VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview

ROCK HILL, S.C. – In the annual South Atlantic Conference preseason poll, Carson-Newman men's soccer was voted to finish eighth by the league's coaches, the conference office announced Tuesday morning.

Carson-Newman secured 62 points to earn the eighth spot preseason coaches' poll, just one point shy of seventh and three behind of sixth.

"I believe last season top to bottom this conference is one of the strongest I have seen it," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "Every game is going to be battle and a tough test and that's only good for us. To be ready hopefully to make it to the national tournament when you test yourself against good opponents."

The Eagles finished 2023 with a 5-7-5 record, matching the program's mark for most ties in a single season. 17 players return from a team that had four losses that were decided by just one goal.

"I don't think this group will need too much motivation," Lyons said. "For the guys we have coming  back, they know last year, by our standards, was not where we wanted to finish. We want to be pushing at the top of the table and we know we have to play really well to do that. The returning players and the new additions seem real hungry."

Limestone, the reigning SAC champions, were picked to repeat with 117 points and eight first-place votes. Wingate earned three first-place votes and was second in the poll. Lenoir-Rhyne is 18 points behind Wingate in the standings in third place.

Lincoln Memorial and Coker slot in at four and five, separated by nine points. Catawba edged Anderson for sixth place by just two points, sliding in before C-N. Tusculum got the final first place vote and was 15 points behind C-N in ninth.

Mars Hill, Newberry and Emory & Henry round out the final three spots in the preseason coaches poll.

Carson-Newman opens up the 2024 season on September 5th at McCown Field versus Trevecca Nazarene at 3:00 p.m. The game can be streamed on FloSports with a subscription. Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.