VIDEO: Tobias Solem Karlsen Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. –Tobias Solem Karlsen received Player of the Week honors on Tuesday from the South Atlantic Conference and Tennessee Sportswriters Association.
This is the third AstroTurf Player of the Week accolade the junior has received but the first since the league started awarding weekly accolades on offense and defense this season.
As for the TWSA, this is his second honor from the group, the first coming on Oct. 10, 2017 which also followed a hat trick performance from the Kongsvinger, Norway native.
"It's just confirmation that I did something right," Karlsen said. "It's kind of like a breakthrough for the season. I've been playing decent but I kind of got the goals back and the team played well as well. We had two tough games and got two wins."
These recent accolades put Carson-Newman at two apiece from both groups this season.
Karlsen had an impressive week as he collected four goals in a span of two games, including his third career hat trick in Saturday's 4-1 win over Coker. In that match, he scored in the fifth, 23rd and 32nd minutes to give the Eagles an early 3-0 lead.
His previous two hat tricks came on Sept. 9, 2017 against Clayton State and Oct. 4, 2017 against Lincoln Memorial.
Remember when @CNmenssoccer's Tobias Solem Karlsen netted his third career hat trick and became the @SAC_Athletics and TSWA Player of the Week?
— C-N Athletics (@CNathletics) September 25, 2018
�� So do we �� pic.twitter.com/HaomiunKdp
In this week's wins over LMU and Coker, the junior was credited with the game-winner in both games. The first came in his lone goal of the match against the Railsplitters. Karlsen broke up a tied game in the 60th minute after receiving a long pass from Jonny Le Quesne (Jersey, Channel Islands) that he shot into the net for his third goal of the year.
His second game-winner this week was also the one that solidified his most recent hat trick in the 32nd minute. He gained possession on a ball that was deflected off of a Cobra defender after a sailing pass downfield from Daan Smit (Drenthe, Netherlands). Karlsen sent a shot past a diving Zach Watson and into the back left corner of the net.
After his hat trick on Saturday, Karlsen now leads in just about every statistical category possible with six goals on 26 shots with 14 landing on target. He also had a team-high 13 points on the season.
He also leads the SAC in goals and points on the season. He is also tied for first in the SAC and fifth nationally for game-winners.
His top-tier performance this week also allowed him to make moves on the Carson-Newman program records list for game-winning goals with either in his career. He is one away from tying Brad Cobbs (2002-05) at third in program history.
He owns 18 goals in his C-N career with 17 of those coming in just the past year and a half.
"Personally, I think I've just been trying to do the same as last year because it was a good season before injuries came in, but that's just a part of the game," Karlsen said. "I believe that by looking at what you did last year, you can still work with the same thing because a success is a success. Things won't change."
Karlsen and the Eagles look to win their third-straight match as Alabama Huntsville comes to town. That game will begin at 5 p.m. from McCown Field. Fans who cannot make the trip will be able to tune into the live broadcast at cneagles.com/live.
2018 SAC AstroTurf Men's Soccer Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 5 – Elliot Cutts, Wingate
Sept. 11 – Ashley Kelynack, Carson-Newman
Sept. 18 – Felipe De Sousa, Lincoln Memorial
Sept. 25 – Tobias Solem Karlsen, Carson-Newman
Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 5 – Alejandro Quiriti, Tusculum
Sept. 11 – Jakob Sellhed, Wingate
Sept. 18 – Alexander Langer, Lenoir-Rhyne
Sept. 25 – Tarek Malz, Newberry
2018 TSWA MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Sept. 5 – Harry Baggaley, Tennessee Wesleyan
Sept. 11 – Ashley Keylnack, Carson-Newman
Sept. 19 – Austin Vinyard, Maryville College
Sept. 25 – Tobias Solem Karlsen