JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-2-2) continues its four-game homestand with its final non-conference contest of the season versus #5 Auburn Montgomery (2-0-1) Thursday afternoon at McCown Field.
"We want to play top competition," Carson-Newman men's soccer head coach Stephen Lyons said. "We know AUM is going to be quality. The big thing for us is to recover from Monday's game and then go with the momentum we have from the West Alabama game into AUM on Thursday afternoon."
It will be the second time under Stephen Lyons that Carson-Newman will play as host to a top-five team at McCown Field. The Eagles welcomed #5 Lenoir-Rhyne to Mossy Creek on Sept 20, 2017 and played excellent defense in route to a 1-0 victory. That is the last time Carson-Newman has defeated a top five team in the country.
The Eagles will play as host to a ranked team for the sixth straight season. C-N has won two of its last three games against nationally ranked teams at home, all of which have been in the South Atlantic Conference play. Lyons led teams are 4-6-1 against the top 25.
Carson-Newman won its first game of 2024 behind goals from Antoine Torrent and Tim Haans, both of which were career firsts. Torrent's goal came in the 35th minute, while Haans' served as an insurance goal in the 68th minute. The win extended C-N's home unbeaten streak to three games dating back to last season. Under Stephen Lyons, C-N is 32-15-10 when playing at McCown Field.
Thursday's matchup versus #5 Auburn Montgomery will be the third time ever and third straight season that the two squads meet for a non-conference game. The previous two matchup were very tight. AUM won the first all-time meeting in 2022, 2-1, with this past season's matchup ending in a scoreless tie C-N has been outscored by the Warhawks 2-1 in the two meetings.
C-N midfielder Mitchell Honcoop scored his fourth goal of the season on a penalty kick in Saturday night's tie against Catawba. His ten points and four goals are each second most in the SAC.
Auburn Montgomery was selected to finish fourth in the Gulf South Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll. The Warhawks placed forward Nicholas Atkinson, midfielder Adam Hanson and defender Logan Roach on the Preseason All-GSC team. Alexander Carey, Ben Hoffman and Jaime Ward were all picked to the GSC newcomer watchlist.
The Tigers opened the 2024 season outside of the United Soccer Coaches Poll, but secured a pair of shutout wins over Saint Leo and Tampa to climb all the way up to number six in the poll. It will have played just one time in the last twelve days, a 1-1 draw with Clayton State on Sunday. Despite just the one game played this past week, the Warhawks moved up to fifth in the national rankings.
The number five ranking marks the highest ranking for the program in its DII history, which dates back to 2016.
AUM is once again built around strong defense, as they have allowed just one goal in three games this season. That ranks tenth in the country. Offensively, the Warhawks average 1.35 goals per game on 11 shots per game. Matthew Thorne's team has scored first in all three games to start the year.
Four different players have scored the goals this season. Landon Surratt has a team-high two assists, while Nicholas Atkinson has the most shots with eight.
The match is set for a 1:00 p.m. start and will be streamed via FloSports ($). Fans can also follow along to @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.
