JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time since 2018, No. 14 Carson-Newman men's soccer has its sights set on a South Atlantic Conference Tournament Semifinal match as No. 25 Wingate comes to town on Thursday afternoon for a 3 p.m. meeting.
Top-seeded Carson-Newman (7-1-1) heads into the match with its first national ranking since October 2019, making its 2021 debut in the United Soccer Coaches national poll on Tuesday with a spot at No. 14. The group is riding a six-match winning streak into the showdown with fourth-seeded Wingate (5-1-1), all in shutout fashion.
For the first time in 76 weeks, @CNmenssoccer is back in the @UnitedCoaches national poll, debuting at No. 14.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 6, 2021
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The last time C-N made it to the semifinal round was Nov. 2, 2018, when it was shutout by Tusculum, 2-0. The program is 3-8-2 all-time in second round action, not seeing a win since a Nov. 6, 2004 meeting with Wingate, 2-0. The team advanced to the championship in 2005 after taking down Wingate in a penalty kick shootout, 3-2. That was also the year of C-N's lone SAC Tournament championship title. Since then, it has gone 0-6-2 in such matches.
All-told this season, C-N still leads the league with seven clean sheets, a number that puts it within the top-three in the nation this year. It has not allowed an opposition goal in 602:14 of gameplay since February 25, outscoring opponents 17-0 in that time.
This will be the 36th meeting between the sides with Wingate leading the overall series 17-12-6. When they meet on the banks of Mossy Creek, the Eagles hold a slight 8-7-1 advantage. Overall, they have not seen a win over the Bulldogs since Oct. 17, 2015, winning 4-1 at McCown Field. Since then C-N has gone 0-3-1 in the series.
C-N and Wingate have met four prior times in the SAC tournament with C-N trailing, 1-2-1. Three of those meetings have been in the semifinals.
The Eagles face a Wingate squad that dominated its SAC Quarterfinal match against Limestone, winning 7-1. The win was highlighted by a four-goal night from junior forward Soren Nygaard who also tallied an assist. Three of his goals came within the second half.
Head coach Gary Hamill's team is the fourth-seed after finishing the regular season with a 4-1-1 1 record in conference play and 13 points on the table.
Wingate saw a five-match unbeaten streak snapped in the regular-season finale, falling to Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-0. It won four-straight before the loss. This season, it is outscoring its opponents 11-5.
The Bulldogs fell from No. 11 to No. 25 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll that was released on Tuesday. They were ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation in the poll released on March 9 and went into this season as the projected winner in the SAC preseason coaches' poll. This came a year after they won the 2019 SAC Tournament and made a run all the way to the NCAA National Quarterfinal, ending the season with a 15-3-3 record after falling to No. 2 Lynn, 3-0.
Seven Bulldogs landed All-SAC postseason honors this week with five earning first team laurels. One of those was Nygaard, who leads the team with five goals and 13 points this season. Midfielder Mikkel Fahlen Bruun leads Wingate with 11 assists this season, adding on a pair of goals for eight points. Honorable Mention goalkeeper Jens Bergendorff has gone 4-1-1 on the year with three shutouts. The sophomore has played in every minute of action, allowing four goals on four saves.
The last meeting between the two sides resulted in a 2-2 draw on Nov. 2, 2019. Carson-Newman out-shot Wingate by a slim 17-16 in the outing despite an eight-shot second half from Wingate. While it led in overall shots, C-N only landed five on frame compared to a slew of eight from the Bulldogs. Kensho Yoshikoshi got C-N on the board in the 13th minute with a header off a free kick. Wingate countered before the half thanks to Stuart Hendry to tie the match at one. 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 that Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) successfully attempted to give C-N a 2-1 lead. Paul Ngongo leveled the match in the 72nd minute. Through both overtime periods, Carson-Newman out-shot Wingate 7-3. Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) needed just one save in that entire time while C-N forced Jens Bergendorff to make two.
Thursday's match from McCown Field will feature a live broadcast that can be found at cneagles.com/live with real-time updates coming on Twitter via @CNathletics.
