VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A pair of goals just over 10 minutes into the first half from Lee proved to be costly despite a second half comeback as Carson-Newman fell in its season-opener 3-1 on Thursday evening at McCown Field.
Carson-Newman (0-1) snaps its season-opening winning streak at six with the loss. It now trails Lee (1-0) in the overall series 1-4, matching their consecutive loss skid to the Flames at two. Lee's trio of goals are the most by a C-N opponent in a season-opener since a Sept. 1, 2011 loss to Milligan against Milligan, 4-2, and were the most in a match since Coker defeated C-N at McCown Field in the South Atlantic Conference quarterfinal, 5-1, on Nov. 9, 2019.
"(Lee's early lead) didn't particularly change our game plan since there was so much time left. I think it was more the disappointment in how we conceded them," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "We worked on it, talked about it before the game. I think we had four or five set pieces in succession that we just allowed them to get the better of us on it. When you do it against good teams, they're going to punish you."
The Eagles also saw their 13-match streak of outshooting opponents come to an end in the defeat with the Flames holding a 14-10 advantage. That streak had started back on Oct. 26, 2019.
Three corner kicks in less than a minute set Lee up for its first goal in the 10th minute off of a header from Mattie Balzano to open the scoring after a corner by Eemeli Makela. Nearly a minute and a half later, Jeremy Bischoff extended the Flames lead. He picked up a cross from Fabian Navarro after another corner to push them out 2-0.
Carson-Newman attempted four other shots throughout the period, forcing Sam Keener to make a trio of saves. By the halftime break, C-N was trailing the shot tally 8-6 with Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) needing to make five saves in that span.
It took until the 84th minute for the Eagles to get on the board. A cross from Marius Opdahl (Jevnaker, Norway) opened up an opportunity for Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) that the senior connected on, cutting the Orange and Blue deficit to one.
With 11 seconds remaining, Lee notched the final dagger on a move inside the box by Navarro to maneuver around the defense. That marked the latest goal by a C-N opponent since Wingate's Daniel Kuper scored on with 10 seconds remaining in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinal on April 8, 2021, also an unassisted goal.
"The boys' fitness level looked good. The energy they brought was good," Lyons said. "You know, I think we were a little bit asleep in the first 15 minutes and we got punished for it. So, going into the next game, we've got to bring that energy and intensity for the full 90 and hopefully get a better result."
Both Silva and Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Helsingborg, Sweden) led Carson-Newman with two shots each, Silva landing both of his attempts on frame. Outside of the duo, six other players attempted single shot attempts.
For Lee, Bischoff, Navarro, Jarred McWhorter and Collin Lewis all led the group with two shot attempts, landing all of them on goal.
In net for the Eagles, Kaarsgaren faced the fourth-most shots in his career with those 14 from Lee. He moves to 16-7-4 in his career after a seven-dave day. On the other end of the pitch, Keener made three saves.
The Eagles face a quick turnaround as they head off on their first road trip of the year on Saturday down to Rome, Ga. to face Shorter. That match is set for 7:30 p.m. at Ben Brady Field.
