October 25, 2025

Eagles rally for road win at Wingate

Maxime Wester’s first goal of the 2025 season could not have come at a better time. The junior scored his third career goal in the 58th minute and the Carson-Newman (2-8-3, 2-5-1 SAC) defense held Wingate (2-7-3, 2-3-3 SAC) scoreless in the second half to collect its second road win of the season on Saturday afternoon at Pride Park.

Carson-Newman

2-8-3, 2-5-1

Wingate

2-7-3, 2-3-3

Final	1	2	T
Carson-Newman (2-8-3, 2-5-1)	1	1	2
Wingate (2-7-3, 2-3-3)	1	0	1

WINGATE, N.C. – Maxime Wester's first goal of the 2025 season could not have come at a better time. The junior scored his third career goal in the 58th minute and the Carson-Newman (2-8-3, 2-5-1 SAC) defense held Wingate (2-7-3, 2-3-3 SAC) scoreless in the second half to collect its second road win of the season on Saturday afternoon at Pride Park.

"Lads did really well today and it was great to get three points," Carson-Newman head coach Stephen Lyons said. "They showed a lot of resistance after going behind so early. To get the penalty right before half was a big boost. We talked at halftime about areas we were getting success and it was a great ball from Dan (Coles) into Maxime (Wester) who took care of the rest. There were a few nervy moments as you would expect, but the lads can take a lot from the performance and seeing the result out."

Carson-Newman has now won back-to-back meetings versus the Bulldogs for the first time since 2004 and 2005.

On Wingate's second shot of the match, it was able to find the back of the net. In the sixth minute, Kobe Vasquez assisted Joakim Gunnar on a goal into the lower right part of goal to lift WU ahead early.

The Eagles had multiple good looks to equalize throughout the half. In the 15th minute, Antoine Torrent ripped a shot toward the top part of goal by Wingate keeper Quincy Gibbs did enough to save the shot attempt from the sophomore and keep it out of the net.

Nine minutes later, Wester had a shot toward the center of goal stopped by Gibbs to keep Wingate in the lead.

The Eagles did not take a shot on frame in the final 22 minutes of the first half, but a late burst from the offense helped tie the match. Ben Dukes delivered through ball in the penalty box to Torrent, as the sophomore began his dribble and looked toward goal, he was taken down by a Wingate defender and the Eagles were awarded a penalty. Mitchell Honcoop stepped up to the spot for C-N and sent a shot into the bottom right corner of goal to level the match with just 25 seconds left in the first half.

The penalty kick goal was Honcoop's third of the season, tying him with seven other Eagles for the most in a season in program history. The junior midfielder is up to five penalty kick goals in his career, tying him with Matthew Finlay for the second-most in program history.

That goal just before halftime was much needed momentum for the Eagles that they were able to carry into the second half.

Carson-Newman's first two chances after halftime came in the same sequence from Honcoop. His first shot in the 48th minute was blocked and his second shortly after forced Gibbs into a diving save to his left to keep things tied.

C-N's next chance was the game-winner in the 58th minute. A great pass was lifted behind the Wingate defense by Dan Coles, allowing Wester to run after the ball. By the time he got to it, he was already in the box where he dribbled once and then fired a shot that deflected off a Wingate defender and into the center of goal to make it 2-1 Eagles with 32 minutes to play.

WU would mount some chances after the Carson-Newman goal. Four of the next five shots attempted were by the Bulldogs, but none of them hit the target.

Honcoop took C-N's final shot on frame in the 74th minute but saw Gibbs make his sixth and final save of the match.

Buford and the defense would do their part down the stretch to keep Wingate scoreless the rest of the way.

Wingate's only shot on target came in the 80th minute from Rudi Little. His shot toward the top part of goal was saved by Buford to secure the Eagles win.

Entering Saturday, C-N was 0-7-1 this season when allowing the first goal of a match. The win ends a 14-match losing streak when conceding the game's first goal. The program's last win when conceding first was a Senior Day win on November 1st, 2023, a 3-1 win over Tusculum.

Carson-Newman was outshot by Wingate 16-14, but held the advantage in shots on goal eight to three. The Eagles held the narrow edge in corner kicks four to three.

Lyons' crew is off for a week and returns to action next Saturday for Senior Day at McCown Field. First touch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Coverage on the Eagle Sports Network is available with a subscription to FloSports at cneagles.com/floMsoc.