JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Making the South Atlantic Conference tournament for the seventh straight season, Carson-Newman (5-6-5, 3-5-3) heads to top-seeded Wingate for a quarterfinal match at the Wingate Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Carson-Newman got into the conference tournament with a 3-1 comeback win versus Tusculum on Wednesday. Trailing 1-0 at halftime in a must-win scenario, Carson-Newman scored three times in the final 24 minutes to come from behind to take down in-state rival Tusculum to clinch a spot in the SAC Tournament. It marks just the second time under Lyons that C-N has won a match when trailing at intermission.
The road quarterfinal match will be C-N's first since a 2018 win over Queens. For the past four seasons, C-N has hosted a quarterfinal match in the SAC tournament.
When the Eagles offense plays well, it results in victories. C-N is 4-0-2 this year when scoring two goals or more and 50-1-7 when doing so. Six different Eagles have scored at least two goals this season.
Every year under Lyons, Carson-Newman has made the SAC tournament. But for just the third time, the Eagles will enter postseason play with a win and some momentum. Both the 2018 and 2021 covid spring season saw Carson-Newman win its regular season finale and then win its SAC quarterfinal game. The April 5th, 2021, win versus Lincoln Memorial is C-N's last postseason win.
C-N's most recent matchup with Wingate in the postseason came after that LMU win in 2021, with the Eagles falling to the Bulldogs 2-0 in the SAC semifinals. The Eagles are set to make a second trip to Wingate, North Carolina this season. The first trip was on September 17, 2022 that saw Wingate defeat Carson-Newman 3-1. Wingate scored in the 16th minute and grabbed the early lead. The Eagles answered as Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) crossed a ball into the box that found the feet of Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) who fired a shot into the top left corner of goal to tie the match in the 22nd minute. The Bulldogs quickly responded with two goals in the next four minutes and ran away with a 3-1 home victory.
Wingate leads the all-time series 9-4-2, but the series has had different results six times in a row. Carson-Newman's most recent win to Wingate came on the road on Sept 18th, 2021, a 3-1 victory.
The Bulldogs head into postseason play as one of the hottest teams in the country and ranked #10 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. WU is on an eight-game unbeaten streak and has won seven games during this stretch. During this eight-game unbeaten streak, Wingate has outscored its opponents 14-4. Five of their seven wins during this stretch are by just one goal.
Wingate took home the regular season crown and the number one seed thanks to an impressive 9-1-1 mark in league play. WU lost its second conference game of the year and responded by ending the season 8-1-0 in the SAC.
The SAC's fourth best scoring offense is led by Pablo Pozos who is having a ALL-SAC caliber season. He leads the best team in the conference in goals (9), shots (41), shots on goal (19) and points (23). Kosi Mafela is close behind Pozos with six goals scored on just 11 shots on goal.
Aleksa Janjic has appeared in ten games in goal, making 24 saves and has recorded four of the team's five shutouts.
The quarterfinal match is slated to get underway at 3:30 p.m. from the Wingate Soccer Complex. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on Twitter and Instagram for in-game updates.
