VIDEO: Richard Moodie Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – Coming off one of their best performances of the season, a 4-0 whipping of the King (Tenn.) Tornado, the Carson-Newman men's soccer team will battle the visiting Catawba College Catawba Indians at McCown Field on Saturday in a South Atlantic Conference match at 3:30 p.m.
The Eagles will be trying to string together their second winning streak of the year, as they won three straight in early Sept. They've defeated Anderson (S.C.) and King their last two times out, winning both games in markedly different fashion. They needed two overtimes against the Trojans before Ashley Kelynack (High Wycombe, England) provided the game winner, but avoided any such drama against the Tornado, scoring three times in the second half to put the game away. With their SAC record at 2-3, to go with a 6-4 overall mark, this match gives the Eagles a chance to get to .500 in conference play.
Catawba started 2016 2-3, a stretch that saw them drop their first two SAC games, but they've since righted the ship and reeled off four straight, three of which were against league opponents. That hot streak has allowed them to rise to third in the SAC, a spot they currently share with Lenoir-Rhyne. Their last two wins have been nail-biters, as they slipped past Brevard in double overtime 1-0, winning on a Declan Stimson goal in the 102nd minute, before holding off Queens (N.C.) 2-1 on Wednesday. A victory on Saturday would give the Catawba Indians their longest win streak since they won six straight in 2006.
Coach Ken Hassler's crew sits in the middle of the league offensively, as they are tied for fifth in scoring offense, averaging exactly two goals per match, but they do have the SAC's third best shot percentage at .159. Daniele Proch has been the team's leader on offense, as he tops the squad with five goals and three assists. Three of those scores came in his team's 5-1 walloping of Coker two weeks ago. Tim Frederik-Lange and Ian Orr rank second for Coach Hassler with three goals each.
During the Eagles 4-0 win over King, both Marius Staalby (Trondheim, Norway) and Tom Read (London, England) added to their team leading goal total, as they both have five scores this season and are the only players on the squad with more than two. Read, however, has the runaway lead in points, as he's totaled 10, the most in the SAC and the second most in the country. Read has at least one point in his last four games and in seven of his last eight. Wednesday night also saw Evan Harr (Bristol, Tenn.) become the 13th Eagle to get on the scoresheet this season and the seventh player to score his first C-N goal in 2016.
Goalkeeper Joe Boyd (Nottingham, England) enters Saturday off maybe his best performance this season. He made a career-high eight saves against King to preserve his third career shutout and is fifth in the SAC in goals-against average. Opposite the freshman Boyd on this day will be sophomore Joe Gonzalez, who's started every game but one for the Catawba Indians this season. Gonzalez has faced 39 shots this year and saved 27 of them for a .692 save percentage. He ranks one spot behind Boyd in the SAC in GAA, as his 1.48 ties him for sixth.
Last year, these two teams met on Catawba's home field and the Eagles came away with one of their most dramatic victories of the season. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, the Eagles took two second half leads, only to have Catawba tie the game twice, before Sindre Welo put across the game winner in the 86th minute. C-N has a 21-13 advantage in the rivalry with one tie between the programs. The Catawba Indians will be looking for their first win at McCown Field since 2003, as they've lost six straight on C-N's home pitch.
You can view all the action of this contest live on cneagles.com/live, where up-to-date stats can also be found. Mark Inserra will call the match and the postgame wrap-up will be posted on cneagles.com.
-CN-
