September 12, 2024

Lyons leads C-N into SAC play against Catawba

Carson-Newman (0-2-1) wraps up its three game road swing in September with its first South Atlantic Conference match of the season, a 7:30 p.m. tilt with Catawba (1-0-2) at Frock Field.

Carson-Newman

0-2-2, 0-0-1

Catawba

1-0-3, 0-0-1

Final	1	2	T
Carson-Newman (0-2-2, 0-0-1)	0	1	1
Catawba (1-0-3, 0-0-1)	0	1	1

Carson-Newman vs Catawba 2023 Highlights

Carson-Newman vs Catawba 2023 Full Broadcast Replay

C-N Match Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (0-2-1) wraps up its three game road swing in September with its first South Atlantic Conference match of the season, a 7:00 p.m. tilt with Catawba (1-0-2) at Frock Field.

The Eagles start conference play against an Indians squad they have had success against in the past. C-N is on a six game unbeaten streak against Catawba, with the only draw during this stretch coming this past season, a game that went back and forth late.

Carson-Newman scored first in the 23rd minute, Rhydian Williams took aim from distance and drilled the shot in the left corner to make it 1-0. It wasn't until the 67th minute when Catawba would tie the match with a Joseph Allerton goal. C-N regained the advantage in the 79th minute, when Ben Dukes (Southampton, England) assisted a Nic Carsh goal to make it 2-1. Less than ninety seconds later, Sebastia Cerda-Tous helped tie the game back with a shot that ricocheted off the post and went in.

Prior to the 2-2 tie in 2023, C-N had won five in a row, four of them by one goal. Seven of the last eight meetings have been decided by one goal or less. Carson-Newman has won four straight contests at Frock Field.

Carson-Newman will try to break up a stretch where it has failed to win ten of its last eleven games on the road.

The Eagles finished 3-5-3 against the South Atlantic Conference in 2023. Under head coach Stephen Lyons, C-N is 40-20-15 against the league since 2017.

In Wednesday's loss to Montevallo, Carson-Newman's offense compiled 18 shots. That's three more than what the team combined for in the first two games of the season. C-N also managed seven corner kicks after having nine in the first two games.

C-N midfielder Mitchell Honcoop is tied for the most goals in the SAC with three. His seven points are also tied for the most in the league. He scored just two goals all of last season.

Catawba was picked to finish two spots ahead of Carson-Newman in the South Atlantic Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll. The Indians are coming off a 9-6-2 season, that saw the team finish league play 5-4-2. Catawba had six players named to the preseason all-conference team. Salano Birch was the lone first-team selection. Sebastia Cerda-Tous, Zac Stiffler and Juan Pablo Nicoletti were all second-team selections. While, Baustista Vecchi-Romello and Peter Majer were third-team picks.

Ken Hassler's club started the season with a pair of ties. After leading Montevallo 3-0, Catawba surrendered three consecutive goals including one in the final minute to play to a 3-3 tie. Two days later, it played to a scoreless draw with USC Aiken, outshooting the Pacers 22-1. Catawba College got win number one on Wednesday, a 2-1 road win over Mount Olive, in a game where they conceded a goal in the third minute.

Among all DII head coaches, Hassler has the 12th most wins with 264 in 36 seasons coaching. 71 of those wins are with Catawba.

It's been a balanced offensive attack for Catawba through three games. Cerda-Tous leads the way with two goals and four points, with six other players either recording a goal or an assist to start the season.

Catawba's goalkeeper Zac Stiffler has been under light pressure through three games, thanks to a quality offense and maintaining possession of the ball. He has only faced seven shots on goal, saving five of them. In his five seasons at Catawba, he has 148 saves, posting 21 wins and 12 shutouts.

The Indians have won or played to a tie in every SAC opener since 2019. They have won their first SAC home game just one time in the past four seasons.

First touch from Salisbury, North Carolina is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. A live stream of the game is available with a subscription to FloSports.

Fans can also follow along by following @CN_Eagles on X (Twitter) and Instagram for in-game updates.