Eagles Upset No. 12 Northern Kentucky, 2-1, on Senior Night

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman men’s soccer team held off No. 12 Northern Kentucky for a 2-1 upset win on Senior Night Wednesday at McCown Field.

The victory was the Eagles’ second straight over a top 25 opponent and it snapped the Norse’s five-match winning streak. C-N improves to 9-3-1 on the season, while Northern Kentucky falls to 13-3-1.

“I thought we played excellent and the guys really showed character,” C-N head coach Allen Vital said. “This was a difficult opponent. They really put pressure on us with long passes. It’s very difficult to defend, but our guys were resilient. They showed patience, waited for the opportunities, got the goals and were able to hold on.”

Neither team was able to control the tempo of the match. The Norse outshot the Eagles 14-10, while C-N held a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.

Junior Jordan Moore (Hendersonville, Tenn.) had another stellar night in goal for C-N. Moore allowed one goal and tallied three saves to pick up the win. Northern Kentucky’s Michael Lavric surrendered two goals and collected four saves in the loss.

After a scoreless first half, the Eagles grabbed a 1-nil lead in the 53rd minute. Sophomore forward Robert Hill (Middlesbrough, England) fired a shot from the right wing, and Lavric deflected it. However, a Northern Kentucky defender knocked the ball into the net to give C-N the lead.

Less than eight minutes later, C-N added to its lead, as freshman Adam Thomas (Morristown, Tenn.) finished off a header by Omar Cooke (Roanoke, Va.) to give the Eagles a 2-nil advantage.

But Northern Kentucky refused to go away. Ryan Grothaus collected a loose ball in the box and fired it into the back of the net in the 86th minute to trim C-N’s lead to 2-1.

The Norse had several looks at the goal in the last two minutes, but the Eagles defense held strong to seal the win.

The Eagles honored its four seniors —Cooke, Everardo Flores (Silver Spring, Md.), Darren Hulem (Derwood, Md.) and Jorge Lopez (Woodbridge, Va.) — with a ceremony at halftime.

“The seniors that we honored tonight have all been in very big games for us and have won a lot of trophies here at Carson-Newman,” Vital said. “They have had fantastic careers. We are going to miss those guys badly. Hopefully, we can extend the season for them and keep playing a little bit longer.”

The team also remembered the late Roland “Rolie” File, who was a member of the C-N soccer team during the 2006 season and would have been a senior this season. File passed away in February of 2007 after an automobile accident.

C-N returns to the pitch on Saturday at King College. The match is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.