Marius Staalby Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's soccer team landed four players on 2014 South Atlantic Conference All-Conference teams. Those honored include Marius Staalby (Norway), Robert Wagner (Germany), Rurik Pereira (Brazil) and Alex Naric (Germany).

"It's always nice," Staalby said, "to be recognized."

Staalby and Wagner each received SAC All-Conference second team accolades. Staalby, the 6-2 sophomore forward from Trondheim, Norway started 13 matches and played in all 17 of the Eagles' regular season totaling 1063 minutes.

"Marius," Carson-Newman head soccer coach Richard Moodie said, "has been great for us in that forward position."

His four goals, six assists and is tied for first on the team with 14 points; his six assists snag him the third place spot in the conference. Staalby had one game winning goal that came in the 23^rd minute of C-N's 4-0 win at Lenoir-Rhyne.

"I'm the type of player that will always put the team first," Staalby said. "One of my main tasks on the pitch is to set up the players around me."

Wagner, a junior midfielder, started nine of his 15 games played and had 865 minutes of action this fall. He had seven goals for 14 points sitting him in the top spot on the team alongside Staalby. His seven goals ties him for third in the SAC. Wagner contributed one game winner off a penalty kick in the Eagles' 3-0 home win against Catawba. After landing 16 of his 24 shots on goal, Wagner secured the third highest shot on goal percentage on the team at 66.7%.

"Wagner is a great player with great potential," Coach Moodie said. "He's going to do great things in the future."

Both Pereira and Naric were placed on the defensive line for All-Conference Honorable Mention. Pereira, a 5-10 junior from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, started in 15 of 16 games played giving him 1431 minutes on the pitch. From the center back position, Pereira supplied three goals and two assists; his eight points placed him in sixth on the team. His goals include a bicycle kick goal against Wingate, one against nationally-ranked Young Harris, and a header against Coker. Pereira released 18 shots, 10 on goal, and finished with a .556 shots on goal percentage.

"Rurik is the one for us," Coach Moodie said, "that we lean on. He's a fantastic player."

Naric, a 6-2 junior fullback from Neuwied, Germany, led C-N with a shot percentage of .750. Naric played in nine matches and started six for 639 minutes. He provided three goals from the defensive line including two game winners, the most on the team. In the Eagles' 7-0 win at Brevard, Naric scored the game winner in the 6^th minute, assisted by Pereira, and put up the team's fourth goal in the 34^th. He also secured C-N's victory in its 7-3 contest against Newberry.

"There are talented individuals all over the conference," Coach Moodie said. "Our boys that won it deserved it."

The Lads finished regular season with a record of 7-8-2, 6-3-2 in the SAC.