LEBANON, Tenn. - Thursday morning got off to as poor a start as you could imagine for the Carroll Men's Soccer team, as they watched a torrential downpour completely engulf the natural grass field on the campus of Cumberland University - wiping away any shot at playing their NAIA Championship First Round match this morning. Nearly 11 hours, and a venue change later, the marathon day ended on a much brighter note, as the Saints secured a 1-0 victory over Wiley (Tx.) to march into the Second Round.
The Fighting Saints (14-3-3) are a battle-tested and well-traveled team, and for the second year in a row saw adverse weather conditions impact their NAIA Men's Soccer Championship First Round match. With wins in each of those matches, however, you won't hear any complaints from the Carroll side.
"What a gritty performance." said Head Coach Austin Shick "It's always tough to come into the national tournament, you never really know what you're gonna get. You play a team from a different conference, do your scouting, try to prepare the right way and do the right things leading up to it - you know, credit to the boys for going out there and getting the 1-0 win."
"It could have been different, it could have been more - but at the end of the day, we went out and finished it the right way with a real tough and gritty performance."
A hard tackle just minutes into the match was deemed worthy of a Red card by the officials, and the Wildcats went a man-down nearly instantly.
Carroll made Wiley pay, controlling the pace throughout the match, and spending a large portion of it in the attacking third. Over the course of the match, the Saints out-shot the Wildcats 27-5, ten of which were on goal.
The barrage of shots, paired with the stiff defensive effort that the Saints have displayed for the better part of three seasons, would eventually lead to a breakthrough in the second half.
For the second time in the last week, the Saints put away a bicycle kick goal. Captain midfielder Sam Loughton (East Yorkshire, England / JR) blasted the inverted attempt into the left side of the goal from just outside the six-yard box, giving Carroll a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
Carroll closed out their second-straight First Round victory with solid defense over the final 30 minutes, punching their ticket to a second round matchup with (8) Cumberland on Saturday after not allowing a single Wildcat shot in the second half.
"We got some really good performances off the bench from Cyrille (Wangama), and Rudy (Zurcher) in moments of need - then of course had some steady leadership from Juan (Muniz Navarrete) and Sam (Loughton)."
"I feel that we set the standard last season, and we're really excited to be in a position to match that this year - and try to push it even further."
"On to Saturday. Hopefully we can do something to make history, and move on to the final site which we all so deeply want."
The Saints will take on the eighth-seeded Phoenix of Cumberland on Saturday at 11 a.m. (MST), with the winner advancing to the NAIA Men's Soccer Championship Final Site in Orange Beach, Ala. in December.