Kaarsgaren grabs first SAC Defensive Player of the Week honor

Kaarsgaren grabs first SAC Defensive Player of the Week honor

 

 

VIDEO: Bram Kaarsgaren Interview

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Three weeks into his first season with Carson-Newman, Bram Kaarsgaren has been tabbed the Astroturf South Atlantic Conference Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Tuesday morning.

Kaarsgaren is just the second Eagle goalkeeper to receive the accolade, the other being Twan Verweij back on Oct. 2, 2017.

Through the first five matches of the season, the netminder holds a 4-1 record with 1.1 shutouts. He leads the league with a .610 goals against average, a save clip of .870 and three goals allowed. Nationally, he is tied for 22nd for goals against average and 25th for save percentage.

Carson-Newman produced a 2-0 week, winning matches over Lincoln Memorial and Newberry to open the conference slate. The Den Bosch, The Netherlands native brought in 10 saves in the two contests, allowing just a goal in each match for a .833 save percentage.

"I think it was more of a team performance," Kaarsgaren said. "I made a few saves at the last minute in both games, but I think the most important thing from this week is that it was a team performance. I don't want to say it was my honor but everyone was doing their jobs and we're doing really good at the moment."

Against Lincoln Memorial, Kaarsgaren saved six of the seven shots he faced including a late free kick that eliminated a potential tie from the Railsplitters.

In Saturday's win over Newberry, he denied four of the Wolves' five shots. His biggest save in the match came in the final seconds, laying out for a diving punch that set the stage for an open-net dagger from Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) in the 90th minute.

 "Every single game is important for us, at the moment," Kaarsgaren said. "We have to win as much as we can."

Kaarsgaren and his group close out a three-match homestand on Wednesday night against King. That match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. at McCown Field with a full broadcast found on cneagles.com/live.

 

2019 SAC AstroTurf Men's Soccer Players of the Week

Offensive Player of the Week
Sept. 10 – Tobias Solem Karlsen, Carson-Newman
Sept. 17 – Paul Ngongo, Wingate
Sept. 24 – Elliot Cutts, Wingate

Defensive Player of the Week
Sept. 10 – Leroy Zeller, Newberry
Sept. 17 – Ryan Tyrer, Anderson
Sept. 24 – Bram Kaarsgaren, Carson-Newman