JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.- No. 25 Carson-Newman (4-1-4, 2-0-3) played to a 1-1 draw with Coker (2-1-5, 1-0-2) on Saturday afternoon at McCown field.
C-N extends its unbeaten streak in the month of September to eleven games dating back to last season.
"I thought in the first half Coker was the better team," Coach Stephen Lyons said. "They dominated possession and had the better chances. We kind of struggled a little bit there and then they got a deserved equalizer. Halftime, we changed a few things up and I thought the guys reacted very very well. I thought the second half we were certainly the better team and created some real good clear-cut chances, we just were not able to convert them.
Senior goalkeeper Darin De Meza was tested early by the Coker offense. He made saves in the 18th and 23rd and 30th minutes to help keep the game scoreless.
C-N after those chances would pounce on an opportunity itself. In the 32nd minute, senior Nic Carsh sent a perfect cross to the back post where Tim Vercelli was on the receiving end to put it home to give C-N the 1-0 lead. The goal was his second of the season.
Coker had a response in the 42nd minute, as Tony Barry controlled a cross from Lukas Berntesson and fired a shot past De Meza to level the score at 1.
The Cobras outshot the Eagles 9-4 in the first half, but the game was tied.
C-N picked up the intensity in the second half to create more opportunities. The first came in the 47th minute when Harry Whitehead sent a shot on goal, but Coker keeper Jasper Rump made the save. Whitehead would send a header on target in the 87th minute, but it was also saved. Those two shots were the only ones on goal for the Eagles in the second half.
Things changed in the 83rd minute when Coker's Lukas Berntsson was shown a red card for a hard tackle on C-N's Yannick Kranz. The Eagles were unable to take advantage of Coker playing a man down, as the two teams ended with a 1-1 tie.
De Meza tied his season and career high with five saves. In Whitehead's first game of 2022, he fired a team-high four shots, two on target.
Carson-Newman continues its homestand on Wednesday with a matchup against Mars Hill.
