October 9, 2025

SAC play continues as C-N battles Mars Hill on Friday night

A well-rested Carson-Newman (1-6-2, 1-3 SAC) team is back on the pitch tomorrow as it travels to battle Mars Hill (3-2-5, 1-1-3) in a South Atlantic Conference contest Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Carson-Newman

1-6-3, 1-3-1

Mars Hill

3-2-6, 1-1-4

Final	1	2	T
Carson-Newman (1-6-3, 1-3-1)	1	0	1
Mars Hill (3-2-6, 1-1-4)	1	0	1

C-N Match Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A well-rested Carson-Newman (1-6-2, 1-3 SAC) team is back on the pitch tomorrow as it travels to battle Mars Hill (3-2-5, 1-1-3) in a South Atlantic Conference contest Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Carson-Newman has been off since an October 1st loss to Emory & Henry and is in the midst of a stretch in which it will play just three games through the first 18 days of October.

"The break has been beneficial for us," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "It was pretty intense through September. We were able to get a lot of rest and recovery for the guys because they are playing a lot of minutes. I don't think our record reflects the quality of the group. Going to Mars Hill, looking forward to getting back into conference play. It's a difficult place to go to and (Coach) Gregg sets his team up very well and defensively are very solid. I think the guys are ready."

Friday night's match could help shift Carson-Newman in the South Atlantic Conference standings in a big way. The Eagles' three points are last in the league, but a victory would push them all the way up to a tie for fourth place in the league. There are seven schools, one of which is Mars Hill, that have four, five or six points in the league table.

Carson-Newman's overall record certainly does not do justice for how competitive this club has been in 2025. Four of the six losses are by one goal. The other two losses are by two goals, one against a nationally ranked Auburn Montgomery team and the other in a game C-N played down a man for more than 60 minutes. Furthermore, two of the three losses in SAC play have been because of a goal scored in the final ten minutes of play. Coker and E&H both scored in the 81st minute to defeat C-N 1-0.

Under Lyons, C-N is 3-1-1 in Friday contests. The program's last game on a Friday was versus Newberry on September 30, 2022, a game the Eagles won 3-0.

Mitchell Honcoop has been one of the best goal scorers in the South Atlantic Conference this season. The All-SAC midfielder has four goals this season, tied for fourth-most in the league this season. The Dutchmen is up to 11 goals in his career, tied for most among active Eagles. His goals this season have come in back-to-back games, having scored in consecutive games for the third time in his career.

No player in the South Atlantic Conference has more saves than goalkeeper Elijah Buford. The junior's 36 stops are most in the SAC, and six more than any other goalkeeper in the league. That mark also ranks 35th nationally. Despite those rankings, Buford and C-N are still looking for their first clean sheet this season.

The Eagles will be looking for a bounce-back effort against this Mars Hill team. Last year's 5-1 loss was the second-worst loss to a MHU team all-time and the second-most goals allowed in a game against the Lions as well. Prior to that loss, Carson-Newman was on a seven-match unbeaten streak, winning four of the previous five matches in the series.

Mars Hill enters Friday's match with a 3-2-5 overall record and a 1-1-3 mark in league games and is coming off their first loss in conference play to #6 Anderson on Tuesday. The Lions started the year on a four-match unbeaten streak, playing to scoreless ties with King, Newberry and Lees-McRae, while defeating Montevallo 4-3 on Sept 6. North Greenville handed the Lions their first loss of the year on Sept 16, 1-0. MHU carried another four-match unbeaten streak from the end of September into October, but that streak was ended by AU.

MHU's five ties are tied for the most in the South Atlantic Conference and tied for the fourth-most in Super Region 2. Four of those five ties are scoreless draws, with three of the five draws coming in SAC action.

The Lions defense has been the main reason for their success. Goalkeeper Logan Cassell ranks second nationally with his six clean sheets. If you take away the four goals Anderson scored last time out and the three Montevallo scored back in September, the Lions have only allowed two goals in their other eight games this season. MHU gets a shutout more than 50 percent of the time, best in the SAC and ninth-best nationally.

Head coach Gregg Munn's team would probably have more wins to their ledger if the offense could produce. They have scored multiple goals on just one occasion, that being a 4-3 loss to Montevallo on Sept 6. Kai Stolp leads the offense with his two goals scored in ten games. Five others have pitched in with a goal as well. Stolp is one of four Lions to start in every game this season.

First touch from Meares Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. A live stream is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floMsoc.