VIDEO: 2022 Carson-Newman vs Newberry Highlights
VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Wrapping up a three-game road trip and the month of September, Carson-Newman (3-3-2, 1-2-1) heads to Newberry (2-3-2, 1-2-2) for a Saturday night South Atlantic Conference match.
"We know that they are going to be pretty well-organized, with a number of different attacking threats," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "I think its important for us to be patient if they decide to sit a little deeper and we have to break them down, we'll have to move the ball quickly and be creative in the final third and take advantage of the opportunities when they come."
Carson-Newman has continued to be resilient. After a 5-0 loss to Coker, C-N responded by finishing the Mars Hill match at two goals apiece. The Eagles are now 2-0-1, when coming off a loss this year.
After recording a goal and an assist last time out, Thomas De Graaw now has a team-best two assists and joins Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) as the only two Eagles with multiple goals and assists this season.
The Eagles' most success this season has come when scoring the game's first goal, going 2-0-1 when doing so. During Lyons' tenure, C-N is 45-3-7 when scoring before the opponent does.
C-N is 0-3 this season when playing on the weekend, two of which have been conference matches.
Carson-Newman has been on the winning side when facing Newberry in all but one meeting. C-N leads the all-time series 27-0-2. The only two ties came in 2001 and 2018, both matches that were at Newberry. The Eagles have won three straight in the series and have outscored the Wolves 9-2. C-N got a senior day win over Newberry last season, shutting out the Wolves 3-0. Niels Buurman scored in the 41st minute to put the home team up 1-0. Carsh and Tim Vercelli each scored goals in the 73rd and 74th minutes to propel the Eagles to a 3-0 victory.
Newberry is 2-3-2 this season and 1-2-2 in league play. The Wolves have lost two of their last three games, all of which have been SAC matches. During this three game stretch, its allowed at least three goals in each match and has allowed ten overall. The Wolves lone conference victory was a 1-0 defeat of Emory & Henry on Sept 16.
Uriel Zarracan has a team-high three goals to pace the Wolves offense. Three other players have multiple goals, with three more having scored at once. The offense averages 1.71 goals per match, despite just ten shots per game, ranking third to last in the league.
Goalkeeper Jacob Cotton leads the SAC in saves with 43, more than six per match. Starting all seven games, he has a .741 save percentage and two shutouts.
In the SAC standings, Newberry sits in a tie for fourth place with Lenoir-Rhyne, with five points. Eight different teams including both Carson-Newman and Newberry are within one point of fourth place. C-N is one of six teams tied for sixth with four points.
Kick off is set for 7:00 p.m. from Smith Road Complex. 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.
