JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A quarterfinal home match in the South Atlantic Conference tournament is at stake when Carson-Newman men's soccer (7-3-5, 5-1-4) finishes the regular season with a visit to Tusculum (1-7-5, 1-5-4) tomorrow night.
The Eagles have secured their spot in the SAC tournament, but their seed is still to be decided. C-N is currently tied for 3rd with Catawba at 19 points in the league standings.
C-N can finish anywhere from 1st to 5th after Wednesday's action. The top four teams in the standings play as host in the SAC quarterfinal round.
A win would give C-N a home game in the quarterfinals of the SAC tournament. A win can place the Eagles no lower than 2nd place in the final SAC standings.
The top two teams, Wingate, and Coker, face off Wednesday as well. If that match results in a tie, and C-N wins. The Eagles would tie for 1st with Wingate. The tiebreaker would be determined by whoever finishes 4th in the SAC.
Stephen Lyons' team is looking to get back on track after suffering a 2-1 home loss, last week to Auburn Montgomery. After losing their first road game of the season, C-N has a six-match unbeaten streak away from Mossy Creek.
Seniors Nic Carsh, Tim Vercelli, and Eric Schmutzer each have a team-high four goals this season. 10 other Eagles have scored a goal this season.
Senior Willem Kruijk's six assists are tied for second-most in the SAC. He also leads C-N in shots (33), shots on goal (12) and game winning goals (2).
Senior keeper Darin De Meza has three clean sheets this season and has totaled 50 saves in 13 games played.
Tusculum enters the match with just one victory in 2022. The Pioneers are 1-5-4 in conference play and have been eliminated from the SAC tournament.
All five of their conference losses have been by one goal. Six of their seven losses this season are by just one goal.
Ignacio Alconchel and Luis De La Fuente are each tied for the team lead with five goals scored. Linus Salomonsen has a team-high three assists. Three other Pioneers have multiple assists this year.
The Eagles have a five-match unbeaten streak at Pioneer field. The last loss in Greeneville for C-N came back on October 12, 2011.
Carson-Newman has won three straight meetings against Tusculum.
Be certain to follow Carson-Newman athletics on twitter at @cn_eagles for live updates.
The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription.
