ANDERSON, S.C. - After the latest NCAA Southeast Regional rankings were announced on Wednesday, Saturday's match will feature two teams in the top eight as No. 8 Anderson University men's soccer welcomes No. 4 Carson-Newman to Trojan Stadium in South Atlantic Conference action. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
The Trojans
Anderson picked up its 10th win of the season with a
non-conference victory over in-state rival Francis Marion on
Wednesday. With the win, AU joins Queens, Wingate and Carson-Newman
as the only teams in the SAC with 10 or more wins on the year.
Overall, the Trojans are 10-4-3 on the season and 4-4-2 in the SAC,
clinching an unbeaten record against non-conference opponents for
the season.
With a win on Saturday, AU would ensure a position in the 2013 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament, but with a loss and a win by Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba, the Trojans would wind up out of the tournament. Anderson currently sits in seventh place in the conference standings, a point behind Mars Hill and a point ahead of the Indians and Bears who are tied for the eighth spot. If AU fails to qualify for the postseason tournament, it would eliminate the possibility of Anderson's fourth straight tournament championship.
Redshirt sophomore Benoit Torres and graduate student Bernd Muxel each scored in the 2-1 victory over FMU. The 2-1 victory adds to AU's total goals scored of 33, 13 more than its opponents for the season. Leading the way for the Trojan offense is redshirt sophomore Andre Carle who has 10 goals to his credit, but has failed to score since scoring two goals in a 2-1 over UNC Pembroke on Oct. 16. Freshman Aaron Roberson is second on the team in goals with five, while redshirt freshman Henrique Gazzi leads the team and is second in the conference in assists with seven.
Defensively, freshman goalkeeper Bo Haug has been in the Anderson goal for nine of the team's 10 victories. Haug is one of three goalkeepers in the conference with a goals against average under one, as the freshman holds a 0.95 average which ranks third in the league. Haug also ranks fourth in the league in saves with 55 and fifth in save percentage with a .775 average.
The Eagles
After beginning the year with a 2-2 record, Carson-Newman
enters the weekend with an 11-4 overall record, including a current
six-match winning streak. The Eagles have stormed up the conference
standings and are currently third, three points behind SAC leader,
Queens, which has 24. On their current winning streak, the Eagles
have outscored their opponents 13-3, highlighted by a 4-0 rout of
Coker on Oct. 19. Most recently, the Eagles fended off in-state
rival Tusculum 1-0 in overtime.
Leading the way for Carson-Newman has been junior forward Ross Frame who is in the top five in all offensive categories within the SAC. Frame ranks second in goals (13), first in assists (nine), first in points (35) and third in shots (62). The junior has posted five of the team's 13 goals during the winning streak.
Senior goalkeeper Rumwald Le Guevel has played in over 1,369 minutes in goal this season, posting 69 saves and four shutouts. Le Guevel matches C-N's 11-4 record and holds a 1.12 goals against average.
The Series
Anderson and Carson-Newman have squared off four times
since AU joined the SAC in 2010 with the series being even at 2-2.
In all four matches, the score has been decided by two goals or
more, as last year's meeting being the most lopsided score of the
season when the Eagles took a 4-1 win. In 2011, AU bested
Carson-Newman with a 3-1 win, while the most important victory came
in 2010 when Anderson eliminated the Eagles from the SAC Tournament
with a 2-0 opening round win.
