October 17, 2025

Eagles set for conference battle with Lenoir-Rhyne

Carson-Newman (1-6-3, 1-3-1 SAC) is back at home tomorrow evening as it welcomes Lenoir-Rhyne (4-4-2, 3-2-2 SAC) to McCown Field for a South Atlantic Conference contest at 5:00 p.m.

Lenoir-Rhyne

5-4-2, 4-2-2

Carson-Newman

1-7-3, 1-4-1

Final	1	2	T
Lenoir-Rhyne (5-4-2, 4-2-2)	2	1	3
Carson-Newman (1-7-3, 1-4-1)	0	0	0

C-N Match Notes (PDF)

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (1-6-3, 1-3-1 SAC) is back at home tomorrow evening as it welcomes Lenoir-Rhyne (4-4-2, 3-2-2 SAC) to McCown Field for a South Atlantic Conference contest at 5:00 p.m.

Counting Saturday's match, Carson-Newman has five remaining South Atlantic Conference contests, and each one is very valuable to determine where the Eagles finish in the standings. No team in the league has more conference games remaining than the Eagles as well. Only four points separate teams slotted 5-11 in the league standings. Five of the 11 teams in the league have secured just one league win this season.

Mitchell Honcoop has been one of the best goal scorers in the South Atlantic Conference this season. The All-SAC midfielder has five goals this season, tied for the second-most in the league this season. The Dutchmen is up to 12 goals in his career, tied for most among active Eagles. Four of his five goals this season have come in back-to-back games, having scored in consecutive games now three times in his career.

Junior goalkeeper Elijah Buford has 37 stops in 10 games this season, that is good for the second-most in the SAC. That mark also ranks top 60 nationally. Despite those rankings, Buford and C-N are still looking for their first clean sheet this season.

There have been several tight matchups between these two sides over the past decade, but LR has dominated the past 10 meetings by winning six of them and tying two others. Carson-Newman will be hoping to snap LR's unbeaten streak in this series, which currently sits at six games. C-N's last win versus the Bears was a 1-0 win in head coach Stephen Lyons' first season. The Eagles still lead the all-time series 20-19-4

Lenoir-Rhyne has found its groove at the right part of the season. Head coach Carlos Rubio's club heads to Jefferson City on a three-game winning streak and a five-match unbeaten streak. The unbeaten streak spans the month of October, starting with a pair of 1-1 draws with #4 Anderson and Newberry. Over the past 10 days, LR has turned in three consecutive shutout wins in league play, defeating Wingate on the road 2-0 and collecting home wins over Coker and Mars Hill over the last week.

Just 10 days ago, LR was at the bottom of the league standings. But thanks to this three-game winning streak in SAC play, it has pushed the Bears all the way to third place and just three points out of first place. They have played just three road matches this season, all in conference play and have gone 1-1-1.

The Bears have the fourth-ranked scoring offense in the league, averaging nearly a goal and a half per match this year. Four different attackers are tied for the team-lead with two goals, while six others have scored once as well. As a team, they have scored multiple goals in four of their 10 games. They attempt roughly 12 shots per match, seeing five of them find the target.

Defensively, goalkeeper Tomas Fontes has started every game in goal. Prior to this three-game winning streak, Fontes had posted just one clean sheet in seven games but now has three consecutive. The senior keeper has allowed 11 goals, and has made 26 saves in his 10 starts. His four clean sheets are second-best in the league and 20th nationally.

First touch from McCown Field is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floMsoc.