ANDERSON, S.C. – The Anderson University men's soccer team came up short on Saturday (Sept. 10) in a 1-0 loss against the Carson-Newman University Eagles at Spero Financial Field.
The Trojans came into Saturday's match off a 1-1 draw at Wingate earlier in the week, and a 1-0 win over Mount Olive a weekend ago. Anderson received a boost defensively this evening with the return of Mariano Carpena. Meanwhile the Eagles entered the match with a record of 2-1-2, coming off back-to-back draws against Lee (1-1) and Limestone (2-2). Before the season, Carson-Newman was picked first in the SAC preseason coaches' poll.
Neither team was able to find a rhythm on the attack in the first half of play. The C-N defense did not allow a shot on goal from AU, meanwhile C-N had three total shots. The best opportunity came in the seventh minute when Tim Vercelli's attempt went high over the goal.
Early in the second half, the Trojans created the best opportunity they had all night, earning a penalty kick in the opening minutes of the second half. Martin Carpena fired a shot to the left side of the goal, but C-N goalkeeper Darin de Meza made a terrific diving save to keep the score 0-0. In the 59th minute, Gustavo Moses Bessa found the head of forward Willen Kruijk on a beautiful cross for the first goal of the match. The C-N backline held strong from that point on, completing the clean sheet to seal the 1-0 victory. De Meza finished with three saves for the Eagles, while Trojan goalkeeper Amos Uber finished with two.
The Trojans will be back in action on Saturday (Sept. 17) when they travel to Lincoln Memorial University. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m., with video and live stats available at www.autrojans.com.
