WINGATE, N.C. -- Carson-Newman matched its lowest shooting tally of the season with six attempts as it fell to Wingate in shutout fashion, 2-0, on Saturday night at Pride Park at the Wingate Soccer Complex.
Carson-Newman (7-4-2, 3-3-2 South Atlantic Conference) moves its winless streak at Wingate to six-straight with the loss. The Bulldogs (7-5-1, 5-4 SAC) still stand without a loss on their home pitch this season, moving their home record to 5-0-1.
"Obviously very disappointed with the result," coach Stephen Lyons said. "We again made simple mistakes that Wingate capitalized on. We need to be more creative in the final third. Every single department has to be better. We now have two games in the regular season to make that happen."
The Eagles had not seen a conference road loss since Sept. 12 when they lost to Lenoir-Rhyne 1-0. This was also their third shutout loss of the season, second in SAC play.
Saturday marked the first time C-N was unable to score a goal against Wingate since Oct. 16, 2010 when it fell to the Bulldogs 6-0, also on Wingate's home turf.
Wingate notched the quickest goal against on C-N this season thanks to Stuart Hendry in the ninth minute. He capitalized with a rebound from a cross to put the Bulldogs up 1-0 early on.
For just the second time this season and the first time in conference action, the Eagles went into the break facing a deficit. The last occurrence was in the 2-1 loss to Lander on Oct. 10.
Carson-Newman was held to just three shots in the first 45 minutes. Its best chance of scoring in the first half came on a header in the 12th minute by Kensho Yoshikoshi (Japan) but it was saved by Victor Spaggiari.
That attempt ended up being the best scoring opportunity the Eagles saw in the entire game as it was the only shot they could land on frame.
That one shot on goal marked the lowest total of the season in a match for C-N this year. The last time the Orange and Blue were held to one shot on goal was Oct. 2, 2007 in a 1-1 draw with King.
The second half began much like the first half did with Soren Nygaard extending Wingate's lead in the 54th minute. He broke by a C-N defender to send a shot into the lower left back of the net to put his team up 2-0.
Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) and Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) were the top shooters for C-N in the contest with two each. Karlsen now sits at seventh in program history on the career records list for shots attempted at 99.
Of Wingate's 14 shots, Elliot Cutts accounted for four of them, one of those landing on goal.
The Eagles held the edge in corner kicks for a second-straight match this year, lining up for four set pieces compared to two from the Bulldogs.
Carson-Newman's goalkeeper Twan Verweij (Utrecht, Netherlands) saved two of the four shots that he faced on the evening. He is now two saves shy of tying Stian Alnes for eighth in program history for career saves. The senior currently has 99 in his time with C-N.
Spaggiari needed just one save for the Bulldogs.
Carson-Newman stays on the road for its final road contest of the regular season with a trip to Newberry on Wednesday afternoon. That contest is set to begin at 3:30 p.m. from the Smith Road Complex in Newberry, S.C. The staff at Newberry will provide a live broadcast and stats for the match with updates coming on Twitter via @CNathletics.
