JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – On Saturday evening, the Carson-Newman men's soccer team will return to action at McCown Field for the first of four straight home games as they host the Anderson (S.C.) Trojans at 7:30pm.
The Eagles have hit their first rough patch of the season, having lost three straight games to fall to 4-4 overall and 1-3 in the South Atlantic Conference. They dropped consecutive one goal contests to Mars Hill and Queens (N.C.), allowing late scores in both matches that proved to be the difference. In their most recent game against Lenoir-Rhyne, the Bears built a 3-0 lead in the first 20 minutes that C-N was unable to erase in a 4-2 loss. This recent turbulence came after a 4-1 start to the season that included a 3-0 victory over Newberry in the squad's first SAC contest of the season. Coach Richard Moodie hopes his squad can return to that form on Saturday.
The one bright spot in the L-R defeat was Marius Staalby's (Trondheim, Norway) two goals. The senior now has four scores on the year, which leads the team. The Norwegian is one ahead of Tom Read (London, England), but Read has racked up eight assists, the most in the SAC, and 14 points, the conference's second most. Staalby and Read have helped their team total 19 goals this season, tied for the third most in the league, and a goals-for-average of 2.38, tied for second. Their average of 17.5 shots per game are also the most among SAC teams and they've outshot six of their eight opponents this year.
On defense, Carson-Newman has allowed nine goals in their last three games after giving up only three in their first five clashes. Defensive captain Thibault Mathorez (Graces, France) and fullback Steven Parry (Boulogne-Billancourt, France) have been the mainstays of the Eagles' backline, as they are the only fullbacks to start all eight games. They have also contributed offensively, with two goals each. Joe Boyd (Nottingham, England) will be looking to continue his solid play in goal in a season that's seen him collect a pair of clean sheets and earn a goals-against-average of 1.50.
Anderson had been going through a difficult stretch of their own prior to Thursday, when they ended a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Erskine. The Trojans began the season with three straight wins, but were unable to sustain that success once conference play began. They've dropped all four of their SAC matches so far this season, with the most recent one being a 1-0 loss to Tusculum in which they allowed the game-winner in the 86th minute. Anderson has yet to score more than one goal in a conference match this season.
Thursday's win over Erskine included a pair of goals by freshman Landon Goodman, who is tied with Brad Du Plooy for the team lead with three. Du Plooy also has eight points, a team-high for a group that's had difficulty scoring this season. Their 10 goals are tied with Newberry for the fewest in the SAC and their eight assists are the third least. They are, however, one of the cleanest teams in the conference, as they've earned the fewest yellow cards with nine.
Senior Devon Ashy is in his second season as Anderson's full-time keeper and through eight games, he has 34 saves, the fourth most in the SAC. He also has a .756 save percentage and a 1.35 GAA. Ashy has earned one shutout this season, a 1-0 blanking of Shorter, after logging five last season.
Last year, these two teams met in Spartanburg, South Carolina and the Trojans emerged with three points after scoring three straight goals in the first half on their way to a 3-2 triumph. They still trail the all-time series eight wins to three and have never won at McCown Field in four previous tries. Last year's row broke a four game win streak the Eagles had in the rivalry that included a 3-2 win in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
You can catch all the action between the Eagles and Trojans on cneagles.com/live, where live stats and video will be available. Mark Inserra will be behind the microphone and cneagles.com is where you'll find a recap of the match.
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