Eagles unveil challenging men’s soccer slate for 2013

Carson-Newman director of soccer Richard Moodie has unleashed a 2013 men’s soccer schedule, which he believes sets up the Eagles for success both in and out of the South Atlantic Conference.

“We’ve made a few changes from last year,” Moodie said. “We’ll get to see the arrival of Coker and Queens in the conference to make things more competitive.  We’ve added some preseason scrimmages to better prepare us to start out the season on the right foot.”

The Eagles’ 2013 slate features six home games, including a home opener Sept. 14 against Elite Eight qualifier Wingate to open conference play.

The Eagles begin their season with the first athletic event of the fall semester for any sport on Sept. 5 with a road trip to Belmont Abbey.  The Crusaders were 6-10 last year including a 2-3 mark against current members of the South Atlantic Conference.

“We’d like to think this year that we’ll compete for a conference championship,” Moodie said. “Hopefully we advance farther than that.  But we believe that’s where this team belongs and that the schedule will help toward that end.”

Carson-Newman then takes the road for three straight following the home opener with Wingate for showdowns with Lees-McRae, Catawba and King.

Arguably the Eagles’ most challenging stretch of games comes from Oct. 16 through Oct. 23.  C-N faces off against a Milligan Buffs squad that won 11 games last year before playing road conference matches at Coker – the eighth best team in the Southeast Region last year – and Mars Hill – the reigning SAC regular season champions.

“Luckily for us, we don’t have that many graduate and we’ve got a nice core coming back,” Moodie said. “It’s very important for us to get things quick.  There’s no room for error with this season.”

Senior day will be celebrated against Queens on Oct. 26, before the Eagles finish with Tusculum and Anderson on the road.