VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- After a home opening win two days ago, Carson-Newman (2-1) stays at home to host Anderson tomorrow night at McCown for both teams South Atlantic Conference opener.
"We know they are a good team," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "We had a tough game against them last season. We definitely know it is going to be a tough test, they are a good organized team. Conference play is never easy, no guarantees. Hopefully our guys show and we get a good result."
Lyons led teams are 35-11-12 against the SAC since 2017. Each season, C-N has finished fourth or better in the league standings, including a regular season title in 2021. Carson-Newman finished 5-2-4 last season, good for third in the league.
Carson-Newman enters its SAC opener coming off a 4-1 comeback victory over Young Harris on Wednesday evening. It's the third time in the last four seasons that C-N will enter conference play coming off a win.
The Eagles attack has been balanced to begin the season. Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) leads the team with two goals, but five others have scored or assisted on a goal as well. C-N ranks near the top of the SAC in most offensive categories through three matches.
Defensively, C-N has been just as strong with two first-year center backs leading the way in Jonas Friedl (Styria, Austria) and Bart Schijvenaars (Amsterdam, Netherlands). Federico Simonetti (Crema, Italy) has 15 saves through three matches, with a .882 save percentage, allowing just two goals.
Carson-Newman won last season's matchup 1-0. Willem Kruijk scored in the 60th minute that turned out to be the game-winner. It was a defensive matchup that only featured 11 total shots, with both goalkeepers making a combined five saves. The win was C-N's first over Anderson since September 30, 2017. Carson-Newman leads the all-time series 8-5-2 and is 4-1-1 when playing in Mossy Creek.
Anderson has started 2023 with a win and a loss. It began the year with an impressive 3-2 victory over #3 Barry on the road. Trailing 2-1, the Trojans battled back and scored goals in the 85th and 87th minute to complete the come from behind effort. Two days later, it was shutout by Nova Southeastern 2-0.
The matchup with Carson-Newman will be the third of four straight road games to begin the season. The Trojans will also have a full week of rest heading into the SAC opener.
Anderson was picked to finish 9th in the SAC, receiving a total of 49 points. Diego Jaramillo, Lucas Goldberg and Mariano Carpena were all named to a preseason All-SAC team.
In the first Southeast region poll, Anderson is sixth and Carson-Newman is ninth. Five other SAC schools were ranked in the first region poll.
Two of the last four meetings between these two clubs have ended in a 1-1 draw. No more than three goals have been scored in the last four meetings as well.
Tomorrow's match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start from McCown field. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription.
Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
