No. 16 Carson-Newman Shuts Out Lander, 2-0, in NCAA Tournament Opener
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The 16th-ranked Carson-Newman men’s soccer team tallied two first-half goals en route to a 2-0 victory over Lander on Wednesday night in the opening round of the NCAA Division II Tournament at McCown Field.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The 16th-ranked Carson-Newman
men’s soccer team tallied two first-half goals en route to a
2-0 victory over Lander on Wednesday night in the opening round of
the NCAA Division II Tournament at McCown Field.
With the win, the third-seeded Eagles (14-4-1) advance to the
Southeast Regional semifinals, where they will take on
second-seeded Anderson (S.C.) on Friday at 4 p.m. in Banner Elk,
N.C. Lander ends its season at 12-6-2.
C-N held a 12-9 advantage in shots, while each team finished the
match with three shots on goal.
The Eagles grabbed the lead in the 17th minute. Junior forward Ben
Backstrom (Knoxville, Tenn.) controlled a pass from Daniel Zitt
(Morristown, Tenn.) in front of the net and fired a shot past
Lander goalkeeper Matthew Atkinson (Durham, England) to give C-N a
1-nil advantage.
Senior forward Omar Cooke (Roanoke, Va.) pushed the Eagles’
lead to 2-0 just before the half as he headed in a cross from
Anthony Chiappetta (Morristown, Tenn.) in the 40th minute.
Lander was unable to mount a comeback in the final 40 minutes
despite several good looks at the goal.
C-N goalkeeper Jordan Moore (Hendersonville, Tenn.) collected
three saves to pick up the shutout win, while Atkinson surrendered
two goals and had one save in the loss.
Postgame Quotes
Carson-Newman head coach Allen Vital:
“It was a fantastic game. From the beginning, we kept the
pressure on them, which was key. We knew with the sloppy conditions
it would be difficult to play with them on the ground, and I think
the guys did a fantastic job of not allowing them to keep the
pressure on us when they tried to move the ball on the ground. We
really closed them down and forced them to play long. It was great
to get a clean sheet as well.”
Lander head coach Van Taylor:
“We didn’t play as well as we are capable of. For us,
it was a game of two halves. I thought we played a good second half
and created enough chances, but at the end of the day, the best
team won. I tip my hat to Carson-Newman.”
