GREENWOOD, S.C. – No. 13 Carson-Newman could not battle back from a Max Bolton goal in the 80th minute as it was upset by Lander, 1-0, on Wednesday night at the Van Taylor Soccer Stadium.
"I thought for long spells the lads played very well tonight and deserved more from the game," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "However, good teams will punish basic mistakes and that's what Lander did tonight. It's important that we learn and move on quickly for Saturday's conference game against Catawba."
Carson-Newman (9-3-1) extends its losing skid to Lander (7-3-2) to three-straight matches, going without a win against the Bearcats since Nov. 11, 2009. The loss also snaps a four-match winning streak for the Eagles and gives them their second shutout loss of the year.
This is the second time this season Lander has completed an upset bid on a nationally-ranked team. It took down No. 7 Francis Marion back on Oct. 5.
The Eagles held the higher end of the shot tally for a third-straight match, out-shooting the Bearcats 12-8 with five shots landing on frame to just one from Lander. That single shot on frame ended up being the deciding one for the Bearcats. This was the third time this season that the Orange and Blue allowed just one shot on goal and the second in as many weeks.
For just the second time this season, C-N faced a scoreless stalemate at the halftime break despite finding opportunities on five corner kicks. The Eagles poured on the shots in the opening half 9-4, also leading in shots on goal 4-0. All four of the Orange and Blue shots that landed on goal were saved by Lander's Jacob Withers.
It took until the 80th minute for a goal to be scored. A Lander corner found its way into the 18-yard box where a header deflected to Bolton that he sent skidding into the back-right corner of the net, just past C-N's goalkeeper Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, Netherlands).
The goal marked the first one the Eagles had allowed in 301:47 of gameplay since Oct. 8.
C-N sent just three shot attempts in the second half. Sofian Maghouz (London, England) accounted for two of those looks with one landing in the hands of Lander's netminder Jacob Withers. That attempt in the 76th minute was the last one C-N mustered on the night.
Maghouz led everyone on the pitch with five shots, matching his season-high tally that he set on Sept. 28 against Anderson. Both he and Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) led the match with two shots on goal each.
Bolton was the leading shooter for Lander with two attempts and the lone shot on goal.
Kaarsgaren moves to 8-3-1 on the season after going without a save for the first time this season thanks to the Eagles' defense doing its part to hinder Lander's looks from reaching his territory. On the other end of the pitch, Withers ended the match saving all five of C-N's shots that landed on goal.
Carson-Newman wraps up its five-match road trip with a trip to Salisbury, N.C. to face the Catawba College Catawba Indians. That match is set to begin Saturday at 8 p.m. with a live stream and live stats being provided.