June 14, 2021

Home-heavy fall slate on horizon for Lyons' unit

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men's soccer coach Stephen Lyons has unveiled a 15-match fall slate that brings nine home matches to the banks of Mossy Creek.

The Eagles are set to host six South Atlantic Conference sides within the friendly confines of McCown Field at Harvey Stadium. They return to their traditional schedule, facing all 11 league squads and adding on four non-conference contests. Lyons' group went 7-2-1 throughout the spring campaign with a 5-1 mark in SAC pod play, facing Tusculum, Mars Hill and Lincoln Memorial twice throughout the regular season.

"Obviously excited to get back to the fall," Lyons said. "The lads had a good spring, so, yeah, the schedule is going to look to prepare us for conference play which we know is always extremely tough. We have some good opposition early on to get us ready."

Three of the first four matches of the fall keep C-N on the banks of Mossy Creek, starting with the season-opener on September 2 against Lee. The two sides were scheduled to face off in the spring, but that match was canceled. Two days later, the squad hits the road for a trip to Shorter on September 4. This will be just the second meeting between the teams, the last one resulting in a 2-1 neutral-site victory for the Orange and Blue back in 2012.

A two-match homestand brings the Eagles back to Jefferson City to host Erskine on September 15, a side they have not faced since grabbing a 2-1 win on Oct. 22, 1994. The homestand concludes with the start of SAC play as Mars Hill comes to town on September 15. The Lions were the last team C-N faced in the regular season, sweeping them to the tune of a 6-0 scoring advantage throughout the spring.

The first road test on the conference ledger takes the Orange and Blue to Wingate, N.C. to face the reigning SAC Tournament champions. C-N looks to snap a five-match winless skid in the series, the most recent being a 2-0 loss in the semifinal round of the SAC Tournament. The Eagles have not seen a win at Wingate since Oct. 14, 2006 when it left with a 4-3 victory.

September closes with back-to-back home matches against a pair of conference teams that it holds three-match unbeaten streaks against. The sequence begins with Catawba on September 25 followed by Tusculum on September 29.

C-N heads to Queens on October 2 before stepping back into the non-conference pool on Oct. 6 to host Shaw. This marks the first-ever meeting with the Bears who went 3-4-1 during their spring season.

The final six games of the season keep the Eagles within the conference, starting with a home match against Anderson on October 9. A pair of road trips make up the next two contests, facing Lincoln Memorial and Newberry. The Eagles were 2-1 in the spring against the Railsplitters, including a 4-0 SAC Tournament quarterfinal win. As for the series against the Wolves, C-N will look to expand its 25-0-2 record. The last trip to Newberry resulted in a 2-2 draw in 2018.

The final homestand of the year brings Coker and Limestone to town. This season, Senior Day will happen on the second to last home match of the year, slating it for that October 23 meeting with the Cobras. The October 30 match with Limestone marks the first time the Eagles and Saints will be facing off as conference opponents. C-N traveled to Limestone in the spring for a non-conference contest that ended with a scoreless tie.

One final road trip closes the regular season as the Eagles traverse to Lenoir-Rhyne on November 3. C-N has gone winless in the series with the Bears since 2017 when it upset a No. 5 Bears squad at McCown Field. Lyons' group will look to win the program's first match at LR since 2014.

All of this paves the way for a fifth-straight trip to the SAC Tournament from November 6-14. C-N has entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed in both of the past two seasons while making runs to the semifinal round this past spring and in 2018. The Eagles have won the tournament just once in program history, winning both it and the regular-season crown in 2005.

"I think (finishing first the past two seasons) sets a good standard," Lyons said. "Returning guys, guys coming in know what the goal is. Obviously, we want to go that one step further and make it to the national tournament as well, so, again, with the returning guys and the guys we've got coming in, I'm excited to see what they can do."

Times and dates for matches are subject to change. The Eagles Sports Network will provide live streams of home events for fans to enjoy globally at cneagles.com/live. Additional coverage of each match can be found on Twitter with in-game tweets from @CNathletics.