VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – For the 10th time in series history, double-overtime was needed between the Eagles and Pioneers, but neither team could capitalize in either overtime period, resulting in a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night at Pioneer Field.
The Eagles now hold a 5-0-5 record in overtime games against their South Atlantic Conference rival.
A free kick set up by Connor Green was deflected by Edgar Cervantes before sailing past Joe Boyd, getting the Pioneers on the board in the sixth minute.
Later at the 24:08 mark, Cervantes played to the right side of the pitch, allowing Dario Ljubic to get a touch on the ball to put in the box for Jonny Winter to extend Tusculum's lead 2-0.
"I thought we didn't start the first half as well as we should have," head coach Stephen Lyons said of his team's performance. "We had a chat at halftime and the boys reacted very positively."
VIDEO: Highlights
Thaylan Silva cut the Eagles' (9-3-2, 6-1-2) deficit to one goal in the 61st minute with a header off a cross from Tom Read. The goal marked his second of the season.
In the 80th minute, the Pioneers turned over the ball, giving way to a pressing Read. The senior cut by a defender to send a launch to the back of the net from 15 yards out to tie the game at two.
The goal marked the third straight game in which Read scored in the final 10 minutes of play. He now has nine goals this season.
Read's seven shots on the night move him to second-most career shots attempted in program history with 208. He has 91 career shots on goal, good enough for third-most in Carson-Newman men's soccer history.
C-N attempted four shots through the overtime periods while Tusculum was only able to get one shot off.
"We played some better football in the second half, as well, and even in the overtime," Lyons assessed. "I think we had the opportunities where we could have gone one and won the game, but it just didn't quite go that way for us tonight."
Wednesday marked just the third time this season that the Eagles were outshot by an opponent. Tusculum (1-6-6, 1-3-4) launched 18 shots with eight on goal compared to 12 C-N shots with seven on goal.
Boyd moved to 1-0-1 on the season in front of the goal. The sophomore saved six of the seven shots he faced.
Quiriti faced seven shots from C-N, making five saves. Three of his saves came in the first overtime period. He now stands at 0-4-3.
The physical matchup resulted in 37 fouls total between both teams, marking the largest foul total in a C-N game this season.
"I think, overall, we can't be just sitting back and be satisfied with the final score," Lyons said. "If we start as strong as we did the second half, it could be a better result for us."
Carson-Newman still stands at second in the conference standings. In the initial regional rankings released today by the NCAA, the team was ranked fourth in the southeast region.
The Eagles still trail in the overall series with a 13-15-5 record.
The Eagles stay on the road this weekend with a trip to No. 17 Lander. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Van Taylor Stadium. Live stats will be available courtesy of Lander. Follow @CNathletics for updates throughout the match.
