VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Another quality defensive day for Carson-Newman (1-2-3) helped secure a scoreless tie with #5 Auburn Montgomery (2-0-2) on Thursday afternoon at McCown Field.
"I thought both sides of the ball were good today," Carson-Newman men's soccer head coach Stephen Lyons said. "We built through the thirds really well and created some good chances. Then, we dealt with the threat from AUM through counter attacks and the long throws. We knew they were a very well-organized unit and don't give up many chances. I thought we created some good opportunities today and it could have been potentially a goal or two to us."
Carson-Newman extends its unbeaten streak at home to four games, dating back to this past season. It's the second consecutive season that the Eagles and Warhawks have played to scoreless ties.
Auburn Montgomery took the game's first three shots. Adam Hanson sent the first shot in the 4th minute wide left. It took 12 minutes for the next shot, which was a dangerous one. Benjamin Hoffman's shot forced Dan Coles (Rugby, England) to make a save with a header on the goal line to keep the match scoreless. Hanson took aim once more in the 23rd minute but again missed wide.
Carson-Newman proceeded to take the next seven shots in the opening half. The first chance was a great one. Off a Maxime Wester (Brussels, Belgium) corner kick in the 25th minute, Jakob Lechner (Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn, Austria) sent a header off the crossbar and the rebound shot from Coles went high.
The next chance was thanks to Daniel Venneland's (Tananger, Norway) dribbling ability. The senior dribbled his way into the box where he sent a shot wide right of goal.
C-N's next four shots all came with 90 seconds of each other. Thomas LaChapelle (Brussels, Belgium) missed wide right, with the next three all coming in the same sequence. Mitchell Honcoop (Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands)had his shot from the left side of the box saved by the left foot of goalkeeper Alfie Rule. Rule's save led to shots from Lachapelle and Jay Wyatt (Petersborough, England) who were unable to convert.
Much like the opening half, AUM had the chances early on. The first chance after halftime forced Paul Moser (Vienna, Austria) to make his second save on a Nicholas Atkinson shot.
Two of AUM's next three shots were blocked by the Eagles defense, who also defended three corner kicks successfully in the first 14 minutes of the second half.
Carson-Newman's first shot of the second came in the 69th minute. Torrent missed wide right on an excellent chance deep into AUM's box.
Shortly after, Atkinson went back to work. A good run forward forced a near-sided Moser save to keep the match scoreless.
Ben Dukes (Southampton, England.) took his first shot of the match in the 71st minute, forcing Rule to make another save.
A Logan Roach header in the 80th minute forced the only other save in the match, with Moser making his third and final stop.
The graduate student goalkeeper secured C-N's second consecutive shutout and has made nine saves in the two games.
The defense has allowed just one goal in its last 270 minutes on the pitch, and none in the last 185 minutes.
"This group has been really well-organized and disciplined," Lyons said. "In training, we have worked on the "what if" scenarios, so we are prepared for it if something breaks down. Players have been doing the extra yards here and there and today was no different. From back to front, I thought the guys worked super hard and played some really good futbol in spells."
Carson-Newman managed two corner kicks in the final 13 minutes of the match but failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
The well-played match featured 13 corner kicks, with C-N holding a 7-6 advantage in that category. AUM's six corner kicks were the most that Carson-Newman has needed to defend in a game this season.
The Eagles outshot the Warhawks 13-10, recording seven in the first half and six in the second half.
Three different Eagles recorded multiple shots in the game, the same can be said for the Warhawks.
Carson-Newman continues its four-game homestand with its conference home opener versus Coker on Saturday afternoon. The match is set for a 2:30 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.
