VIDEO: Stephen Lyons interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Nearly five months after wrapping up a 2020-21 campaign that was played in the spring, Carson-Newman returns to a traditional fall schedule as Lee comes to McCown Field on Thursday evening.
The Eagles will be starting their season at home for the first time in the Stephen Lyons era with the last such match coming back in 2016 when they took down Lees-McRae 2-1. C-N has won each of its last six season-openers, a program-record, with a 16-15-1 record since 1989. Home-opening matches have resulted in an 18-10-2 clip for the Eagles since 1990. They have won five of their last six such games by a 16-5 scoring margin.
"Looking forward to it," Lyons said. "It's always nice playing at home. Hopefully we can get a decent crowd out. There's quite a lot going on on campus that day, so get a good crowd, good performance and good result.
"You always want to make your home a fortress, get good results, do well. We'll look to start to do that on Thursday. We've got a lot of home games so it would be good if we could do that this season."
C-N has finished at the top of the South Atlantic Conference table in back-to-back regular seasons. Six of the group's seven All-SAC picks are back this season in a returning unit that touts 18 players, including 11 starters, with 15 newcomers entering the fold.
The 2020-21 campaign saw the Eagles lead the league in multiple statistical categories with 21 goals, 22 assists, 168 shots, four goals against, 76 corners and seven shutouts. Those seven shutouts tied for the second-most in the country. Out of the eight goal-scorers from last season, seven return, accounting for 20 of the 21 scored. Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden), Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England), Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) and Thaylan Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) all come back as the leading scorers for the Orange and Blue a year ago, netting four goals each.
Thursday's match with Lee marks the first of back-to-back matches against Gulf South Conference opponents. C-N heads into the non-conference tilt holding a two-match unbeaten streak in those matches, defeating Belmont Abbey, 4-1, and drawing with Limestone, 0-0, in the spring.
This is the fifth meeting all-time with Lee in a series that dates back to 1989. Lee holds a 3-1 advantage, outscoring the Eagles 9-4 in those matches. The two sides have faced off just one other time in recent history with the other three meetings coming in consecutive seasons from 1989-1991. The Eagles host the Flames for the second time in the four-match history with the last match on the banks of Mossy Creek coming in 1990.
Lee is coming off of a shortened 2020-21 season that ended with a 1-2-2 record and a 1-0-2 mark in GSC action. The lone victory came in a 2-1 decision at Shorter. Its season came to a close in the second round of the GSC Spring Playoffs, falling 3-1 to Union.
Fifth-year coach Derek Potteiger's group netted the fewest goals in the GSC last season with three but allowed the second-fewest goals at five. Their 33 shot attempts were also the lowest in the league.
Midfielders Jared McWhorter and Eemeli Makela headline the Flames roster this season as All-GSC Preseason Team selections. After being the GSC Offensive Player of the Year and an All-South Region in 2019, McWhorter logged one match in the spring with 44 minutes of play while Makela played in a trio of matches.
All three Flames who accounted for goals return from the spring. Mattia Balzano started in all five matches while Borja Gaspar made three starts. Fabrizio Scimo started in one of his five appearances but accounted for the only game-winner.
Sam Keener was the go-to goalkeeper for Lee in the 2020-21 campaign. He went 0-2-2 with four starts in four matches played, allowing four goals throughout the season with 18 saves. Roel Martinez also comes back this season after winning the only match he started in during the spring. He allowed a single goal with four saves.
The Flames won their first-ever GSC Tournament Championship back in 2019 after finishing fourth in the regular season standings. This season, they were picked to finish fourth in the league's preseason poll with one first-place vote.
"They're very good, we know that," Lyons said. "The last time we did play them, they went on to make the national tournament. They return a few seniors, as well, that we know of, quality players. I know Coach Potteiger he'll have added depth to that as well, so it'll be a tough test but we're looking forward to it."
C-N and Lee were scheduled to meet back in February but the match was cancelled. Their last meeting came on Sept. 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Tenn. where C-N left with a 1-0 defeat. The Flames got on the board early after their goalkeeper Daniel Hrenko sent out a deep pass that landed at the feet of Aiden Moore. Swarmed by Eagle defenders near the top of the 18-yard box, Moore flicked the ball over the cluster of Orange and Blue, giving the ball an open path to the back of the net. C-N landed five of their 15 shots on frame but could not make a connection with the net. Kaarsgaren needed a season-high six saves in the match.
Thursday's match is set to kick off at 5 p.m. at McCown Field. A live broadcast from the Eagle Sports Network will hit the airwaves worldwide at cneagles.com/live.
