MARS HILL, N.C. – Despite two early goals, Carson-Newman (3-2-2, 1-1-1) was unable to hold onto the lead as Mars Hill (2-2-5, 0-0-4) clawed back to tie the match 2-2, Wednesday evening at Meares Stadium.
The draw ends a five-game winning streak against Mars Hill. The Eagles do stay unbeaten when facing the Lions on the road.
"Thought the guys responded well to what we have been working on and got the reward with the 2 goals," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "Mars Hill is a good team and when you give them chances they will cause you problems. I was happy with how the lads battled in a solid SAC match and we will take the positives going into Saturday's match."
Following a loss this season, the Eagles are 2-0-1 and continue to avoid back-to-back losses. Mars Hill plays to a 2-2 tie for the third straight game in South Atlantic Conference play.
Neither team wasted much time attempting a shot. In the second minute, Daniel Vennesland (Tananger, Norway) fired a shot wide right. Two minutes later, Peter Plougmand did the same, but wide left.
After a mishandle along the backline, Plougmand got free and sent a shot toward goalkeeper Eric Thust (Karlsruhe, Germany) who made a diving stop ranging to his right.
Carson-Newman struck first on its second shot of the night. Thomas De Graauw (Hoofddorp, Netherlands) dribbled his way through the Lions defense and buried a ball in the bottom right corner of goal to put the Eagles ahead 1-0 in the 17th minute.
Five minutes later, Carson-Newman played add on. De Graaw played a ball over to Ben Dukes (Southampton, England) who sent a ball into the six-yard box and had his shot deflected off a Mars Hill defender into the back of the net for his second career goal.
After a pair of quick shots on goal that were saved, Mars Hill answered in the 25th minute. Plougmand received a great ball from Jorge Perez Prada and the striker put the shot in the back of the net to cut the Eagles lead in half.
The Lions nearly had an equalizer in the 35th minute. Perez Prada shot a ball toward the bottom right corner forcing a Thust diving save. Off the rebound, Plougmand nailed a shot off the top crossbar and out of play.
Two minutes later, Thust made another excellent stop on a Plougmand shot toward the bottom left corner of goal to keep C-N ahead at intermission.
Off a long throw in, Mars Hills's Nolan McMillen found the head of Jorge Perez Prada who tied the game in the 48th minute.
C-N fired the first shot after the Mars Hill equalizer. Maxime Wester (Brussel, Belgium) raced forward to send a shot wide left of goal in the 53rd minute.
In the 55th minute, Alex Mee had an opportunity to give the Lions the lead but missed left as well.
The Eagles were close to another go-ahead goal in the 60th minute. Mitchell Honcoop found space and sent a shot that a Lions defender got in front of before it went toward goal.
Carson-Newman had four corner kicks over the next nine minutes but failed to get a shot attempt off of those chances.
Getting the second half start, C-N goalkeeper Levi Burdette (Seymour, Tenn.) made an incredible save in the 75th minute to keep the game tied.
Two minutes later, C-N went on a counterattack and drew a corner kick. Off the corner, Bart Schijvenaars (Amsterdam, Netherlands) shot a ball from inside the six-yard box that was handled by James Price.
The best chance in the final ten minutes came from Plougmand, but Burdette made another good stop to keep the match tied.
Burdette and Thust combined for five saves in the match. Price four stops for the Lions.
The Eagles were outshot by the Lions 19-11, but both squads managed seven shots on goal. De Graaw paced C-N's attack. The graduate student finished with a team-high three shots, all on goal, along with a goal and an assist.
Perez Prada finished with a goal and an assist, while Plougmand recorded eleven shots in the tie.
Carson-Newman concludes the month of September on Saturday with a road match against Newberry at 7:30 p.m.
