JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (4-7-3, 3-5-1 SAC) hits the road for a pair of conference matches to end the regular season, starting with a road contest with Anderson (6-6-1, 5-4 SAC) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Carson-Newman started and ended the month of October with wins. The Eagles finished the month 3-4, thanks to back-to-back victories at home versus Newberry and Wingate, outscoring their opponents 10-1 in the two wins.
"The quality and mental side of the game has stood out," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "We had a tough spell where we played some good futbol, just a few little breaks didn't go our way. It's easy to stay down in those moments but the guys responded well against Newberry and have executed pretty much everything we have been working on. Really happy for them."
Ben Dukes and Mitchell Honcoop lead the offensive attack with a team-high of five goals each this season. The duo ranks tied for seventh among goal scorers in the SAC. Four of Dukes' five goals came this past week in the pair of wins. C-N's offense averages 1.79 goals per match, the fourth-highest mark in the SAC. Carson-Newman's 25 goals, 23 assists for 73 points, all rank fourth in the league as well.
Antoine Torrent has a team-high seven assists, which is third-most in the league. He has four assists over his past two games. He is one of seven Eagles with multiple assists this season.
With two regular season games to go, the Eagles sit in a tie for eighth place with Newberry for ten points. C-N can finish as high as fourth but would need lots of help to do so. The Eagles can potentially catch Catawba and Lenoir-Rhyne who are tied with 12 points in sixth place.
Carson-Newman has defeated the Trojans in its past four trips to Anderson, South Carolina. AU's last home win in this series came back on September 24, 2011. The home team has failed to win the past six meetings in this series. C-N's 2-1 win at McCown Field in 2016 is the last time the home team secured three points.
Picked one spot ahead of Carson-Newman in the South Atlantic Conference's preseason coaches' poll, Anderson is currently 6-6-1 this season and has a winning record in SAC play at 5-4, good for fourth place. The Trojans found some early season momentum when they won three straight contests to end September with a 3-1-1 mark. October started with three straight losses, two in league games. It's been able to right the ship and go 3-2 in their last five contests, four of which have been against ranked clubs.
"It's a really solid group," Lyons said. "Another tough place to go at Anderson. It's a group that is always well-organized and our guys need to make sure we are up for the challenge. We just have to focus and do our job."
Anderson has played five ranked teams, three of which have been against teams in the top 11 nationally. It is 2-2-1 in those contests and most recently defeated No. 21 Lincoln Memorial this past Saturday. AU enters this match coming off a 1-0 road win against Tusculum on Wednesday. Lukas Bos scored the game's only goal in the 62nd minute to secure three points on the road.
Diego Jaramillo is the leader of the Anderson offense. He leads the team in every important offensive category, goals (6), assists (4), points (16), shots (32) and shots on goal (13). Five of his six goals came in back-to-back wins versus Emory & Henry and Montevallo in mid-September. His only goal since was against LMU one week ago. Ten other players have scored a goal this season, headlined by Juan Pablo Lepervanche's four in ten games.
Goalkeeper Franco Antoniolli Funes has the fourth-most saves in the SAC with 48. His 1.15 goals against average mark ranks fifth-best among goalkeepers with more than five starts. The team has just one clean sheet and it came on Wednesday against Tusculum, as Funes made five saves.
A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/flomsoc.
Fans can also follow along by following @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.
