WINGATE, N.C. – Both Ben King and Tim Vercelli netted career-first goals to lead Carson-Newman to a 3-1 win over Wingate for the team's first South Atlantic Conference road victory on Saturday night at the Wingate Soccer Complex.
This is the third match in a row that Carson-Newman (3-2, 2-0 SAC) has had at least two Eagles score goals in a single match. The Eagles are off to their first 2-0 start in league action since 2019, winning three straight matches in the 2021 campaign. They push their conference winning streak to seven straight with the win, also extending their conference road winning streak to 10 consecutive.
"Great performance from the lads tonight, Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "We defended well and had some great combinations going forward. Nice for Ben and Tim to get their first goals and Thay (Silva) crossed for the third goal after great team and individual play. Back to front, the staff feels this is a great result to build on."
C-N gets its first victory at Wingate (2-3-1, 0-1-1 SAC) since 2007, netting just its fourth win on the Bulldogs' pitch all-time while also ending a string of five matches without a win in the overall series. It is just the 16th time that the Eagles have held Wingate to scoring one goal or less in their 37 meetings. The last time came in their last win over the Bulldogs, upsetting then-No. 7 Wingate 4-1 on Oct. 17, 2015 at McCown Field.
A corner for Wingate in the 18th minute resulted in a pickup of an open ball by Vercelli (Münster, Germany) that he paced downfield for a charging King (Hertfordshire, England). With two Bulldogs approaching, the senior sent a rocket launch from between the center circle and the 18-yard box for his first career goal to put C-N ahead, 1-0.
�� BEN KING, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 19, 2021
Absolute strike for @bennkingg_'s first career goal.
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C-N kept the lead heading into the break for the first time on the season. It led the shot tally 5-4 through the opening 45 minutes, getting just one on frame with Wingate landing two.
Vercelli took a page from King's playbook in the 53rd minute with his first career goal. A throw-in by King was deflected backward into Vercelli's path. Maneuvering around a trio of Bulldogs, the junior went one-on-one with Jens Bergendorff with a shot that was quickly saved by the Wingate goalkeeper back toward Vercelli. He sent his rebound look across to the left side of the net, extending the lead to 2-0.
Five minutes later, a deep through pass from Greg Evans (Wrexham, Wales) went darting to Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) near the edge box. Getting loose from a Bulldog, he pushed a chance back toward the six-yard box that hit off of a defender and into an open net for a 3-0 advantage.
Wingate got one back in the 74th minute off of a blocked shot rebound by Reise Corpuz that went past a sliding Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands). That cut into the lead at 3-1 was the only goal that the Bulldogs could muster.
Carson-Newman sent 11 shots in the contest while Wingate made eight attempts. The shots on goal margin also fell in favor of the Orange and Blue, 5-3.
Vercelli led all players on the pitch with a career-high three shot attempts in his three-point outing, netting the only shot he landed on frame. Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Helsingborg, Sweden) and Yannick Kranz (Hannover, Germany) both placed one of their two shots on goal.
"If at first you don't score, send it again." - Tim Vercelli, probably
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 19, 2021
The defender has a 3️⃣ point night now
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With the win, Kaarsgaren moves into a tie for fourth with Kavi Luchowa (2014-15) on the program's career wins list with 19. He made two saves in the match.
Eight different Bulldogs attempted one shot each with Daniel Kuper and Soren Nygaard joining Corpuz as the only Wingate players to land their shots on frame. In the cage for the Bulldogs, Bergendorff jumped on a pair of saves.
Carson-Newman heads back to Jefferson City for a pair of home contests, starting with Catawba. That match is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25 at McCown Field.
