VIDEO: Federico Simonetti Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Our position previews with the Carson-Newman men's soccer team conclude today with a look at the defenders and goalkeepers with help from graduate student goalkeeper Federico Simonetti (Crema, Italy).
Defensively, the Eagles allowed one goal or less in twelve of their 17 games in 2023. The group put together five shutouts, all of which came in their first eleven games of the season. It also allowed just one goal in seven other games, going 2-4-1 in those contests. Surprisingly, C-N was 5-4-3 when allowing just one goal or less.
Carson-Newman's starting goalkeeper returns for 2024, after posting the second-best goals against average mark in the SAC at 0.92. Battling through injury, Simonetti started in 12 games to finish with a 3-5-4 overall record. He set a career high in saves with nine, in a 2-0 win against West Alabama on August 31st. He allowed just 11 goals and saved .800 percent of shots, both of which were third highest in the league.
"It's going to be a very important season," Simonetti said. "With some newer players up front, we will have to keep the defense solid. We partially succeeded on that last year. We are a little different tactically and it seems very successful. We are going to keep working defensively to be successful for this season."
Joining the preseason all-conference keeper as a returning goalkeeper is senior Levi Burdette (Seymour, Tenn.). He filled in four times during the 2023 season and recorded his first shutout versus Emory & Henry on Sept 20. Burdette had nine saves and finished with a 1-1-1 record in the net.
C-N's third goalkeeper in the room is graduate student transfer Paul Moser (Vienna, Austria). He comes to C-N from FCJ Alt Ottakring in Austria.
Transitioning to the Eagles' defenders, Daniel Vennesland (Tananger, Norway) is the team's top returner, starting in 15 of the 17 games in 2023. His first career goal was the game-winner versus Tusculum to help complete the comeback and make the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
C-N will get stronger defensively getting Jakob Lechner (Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn, Austria) back. The defender suffered an injury in the preseason and missed all of junior season, after starting all 16 games as a sophomore in 2022.
"Jakob coming back off that injury is going to be massive to keep the defense solid," Simonetti said. "He obviously knows the program very well. Quality player that's really solid and composed under pressure. He is going to be a very important piece to the puzzle for us."
As a result of Lechner's injury, two freshmen saw extended time on the pitch in 2024 in Dan Coles (Rugby, England) and Jonas Friedl (Feldbach, Styria). As the season grew on, Coles saw his time on the pitch only increase, starting five of the final seven games of the season. Friedl made 11 starts as a freshman, playing in 14 games. He recorded five shots, one on target in those appearances.
Isaac Pascal (Southend-on-Sea, England) returns to the defensive fold for Lyons' crew after 26 appearances and 14 starts in his first two seasons in Mossy Creek.
Tai Cariah (Sandys, Bermuda), Mac Hickman (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and Sam Shelling (Nelson, New Zealand) all return for their sophomore seasons defensively. Shelling was the only one to play a season ago, making three appearances with two starts.
"It's super important having so many defenders back," Simonetti said. "Every defender and goalkeeper has their own characteristics. Knowing exactly what the defenders want and what they are expecting from you and that's where chemistry comes and makes the defense solid and successful."
Three newcomers join the defensive group. Tobias Hager (Vienna, Austria) is the lone freshman of the group, coming to C-N from Vienna, Austria. The two other additions are graduate students Jay Wyatt (Petersborough, England) and Thomas Lachapelle (Brussels, Belgium) who venture to Mossy Creek from England and Belgium.
Carson-Newman opens 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.
