GAFFNEY, S.C. – Despite leading the shot tally for a second consecutive game on the season, Carson-Newman faced its first 0-0 tie since 2017 in Friday's non-conference finale against Limestone at Saints Field.
Carson-Newman (1-0) has faced seven other ties since the scoreless stalemate at Mars Hill on Sept. 13, 2017. The difference between the latest draw compared to that one is that C-N head coach Stephen Lyons and Limestone (0-0-1) coach Eric Alsop agreed to forego the typical overtime periods seen after a scoreless regulation.
"A little disappointed in our performance today," Lyons said. "Too many basic mistakes that led to turnovers. We also need to be more clinical in the final third. Limestone are a good team, so it was another solid test going into pod conference play. It was also a positive to keep a clean sheet against some very good attacking players."
This is the first tie in the series with Limestone that dates back to 1997. Carson-Newman still holds the overall record advantage, now sitting at 2-1-1.
The result goes down as the first shutout of the season for C-N and goalkeeper Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands), who saved all three of the shots that the Saints landed on frame. He moves into a tie for eighth in program history for most career shutouts at 5.1. The last one he tallied came in a 1-0 double-overtime win at Catawba on Oct. 26, 2019.
C-N led the shots tally by a slim 12-10 margin in Friday's outing. Spanning the current campaign and the 2019 season, Carson-Newman has outshot its opponents in five consecutive matches since that night against Catawba when it trailed in attempts, 25-24.
Neither team saw a shot land on goal until the 26th minute when Kaarsgaren snagged a look from Jarno Peeters. The Eagles had to wait until the 30th minute to land a shot on frame with Harry Whitehead's (Oxford, England) being pushed away by Saints keeper Nicolas Warner.
The Orange and Blue came out with a hot foot in the first half, sending off eight shots to Limestone's four. It marked the seventh time in the past right trips onto the pitch between the 2019 and 2021 spring seasons that Lyons' group had outshot its opposition through the first 45 minutes.
Early in the second half, reigning SAC Offensive Player of the Week Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden) launched forward an attempt that was grabbed by Warner. It went down as the only shot on goal for the Eagles in the final 45.
Limestone tacked on offensive pressure in the second half, tilting the shots in their favor 6-4 in the closing half. It forced Kaarsgaren to leap onto a pair of saves within the final 15 minutes of play. One of the most threatening pushes from the Saints came in the 88th minute with Pascal Werba sending a shot that ricocheted off of Kaarsgaren in the six-yard box, forcing the netminder to race forward and fall on the open ball.
Whitehead led all players on the pitch with four shot attempts. Öhrwall was one shot behind him with three. The pair were the only Eagles to land shots on frame.
Tristyn de Laaf led Limestone with three shots and one on goal. Werba and Peeters, the other Saints with shots on frame, closed out with two shots and one, respectively.
In net for Limestone, Warner needed just two saves on the day, marking the fewest for a C-N opponent since Wingate's Victor Spaggiari needed a single save back on Oct. 20, 2018.
Carson-Newman was awarded eight corner kicks on the day, splitting up with four in each half of play. Limestone, on the other hand, did not line up for one throughout the entire match. The Saints are the first C-N opponent to go without a corner kick in a match since King on Sept. 25, 2019.
The Eagles open the gates to McCown Field to start league action on Thursday, hosting Lincoln Memorial. Kickoff against the Railsplitters is slated for 5 p.m. inside of Harvey Stadium. Fans can catch a live stream of the match on cneagles.com/live.
