Lyons inducted into Tennessee Wesleyan Sports Hall of Fame
ATHENS, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men’s soccer coach Stephen Lyons became one of the newest members of the Tennessee Wesleyan Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
ATHENS, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men's soccer coach Stephen Lyons became one of the newest members of the Tennessee Wesleyan Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday night.
Lyons was one of five inductees in the ceremony and one of the two representing the Bulldogs' men's soccer program.
The 2019 South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year came to C-N by way of TWU back in 2017 where he coached and played. Lyons spent nine seasons at the helm of the men's soccer program, amassing a record of 86-54-17, including a mark of 56-28-11 over the last five campaigns. During that same time, he compiled a ledger of 44-22-6 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. Lyons twice led the squad to the regular season title in the AAC and they also captured the conference tournament championship in 2012, which earned them a trip to the NAIA National Tournament. In 2016, Tennessee Wesleyan posted an 11-4-4 mark with a 6-2-1 conference record. Their season included a 2-1 home victory over Carson-Newman on Sept. 5th. The program reached its highest spot in the national rankings in Oct., when they rose to 22nd in the NAIA coaches poll.
Over the course of nine years in Athens, the native of Middlesbrough, England coached 18 players who were selected as first-team all-conference, as well as two student-athletes who earned AAC Freshman of the Year honors.
As a student-athlete, he spent four years on the soccer team at Tennessee Wesleyan and captained the 2001 edition of the squad to the national tournament. Lyons earned all-conference, all-region and All-American recognition during his time playing for the Bulldogs before graduating in 2002. He then played professionally for two seasons in the New Zealand National League.
