CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Despite sitting in double-digit shooting for a third-straight match, Carson-Newman was unable to battle back from an early Lee goal, facing its first loss of the season in a 1-0 result at Lee Stadium on Saturday night.
Carson-Newman (2-1) sent out 15 shots throughout the match but could not connect, landing a third of its chances on goal. Unlike its first two games of the season, C-N did not lead in the shot tally for the match as Lee (2-0-1) also attempted 15 shot. The Flames edged the Eagles in shots on goals, 7-5.
"We had plenty of opportunities to win the game, but one little mistake made the difference," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "I thought we responded well with our work rate the rest of the first half, but we need to be more clinical.
"We did well with movement, getting good looks at goals, but the final strike or decision let us down. Another day, maybe we could have made those."
This is the first road loss for Lyons' group since Oct. 20, 2018 when it took a 2-0 loss at the hands of Wingate. As for Lee, the win marks its third in the four-match series history with the Orange and Blue.
Lee struck first in the ninth minute on a long pass downfield from netminder Daniel Hrenko that landed at the feet of Aiden Moore near the top of the box. With C-N goalkeeper Bram Kaarsagaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) and a few other defenders near him, Moore sent a floater over the head of Kaarsgaren that found its way to the back of the net, putting Lee up 1-0.
"I thought Bram's distribution was good overall, outside of the miscommunication," Lyons said. "He is obviously disappointed to not get the win with the guys but his presence was there. We just have to learn, take the good with the bad and move on to Wednesday."
The Eagles had two strong scoring opportunities in the later part of the first half that both came off of the foot of Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway). One shot was blocked by a Flame while the other, a rocket launch from just feet away from the right post, bounced off of Hrenko in the 34th minute. The senior attempted four shots in the first half with just one on frame.
By halftime, it looked as if Carson-Newman would continue its string of outshooting opponents, leading in the shot column 10-6. Of those attempts, four came from Solem Karlsen alone with one on frame.
Out of the halftime break, Lee's Jared McWhorter sent a shot that connected with the inside part of the right post before ricocheting up to the crossbar and back into play, keeping the Flames' lead at one.
C-N's last solid look at a goal came in the 83rd minute when Solem Karlsen received a pass from Will Sainsbury-Logan. Solem Karlsen launched a shot a few yards out from the post before it was batted away by Hrenko.
Solem Karlsen led the Eagles with five shots on the night with two on frame. Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) sent out three attempts while Rik van Dijk (Drenthe, the Netherlands) sent a pair. They both had one shot on goal.
Tristan Lyle led Lee with four shot attempts and two on goal while Ronaldo McDonald tallied three shots with one on goal.
Kaarsgaren was called upon for a season-high six saves in the match, bringing his total on the year to 10. His six saves marked the most for a C-N goalkeeper since Twan Verweij needed to make seven against Coker on Sept. 22, 2018. On the other end, Hrenka saved all five of the shots he faced.
The Eagles return home on Wednesday night to open South Atlantic Conference play against Lincoln Memorial. Kick-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. Fans who cannot make it to McCown Field can sit back and enjoy the Eagle Sports Network's live broadcast of the match along with live stats.
