JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – We begin previewing the 2024 Carson-Newman men's soccer team with a look at the forwards with assistance from junior forward Ben Dukes.
Nearly half of Carson-Newman's goals scored this past season came from forwards Nic Carsh, Thomas De Graauw and Harry Whitehead, all three of which have graduated. This group off attackers will rely on junior Ben Dukes to lead up front after an All-SAC caliber season in 2023.
"Last year we had mostly senior players in the forward group," Dukes said. "I was able to learn a lot from them, which was good for me. Carrying that knowledge into this year and trying to rub it off on the new boys. We have a lot of freshmen coming in and less experienced players. I am an upperclassmen now so I'm trying to be a role model for them when I can."
After transferring from the University of Connecticut, Dukes fit right in with C-N. Starting all 16 games he played in, Dukes scored three goals, including game-winners against Emory & Henry and Newberry. Dukes also finished the year with two assists to total eight points as a sophomore.
"To come in last year and get a lot of minutes under my belt was really good," Dukes said. "Having a few goals and assists was nice to get off the mark. Definitely want to try and get more this year and help the team out more. I think that is something we lacked last year, just scoring goals. I've been working on my game a lot and hopefully can contribute more this season."
Carson-Newman scored 19 goals in 2023, just over one per match. It was not lacking of opportunities. C-N averaged more than 14 shots per match, fifth-most in the SAC.
"I think it's about converting our chances," Dukes said. "We didn't score a lot of goals but we had a lot of shots, myself especially. It's knowing that we've got a lot of players on the team that can score goals and be creative. It's about now taking those chances because that's the difference."
A host of younger players will be tasked with improving in this area in 2024, along with the midfielders. Antoine Torrent is from Clermont Ferrand, France. He competed on Clermont Foot 63, where he led his U17 National club in goals with 13. Corey Pennington is a 6'0 freshman from Newnan, Ga, who will look to make an impact right away. Rounding out the room is Wylder Lee who joins C-N from Bearden High school, where he helped the Bulldogs to their sixth state championship in school history this past spring.
"They've all come in and looked really sharp," Dukes said. "Everyone has been really fit and training well. We've been working really hard as a group everyday, which is good to see. We've got a good range of attacking players, people with different skillsets. I think putting all that together will help us be really strong going forward this year."
Carson-Newman ended the 2023 regular season on a very positive note, scoring three second-half goals to take down rival Tusculum on senior day.
"I think that Tusculum game was a good sign that we can play well and score goals," Dukes said. "We would play well a lot last season, but we wouldn't have the goals or the results to show for it. Coming in this season, with the addition of some quality new players and returning midfielders, we are going to try and carry that on and be more successful."
Carson-Newman's position previews continue this coming Saturday, August 24th with a look at the midfielders with help from junior Paul Csmarich (Vienna, Austria).
