VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - A missed penalty kick by Thaylan Silva allowed Coker to advance to the SAC semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Carson-Newman got the scoring started early, as an assist from Tim Vercelli and Ben King connected with Nic Carsh in front of the box to give the Eagles the 1-0 advantage less than three minutes into the contest. It was Vercelli's fifth assist of the season, the second most on the team.
Welcome to the SAC Tournament @niccarsh77
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 6, 2021
Eagles take the early lead
�� @CNmenssoccer 1
�� @Coker_Cobras 0
3'
�� https://t.co/gipZ7woHxo
�� https://t.co/hiIvfnQa8x pic.twitter.com/oL0gt8lNMz
The Eagles did not wait long to find the back of the net again, as Gabe Martin found Harry Whitehead past the Coker defense, who used an easy touch to put the ball over Jasper Rump's head to swell the early lead to 2-0.
"Harry gives us a high workrate," says head men's soccer coach Stephen Lyons. "This year he's been able to score and have a good year. But there are a solid 14-15 players on this team that work hard and give a huge effort."
�� The pass from @gabe_martin1
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) November 7, 2021
�� The touch from @H4rryWh1teh3ad.
Eagles are rolling early
�� @CNmenssoccer 2
�� @Coker_Cobras 0
5'
�� https://t.co/gipZ7woHxo
�� https://t.co/hiIvfnQa8x pic.twitter.com/3mi3d966Tp
Neither team would find the back of the net for the rest of the first half. Carson-Newman outshot Coker 6-3 in the first 45 minutes.
The Cobras answered with authority, as a Gustavo Palmeri corner kick found Matty Tricker to cut the Eagle lead in half in the 61st minute. 42 seconds later, the Cobras leading scorer Jacques Fokam-Sandeu found the lucky thirteenth goal of the season off an Eagle turnover to tie the game at two goals apiece. It is the first time this season that the Eagles have blown a two-goal lead.
"We were weathering a bit of pressure at the start of the second half and didn't deal with it as well as we should have," says Lyons. "Right after the first goal we had a lapse of judgement that lead to the second one. I still thought we had a chance to come back during the entire end of the game."
Both teams stayed off the scoreboard for the rest of regulation and the two overtime periods. The two squads peppered the box for a combined 25 shots in the final 55 minutes of action, with Coker finishing with 15 total shots to Carson-Newman's 19.
The match would be decided in a penalty kick shootout, the first for Carson-Newman since the 2015 SAC Semifinals against Queens in Rock Hill.
The first four goals would be makes for both teams, with Yannick Kranz, Jannik Schulte, Matheus Maia, and Eric Schmutzer connecting for the Eagles, while Hugo Jonsson, Fokam-Sandeu, Gustavo Palmeri, and Markos Touroukis scoring for the Cobras.
In the fifth kick for Coker, Luca Leonini snuck the ball past Bram Kaarsgaren to give the Cobras the 5-4 advantage. Silva looked to even things up and send the shootout to sudden death, but Rump was able to get his finger tips on the ball, knocking it away to give the Cobras the win and advance Coker to the SAC semifinals in Matthews, N.C.
"The returners learned a lot from this senior group," says Lyons. "They're top class on and off the field. If this is the end, then they'll need to build off of this group for next year."
The loss is the second straight time the Eagles have lost to Coker as the one seed in the fall South Atlantic Conference tournament quarterfinals. The Eagles dropped the 2019 meeting at McCown Field by a score of 5-1. Carson-Newman has now lost in the quarterfinals in three of the last SAC men's soccer championship tournaments.
The Eagles have not won a penalty kick shootout since advancing against Lander in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Despite the loss, Silva moves all the way to sixth most minutes played in program history. Silva was on the pitch for 99 minutes, giving him 4,306 minutes played for his career.
The iron man, Greg Evans, continued to cement himself in the Carson-Newman record books. The captain did not leave the pitch during all 110 minutes played, giving him 6,304 minutes played in his career. Six total Eagles played all 110 minutes of the match with Carsh playing for 107 minutes.
By starting in net for the Eagles, Kaarsgaren became the fourth Carson-Newman keeper in program history to start 40 matches in school history. His mark is the third most starts for a goalie in Carson-Newman history.
Coker now faces fourth-seeded Anderson in the semifinals of the SAC Men's Soccer Championship on Friday, Nov. 12 in Matthews, N.C. Carson-Newman will await their postseason fate with the NCAA Selection Show slated for Nov. 15 at 6:30 P.M. Eagle fans can stay up to date with the men's soccer team and the rest of Carson-Newman athletics at cneagles.com.
