VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The home schedule opens up Tuesday afternoon for Carson-Newman as it hosts the Salem Tigers at 2 p.m. at the friendly confines of McCown Field.
The Eagles (1-0) will play seven matches on the home pitch this season. Since 1990, Carson-Newman has compiled a 162-75-18 record in matches played on the banks of Mossy Creek. In coach Stephen Lyons' tenure, C-N has gone 9-4-2 when playing at home.
"You always want to make your home field a tough place for opponents to come," Lyons said. "So it's important to get off to a good start tomorrow and, again, the guys, in general, do quite well at home, so hopefully we'll get a few people out to watch and put in a good energy performance."
C-N has gone 17-9-2 in home-opening games dating back to 1990, winning the last four such games with a 12-4 scoring advantage.
Lyons' crew comes into the match after a dominating 7-0 win over North Greenville on Friday night to open the 2019 campaign. The scoring bonanza saw Will Sainsbury-Logan (Norwich, England) net his first career goal and Collin Hensel score a pair of his own, but the highlight was Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) raining in the first four goals of the match in a span of 8:26.
C-N put 22 players on the pitch throughout the match including 11 off the bench.
"Definitely a good performance from the team," Lyons said. "A lot of players got to get some playing time which was important as well. For a few guys, it was their first official college game. To be able to get a clean sheet and put away a few goals was a solid start."
4️⃣ goals in 8:26 for @tobiasSkarlsen
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) September 7, 2019
7️⃣ straight shutouts over @Crusader_Sports
✅ Five straight season-opening wins
A wire-to-wire offensive onslaught results in a @CNmenssoccer victory.
��: https://t.co/AhK8ujGoD6 pic.twitter.com/BaFLfJecfg
The home-opener brings a bit of unfamiliar territory as the Eagles take on a Salem (0-1) squad that has not played against the Orange and Blue in over a decade. In their four previous meetings in the early 2000s, the Eagles have allowed just one goal from the Tigers which came in C-N's 2-1 double-overtime victory in their first meeting in 2004. C-N has outscored Salem 14-1 in their all-time meetings.
Salem opened this year with a 3-1 loss to Bloomsburg on September 6. The Tigers fell into a 2-0 hole before Nicholas Collins connected with the back of the net in the 59th minute. Netminder Luis Felipe Ramirez was called upon for just two saves in the match with the Tigers being outshot 15-13.
Seventeen-year coach Florian Marton's group is a year removed from a 9-8-2 2018 campaign that came to a close in the Eastern College Athletic Conference championship with a 3-0 loss at the hands of Lock Haven.
Last season, the Tigers led the ECAC in every statistical category. As a team, they brought in 31 goals with 15 assists for 77 total points. They also had the 2018 ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and a D2CCA All-Atlantic Region second team pick last season in Federico Toschi. The Genova, Italy-native led the Tigers with 13 goals on the year paired with one assist for a group-best 27 points. He led the league with seven game-winning goals, a total that landed him at third in the nation and one-off of tying for the most among Division II. One of his four multi-goal games in 2018 came in the form of a hat trick in a 4-1 win over Marian on September 8.
Tuesday marks the first meeting between the two programs since 2007. Carson-Newman defended its home pitch in the last meeting with a 5-0 rout of the Tigers. Not only did the Eagles not allow a Salem goal in the match, but they also did not allow the Tigers to land a shot on goal either.
The tussle with the Tigers is slated to begin at 2 p.m. from McCown Field. Fans who cannot make it to the game can enjoy a live broadcast of the match courtesy of the Eagle Sports Network along with live stats and in-game updates via @CNathletics on Twitter.
