JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Catawba College men's soccer team started its South Atlantic Conference slate in victorious fashion, carrying home a 2-1 win from Mossy Creek on Saturday.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (3-1, 1-0 SAC) controlled proceedings early and often, out-shooting the Eagles (0-2-2, 0-1 SAC) by a whopping 19-9 gap
- The blue and white tripled Carson-Newman in shots on goal, holding a 9-3 advantage
- Corner kicks came in abundance for the Catawba Indians, who earned seven opportunities compared to the Eagles' two
- Carson-Newman was whistled for more fouls (15-10) and more yellow cards (5-3) on a chippy night in East Tennessee
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Máté Kenyeres buried his fifth goal of the year to cap a six-point week
- Tomas Kelly also found the back of the net on a team-high five shots, ending his week by having a hand in three scores
- Giovanni Benericetti was tabbed with an assist, giving him a dime in three straight matches
- Between the posts, Héctor Vara fended off two Eagle shots to improve to 3-1 in his rookie campaign
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Catawba was quick on the draw as Kenyeres booted in the first goal a touch over five minutes in
- 58 seconds later, Benericetti lofted a deep pass into attacking territory where Kelly caught it in stride and chunked it over the head of the Eagle goalie
- Following a pair of unsuccessful drives by C-N, Kelly, Benericetti and Carlos Zapata attempted to further up the score but were turned down by the hosts' Elijah Buford
- Lukas García Huidobro entered and put a shot on goal shortly before halftime, after a frustration yellow against the Eagle bench
Second Half
- The Catawba Indians hurled shot after shot at Buford, but mostly missed around frame except for a stoppage in the lower-right corner off a Kelly delivery
- The 67th minute proved to be one of Carson-Newman's best, starting with an on-goal shot by Maxime Wester and ending with a bullseye from Mitchell Honcoop
- Catawba offered a couple of viable scoring candidates that were denied, then Vito Venaría banged a shot off the crossbar
- Inside the 10-minute mark, only two cards and a corner kick occurred to put a bow on the 2-1 Catawba win
NOTES
- Kenyeres leads the SAC with five goals, more than double the second-place scorers at two
- Benericetti's four assists, in as many matches, slots first in the league; the next-best mark is two
- Kenyeres and Kelly stand first and second in league point-scoring with 10 and six, respectively
- The win is Catawba's first over Carson-Newman since 2016
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians will take a week of rest and gear up to host Lincoln Memorial next Saturday, Sept. 20, at 1 p.m.
