JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With an undefeated start in South Atlantic Conference action, Carson-Newman returns to McCown Field for the start of a two-match home stint, hosting Catawba on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Carson-Newman (3-2, 2-0 SAC) brings a three-match winning streak into the match after opening the year with back-to-back losses, marking the second-longest win streak in the South Atlantic Conference behind a No. 4 Coker squad that has won six straight. A win would give the group its first 3-0 start in league fixtures since 2010 when it won each of its first six SAC matches. The Eagles have seen four such starts in program history. C-N is 146-89-23 all-time against the league, going 76-42-9 at home.
Head coach Stephen Lyons' group has pieced together seven consecutive SAC wins since a 1-0 loss to Lincoln Memorial on Feb. 25, 2021. The longest string of league victories spanned the 2009-2010 seasons when the Eagles won 11 in-a-row.
A full week into the conference schedule, C-N is tied for first on the league table with Limestone at six points. Catawba (4-0-2, 0-0-1 SAC) is in a five-way tie for sixth with one point.
The Eagles and the Catawba Indians have met 38 times prior to Saturday with C-N winning five of the last six with three consecutive. When the Eagles host the Catawba Indians, they are 12-5-1, winning nine of the last 10 and tying one. The only loss in the span came on Oct. 8, 2016, 1-0.
Carson-Newman, then ranked No. 13 in the nation, left Salisbury, N.C. with a 1-0 double-overtime win the last time these two sides met on Oct. 26, 2019. C-N picked up its fifth-straight conference win of the year on a penalty kick from Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) in the 103rd minute to break a scoreless tie that lasted through over three periods of play. C-N faced its second-most oppositional shots for the 2019 campaign in the match with the Catawba Indians firing 25 throughout the night, 11 of those coming in the second half alone. They outshot the Eagles by a slim 25-24 margin through the entire match. Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) faced 25 shots with nine saves to move to 9-3-1 and his fourth full shutout of 2019.
Catawba is off to its third four-win start to the season through six matches since 2010, going 4-0-2 thus far. It started 4-2 in 2019 and 4-1-1 in 2010. The Catawba Indians started the year with four straight victories, outscoring opponents 9-2 in that span. Since then, they have pieced together back-to-back draws to Converse and Anderson in their South Atlantic Conference opener. Three of their matches have needed two overtimes to determine a result, winning just one of those with a 1-0 result over USC Aiken on Sept. 8.
Ninth-year head coach Ken Hassler's group has not seen a road loss since falling to Wingate, 3-0, on March 18, 2021, also standing as the last SAC loss it saw. The team has only seen one other road match this season, taking down USC Aiken, 1-0, in double overtime on Sept. 8.
Catawba is second in the league with 14 goals and 15 shots per game while sitting third with 11 assists, 39 points and 4.67 saves per game. It is tied for 20th in the nation for total goals.
Simone Trentin leads the Catawba Indians with eight points this season, netting two goals with four assists, 31 shot attempts, 13 on frame in six consecutive Starting XI appearances. The sophomore forward is first in the SAC for assists and is in a three-way tie for the most game-winning goals at two, along with C-N's Silva. Nationally, he is 12th and fourth, respectively.
Nico Morillo and Salano Birch are the leading goal scorers for the group, netting three each. All three of Birch's have come in the past two matches, netting two against Converse and one against Anderson. Morillo also scored two in the tie with Converse.
Gianluca Tommasi has started in net for each of the six matches Catawba has played this season, holding a 4-0-1 record with two shutouts. He has allowed six goals with a 1.01 goals against average and a .800 saving clip. His 24 saves are second in the SAC, 25th among Division II keepers, and he is third for save percentage.
Catawba was slated to finish last in the SAC preseason coaches poll this season after going 2-3-1 during the 2020-21 campaign with a 1-3-1 record in conference matches.
Saturday's late afternoon tilt is set for 5 p.m. from the friendly confines of McCown Field. Fans who cannot attend can enjoy a full broadcast from the Eagle Sports Network at cneagles.com/live with real-time updates coming to Twitter via @CN_Eagles.
