JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Looking to get back to its winning ways, the Carson-Newman (2-0-1) men's soccer team opens South Atlantic Conference play Wednesday night against the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (1-1-1) on McCown Field at 7:30 p.m.
Both teams are entering the league opener with an identical result against the South Carolina Aiken Pacers as the Peach Belt opponent tied 1-1 with the Bears and Eagles. Carson-Newman scored in the 25th-minute after senior Nick Skoda (Knoxville, Tenn.) scored his fourth goal of the year, but the Pacers responded in the second half and left Mossy Creek with the draw.
"The boys have to show up. We've seen them play all throughout preseason and the first three games of the season. An Alabama-Huntsville performance to a Belmont Abbey performance to an USC Aiken performance that has dropped drastically from one to three. We expect that; that's football," coach Richard Moodie said. "For us, the boys just have to get up for it and have that high intensity from the start of it and finish. Truthfully, they have to finish games out because even on those days when we don't show up, we've got USC Aiken beat and we make it difficult on ourselves."
Skoda has been the highlight of the Eagles' attack with his four goals. The Knoxville-native was awarded his first SAC AstroTurf Player of the Week honor in his career on Monday after scoring a hat trick against Belmont Abbey and his score against Aiken.
Defensively, senior goalkeeper Kavi Luchowa (London, England) has conceded just two goals thus far into 2015 and has one clean sheet to his name; the Englishman has five career shutouts and that puts him in a tie for sixth in the Carson-Newman record books.
Lenoir-Rhyne is led by sophomore Ismael Noumansana who has two goals to lead the Bears. The Frenchman is the only L-R attacker with multiple goals. His teammate, Leon Mueller-Wiesen, has L-R's other goal. The Bears start Benjamin Lundt in goal; Lundt has 11 saves on the season and possess a save percentage of .786.
"I'm very confident in our ability and hopefully we will have some players back and in the squad. We have to have the energy level right and focus on the goal that is in hand and the objectives of the season. I think a win against L-R is crucial to win any conference game at home and we've got to pick up a result. To be contenders, you've got to pick up results at home."
Carson-Newman owns the series record by winning 19 of the 34 matches played between the two programs; Lenoir-Rhyne has won 13 times and the two teams have tied twice. At McCown Field, the Eagles are 10-5 record against the Bears. The last time to two teams played was last October when the C-N won 4-0 with goals were scored by Marius Staalby (Trondheim, Norway) and Lucas Siqueira (Sao Paulo, Brazil).
The Eagles and Bears kick off at 7:30 p.m. on the Eagle Sports Network with Eric Cain on the call.
