ANDERSON, S.C.- Carson-Newman (3-1-2) (1-0) used a second half goal and strong defense to take down Anderson (1-3-1) (0-1) Saturday night, 1-0.
"Great performance tonight," Coach Stephen Lyons said. "Thought for long periods we dominated possession and created the better opportunities. A huge penalty save kept us in the game and quality delivery from Gus (Gustavo Moses Bessa) was met by Willem (Kruijk) to take the lead. Ben King had a sweetly hit shot saved to keep it 1-0 and we weathered some pressure in the final 10 minutes, but managed to hold on for a well-earned clean sheet and win."
The Eagles first opportunity in the match came in the 7th minute as senior Tim Vercelli fired a shot high and off target. Eight minutes later, senior Nic Carsh sent a shot on goal that was saved by Trojans keeper Amos Uber. There was only one other shot in the half, it was by senior Ben King. The Eagles did not allow a shot in the first half of action.
The beginning of the second half had plenty of excitement. C-N committed a foul, allowing a penalty kick to be taken for Anderson. But C-N goalkeeper Darin De Meza made a diving save ranging to his right to keep the game scoreless.
C-N rode that momentum the rest of the way. In the 60th minute, graduate student Gustavo Moses Bessa delivered a beautiful cross into the box, in came surging senior Willem Kruijk who headed the ball past Uber to give C-N the 1-0 advantage. It was Kruijk's second goal and Moses Bessa's first assist of the year.
After the goal, Anderson only managed one more shot on goal. It came in the 89th minute on a header, but once again De Meza made the stop for the Eagles.
De Meza was spectacular, recording three saves to help C-N get its first clean sheet of 2022.
Anderson outshot Carson-Newman 6-5 in the match, but both teams had three shots on goal. The Eagles allowed six corners but defended each at a high level.
C-N gets a week off before welcoming Wingate to McCown field for its SAC home opener. The match is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
