JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. --- Tusculum University just missed scoring the tying goal in the final seconds as Carson-Newman University escaped with a 1-0 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's soccer action Wednesday night at McCown Field.
The Pioneers (1-5-1, 0-3-1 SAC) nearly tied the match with 10 seconds left on a corner kick, but two Carson-Newman defenders combined to sweep the ball away from the goal line before it clearly crossed and preserved the win for the Eagles (5-2-0, 4-0-0 SAC).
Yannick Kranz scored the only goal of the match in the first half and helped clear the final shot off the line in the closing seconds and preserve the shutout for keeper Bram Kaarsgaren, who needed to make just one save as Carson-Newman outshot Tusculum 17-7 in the match.
Tusculum keeper Rayane El Mehdi made five saves in his first career start for the Pioneers, while the Tusculum defense prevented two goals by clearing the ball off their own goal line.
The Eagles went up 1-0 at 15:56 as a corner kick from Thaylan Silva was played off the head of Tim Vercelli to Kranz, who got his shot past El Mehdi in a crowd of players.
Tusculum's best chance of the first half came in the 28th minute, as Jean-Pierre Vital broke down the left side and fired a shot that beat Kaarsgaren but just missed the far post. The Pioneers' lone shot on goal of the first half was in the 36th minute, as Damien Baltide eluded two defenders down the left side but could not get enough steam on the shot to beat Kaarsgaren.
El Mehdi's third save of the first half came in the 43rd minute, as a throw from the Eagles ended up in the box to Quinten Carels who headed it directly to the Pioneer keeper.
In the second half, Silva nearly scored in the first 30 seconds off a Tusculum turnover, but his shot was cleared off the line by Pioneer defender Alejandro De Mingo. El Mehdi made a save on a shot from distance and an angle by Whitehead in the 57th minute. the Tusculum defense prevented another goal off a back-heel attempt from Silva as Dani Gongora cleared the ball from danger.
Meanwhile, Tusculum went 25 minutes without a shot attempt until Ignacio Alconchel fired well high of the crossbar in the 73rd minute. Silva had a header with 11 minutes to play off a service to the box that was wide of the frame, while Whitehead missed to the left on a one-on-one with El Mehdi with nine minutes on the clock. El Mehdi made a save on a 20-yard blast from the Eagles' Nic Carsh with 3 1/2 minutes left.
Tusculum's last chance came on a corner kick with under 20 seconds to play. Baltide took the kick and delivered a perfect ball into the box, which bounced off the Pioneers' Ira Heppard, off Kaarsgaren, and toward the near post. Kranz slid in and kicked at the ball as it reached the post, but made just partial contact. While the Pioneers celebrated what they thought was a stunning equalizer, defender Ben King took a desperate swipe at the ball and directed it off a Tusculum player and out of bounds as time ran out.
The Pioneers finished the match with a slim 4-3 advantage in corner kicks, while the Eagles were whistled for 13 fouls to 11 for the Pioneers. Tusculum was flagged three times for offsides.
Tusculum will return to the road to face Anderson on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Trojans defeated Queens 1-0 on Wednesday night to improve to 4-2-1 overall and 1-2-1 in the SAC.
