VIDEO: Richard Moodie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – With victories in two of their last three games, the Carson-Newman men's soccer team plays their final non-conference match of the regular season when they host Young Harris at McCown Field on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
"[Our goal] is to bounce back from Saturday," Soccer Coach Richard Moodie said. "I think we were very unfortunate with the way things unfolded for us. I thought it was a good performance and we worked hard. Now, we're looking to bounce back and see if we can't get back to the winning streak on Wednesday."
The Eagles, who are 6-5 overall and 2-4 in the South Atlantic Conference, dropped their last game against Catawba, 1-0, after having to play the majority of the match with 10 men. Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) was sent off in the 32nd minute after a collision with Catawba's keeper. Even shorthanded, the Eagles hung tough before finally conceding the day's only goal in the 84th minute. This loss came after C-N had taken their previous two matches, beating Anderson (S.C.) and King (Tenn.) by a combined score of 6-1. They'll be looking to return to form on Wednesday.
Young Harris may have found its stride entering this contest after beginning the year 2-5. Their last two times out, they demolished USC-Aiken 11-1 and upset ninth ranked Limestone in overtime 1-0. The Mountain Lions got four goals from Marco Micaletto in their win over Aiken and got a 106th minute game-winner from Ramin Varnhorn to top Limestone last Wednesday. The Mountain Lions currently sit in sixth in the Peach Belt Conference with a 2-2 record and Wednesday will mark their final non-conference match in 2016 as well.
"This is a team that's coming off a great result," Moodie said, "but they've also had to deal with some the problems we've had with injuries and such. They're a fantastic team."
Micaletto's four goal day has put him at the top of Young Harris's leaderboard with five goals on the season, but he's also the squad's assists leader with five. The sophomore is currently tied for sixth in the PBC in goals, shares third placed in assists and he's also tied for fifth in points in the conference. As a team, the Mountain Lions lead their league in goals-per-game at 2.56 and in assists with 20 and their 17.9 shots-per-game average is also the PBC's best. Defensively, they rank among their conference's best in goals-against average and they've allowed the fewest shots on goal.
The Eagles' loss to Catawba was the first time they'd been shutout since September of 2014, but they still remain one of the top scoring teams in the SAC. They are in the conference's top five in goals, scoring average and assists and lead the conference in shots. Junior Tom Read (London, England) remains the SAC's assist leader by a sizable margin as his 10 puts him second in the nation and he also ranks 22nd in the country in points with 20, the SAC's second most. Marius Staalby (Trondheim, Norway) is tied with Read for the team lead in goals, as they each have five. Coach Moodie has seen 13 different players score for him this year and seven Eagles have tallied their first career goal during the current season.
Joe Boyd (Nottingham, England) was the hard luck loser in goal in Saturday's 1-0 heartbreaker for C-N, putting his record at 6-5 on the season. The freshman has started every game during his first collegiate campaign and has totaled three shutouts. He ranks fifth in the SAC in saves and goals-against average and his .750 save percentage ties him for sixth.
"I thought we did a great job last week against Anderson and King (Tenn.), as well as against Catawba," Moodie said. "I think we can be pretty deadly when we're defensively disciplined. We're good when we go forward. We've got the players in Marius, Tom, Ashley Kelynack (High Wycombe, England) and Poly Avgousti (Paphos, Cyprus). When these guys get on the ball, anything can happen. We'll see were we end up this week."
For Young Harris, they've also had a steady presence in net this season, as junior Anton Viden has started every game. He does possess the fourth best goals-against average in the conference, but has only had to make the ninth-most saves in the Peach Belt. He also owns a .705 save percentage, the PBC's sixth best, to go with one clean sheet.
This marks the sixth straight year the Eagles and Mountain Lions have met and last season was the first victory in the series for C-N. Young Harris entered the match, which was at McCown Field, ranked 21st in the nation, but they were shutout and limited to just two shots on goal. Thibault Mathorez and Tom Read netted goals and Carson-Newman also benefitted from an own goal on their way to a 3-0 victory. Young Harris had won the previous four years, including a 5-0 victory in the initial meeting in 2011.
Full coverage of the match will be available on cneagles.com, including live video and stats with Mark Inserra calling all the action. A recap of the match will be posted online after the final whistle.
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