Aug. 28, 2007

Stats

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.-- Omar Cooke (Vinton, Virginia) scored twice in the first half and the Carson-Newman Eagles relied on a strong defensive effort in the second half to defeat Montreat, 2-0 at McCown Field Tuesday night.

C-N (1-0) opened the scoring when freshman Lars Holstead (Bergen, Norway) passed to Cooke on the left side. Cooke flicked the ball past Montreat goalie Howard Fisher into the right side of the net to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead at the 22nd minute. C-N's other Norwegian freshman Truls Thomsen (Stavenger, Norway) connected with Cooke in the 44th minute. Thomsen's long pass found a wide open Cooke who scored his second goal just 21 seconds before halftime to give the Eagles a two-goal advantage at the break.

"We'll take the win," head coach Allen Vital said. "I thought we did well. Montreat was a very athletic and physical team that could run you down."

Eagle keeper Jordan Moore (Hendersonville, Tennessee) played all 90 minutes and made five saves in goal. The game was marred by physical play as five Montreat players were given yellow cards in the match.

The Eagles now face region foes Alderson-Broaddus and Salem International from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this weekend.

"These two regional games coming up are very challenging," Vital said. "We've jumped from the preseason right into the regular season so hopefully our legs will hold up."