JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman sent out its second-highest shot tally on the season but could not build back from a first-half deficit, falling to Lincoln Memorial 1-0 to open South Atlantic Conference play at McCown Field on Thursday evening.
This is the first SAC loss Carson-Newman (1-1-1, 0-1 SAC) has faced since falling to Lenoir-Rhyne on Oct. 2, 2019. Since then, it had gone six games without facing a loss in league tilts, two of those being draws with Tusculum and Wingate. In the series with Lincoln Memorial (1-0, 1-0 SAC), this is the first loss at home for the Eagles since Oct. 25, 2016, also a game that happened at McCown Field.
This is the third-straight meeting with LMU that has been decided by a single goal.
"You know, I thought the guys played great," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "Obviously, other than putting the ball in the back of the net, I thought we dominated the play. I thought the energy levels were really high and the guys really implemented the style that we've been asking from them."
C-N sent out 18 shot attempts throughout the match, holding Lincoln Memorial to just a single look the entire night. That shot was the difference-maker, also being the only LMU shot to land on frame. The lone shot marks the fewest shots C-N has allowed in a game since Mars Hill sent off a trio on Oct. 16, 2019.
Lyons' group had already sent six shots onto frame by the time the Railsplitters took a 1-0 lead on a goal from F.D. De Santiago. After Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) moved into the right side of the 18 yard box away from the net, Shanden Vergara got past C-N's keeper with a sliding move, providing the dish that put C-N down by one.
Moments before that goal, the Eagles had launched two strong looks that just missed the net. Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) pushed forward a shot that right off the crossbar, heading back into play. Seconds later, Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden) took his own chance that ricocheted right off of the inner part of the right post. Throughout the opening period, C-N forced 'Splitters keeper Robin Hermann to save all five of the shots it landed on frame.
After the halftime break, Carson-Newman applied added attacking pressure in the form of 10 shots. Two of those came early in the half with Matheus Maia (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Benjamin Stein (Berlin, Germany) both made attempts just seconds apart, both of those gobbled up by Hermann.
Throughout all of the second half, the Orange and Blue matched their first half output of shots on goal with another five. Despite those chances, C-N could not claw back with Hermann meeting each shot.
Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) and Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) led C-N's shooting effort with three looks each, both of them also landing two on frame. Öhrwall, Whitehead, Evans and Maia all added on a pair of attempts each.
"When you create that many chances, you need to be more efficient," Lyons said. "We kind of talked about that a little in practice, even this week, so that's something we'll have to go back in training and get and make sure that we're being efficient. When you get 18 shots, you should be scoring."
For the first time since a meeting with Lander on Oct. 23, 2019, Kaarsgaren went without a save in the contest.
Thursday was the second consecutive game of the season that saw a Carson-Newman opponent not line up for a corner throughout the match. On the flip side, the Eagles were awarded a season-high 10, six of those coming in the second half.
All-told, 26 combined fouls were whistled in the match, 14 of those toward LMU. That stands as the second-most against a C-N opponent this season, five behind Belmont Abbey in the season-opener.
Carson-Newman's next trip onto the pitch will keep it at home, hosting Mars Hill on March 4. Kickoff with the Lions is set for 7:30 p.m. from McCown Field. The Eagle Sports Network will provide a live stream of the match at cneagles.com/live.
