VIDEO: Highlights
VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
VIDEO: Evan Harr Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Despite creating opportunities for the lead throughout the night, Carson-Newman found No. 19 Wingate countering both times as the sides battled out to a 2-2 draw for a point apiece in the South Atlantic Conference standings on Senior Night at McCown Field on Saturday.
"I think the guys can take a lot of positives," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "I thought first half, we were the better team then, both overtime periods, we brought energy and created chances. Second half, against good opposition, you know there's going to be swings in momentum. I thought Wingate did a better job through the second half, but a really good SAC contest and probably a fair result."
This is the second draw Carson-Newman (10-3-2, 6-1-2 SAC) has played in this season and the first in the series with Wingate (9-2-3, 5-2-2 SAC) since 2008. Both teams left the match with a point apiece, opening the door of the SAC Regular Season title chase wide-open. The Eagles still lead with 20 points, just two points ahead of the rest of the pack, but Wingate's point slid it down to third on the table with 17 points.
The Eagles outshot the Bulldogs by a slim 17-16 in the outing despite an eight-shot second half from Wingate. While they lead in overall shots, C-N only landed five on frame compared to a slew of eight from the Bulldogs.
"I thought Bram [Kaarsgaren] and the back four did a good job against an extremely good attack," Lyons said. "We know, again, that they've got some great attacking players. Very, very dangerous on the counter and, for long spells, we maintained them. When it was times we switched off, they were able to make them count."
Kensho Yoshikoshi (Tokyo, Japan) put the Eagles up early with his third goal of the season. In the 13th minute, Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) lined up for a free kick that bounced off the head of Tony Saldana (Dalton, Ga.). The deflection landed just ahead of Yoshikoshi, allowing him to use his forehead to send the ball into the back right of the goal.
GO ON, @Kensho4454!!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) November 2, 2019
The senior uses his head to put C-N up early.
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13' | 1st Half
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Silva's assist on the goal moves him to a league-high eighth on the season, a number good enough for a share of eighth in the C-N record book for most assists in a season. He is tied with Sindre Welo and Brad Collins who had eight in 2013 and 2004, respectively.
Just over 20 minutes later, Wingate found an answer from Stuart Hendry, also in the form of a header on a free kick. The set piece from Mikkel Fahlen Bruun sailed into the penalty box before being headed until descending to the leg of Owen Wilson. The ball then met the head of Stuart Hendry as he made contact with C-N's netminder Bram Kaarsgaren, tying the match at 1-1 in the 34th minute.
The stalemate lasted into halftime with C-N leading the shot tally 6-5 through the first 45 minutes.
"We felt like we deserved more [during our halftime talk]," C-N senior Evan Harr said. "You know, we really came out in the second half going at them and, again, the guys really stuck together through it all and it was a really impressive performance."
In the 51st minute, a foul whistled on Wingate in the right portion of the penalty area brought on a penalty kick for the Eagles. For the second time in as many matches, Silva lined up for the opportunity. His tip-toe trek to the ball faked out Wingate's Jens Bergendorff who went diving left as the ball found the back right corner of the net, giving the Orange and Blue a 2-1.
Back-to-back matches with a PK?
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) November 3, 2019
Not bad, Thay. ��
The Eagles regain the lead.
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51' | 2nd Half
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Wingate would not go down quietly, once again countering C-N's efforts in the 72nd minute. Oscar Perez beat out a couple of Eagle defenders with a cross to an open Paul Ngongo near the left post. The Bulldog's freshman sent a shot with Kaarsgaren looming to his right that slid into the lower back left corner, tying the match at two goals apiece.
The Eagles added on just one shot in the remaining 18 minutes of regulation. It's best scoring chance came as the whistle sounded. Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) sent a cross inside to Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) that the senior quickly headed in, but his look was saved by Bergendorff, sending the match into overtime.
The second half saw eight shots heading in C-N's direction from the Bulldogs with Kaarsgaren saving four of those that came near him. Of the four attempts the Eagles took in the frame, Bergendorff tallied no saves.
Through both overtime periods, Carson-Newman outshot Wingate 7-3. Kaarsgaren needed just one save in that entire time while C-N forced Bergendorff to make two.
Kaarsgaren grabbed six saves in the match while Bergendorff snagged a trio.
Solem Karlsen led all players with four shots in the match with just one on frame. He was one of five Eagles to account for the team's five shots on goal.
A trio of Bulldogs led their group with three shots, those being Ngongo, Perez and Elliot Cutts. Ngongo and Cutts were the only Wingate players to have multiple shots land on goal, both with two.
The regular season comes to a close on Wednesday night as the Eagles make a trek to Greeneville, Tenn., looking to take the SAC Regular Season title with a win over Tusculum. The match from Pioneer Field is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. Tusculum will provide a live stream of the match along with live stats while fans can also following along with @CNathletics on Twitter.
