2-1 win at McCown Field last September. The last time the Royals beat C-N in regulation time was in 1996.
A complete summary of Saturday's match will available on cneagles.com after the final whistle.
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