VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
VIDEO: Yannick Kranz Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Three different goal scorers along with a pair of Eagles who accounted for two assists each lifted Carson-Newman to a 3-0 shutout of Mars Hill on Thursday night at McCown Field.
The 11 total points from the trio of goals and the five assists mark the most points scored for Carson-Newman (2-1-1, 1-1 SAC) since Sept. 10, 2019, when they tallied 12 points against Salem. While the offense proved to be productive, the defense was equally efficient, holding Mars Hill (1-1-1, 1-1 SAC) without a shot on goal throughout the match for the second clean sheet of the season. Before Thursday, the last time a C-N opponent went without a shot on goal was back on Sept. 2, 2017 when North Greenville was held to just two shot attempts that did not land.
"It's always nice when you can share it around and everyone that scored loved the bit of confidence," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "Yannick (Kranz), as well, got involved and had a really good game. Back to front, I thought the guys worked really well and put the intensity in. Even when we brought guys off the bench, it didn't really drop, so credit to the group."
The win gives Carson-Newman its first league win of the season, moving it to 140-89-23 all-time in conference matches with a 75-42-9 record when playing those matches. Both of C-N's wins this season have come with three different Eagles finding the net.
In the series with Mars Hill, the Eagles now lead 21-10-5 since 1989, extending their unbeaten streak to four-straight.
Both Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) and Yannick Kranz (Hannover, Germany) provided a pair of assists on the night. For Silva, he now has three two-assist games in his career, this being the first since Oct. 2, 2019 against Lenoir-Rhyne. His latest assists put him at 12 in his career, just one shy of breaking into the top 10 for the program's career assists list.
"I try my best every game," Kranz said, "and hope I can help the team with assists or goals or whatever. I try my best.
"To have many assists and opportunities is important because we want to press and attack every time. So, we need many opportunities."
Silva's first assist on the night came in the 25th minute, off of a corner kick he sent in from the right side of the pitch. The senior delivered a set-piece that ended up with Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden) nearly 30 yards out, allowing him to send a rainbow one-timer shot past a flying Brennan Whalen in net for the Lions.
Öhrwall's first game-winning goal now gives him a team-high three goals in four matches. It was his first goal since the season-opener against Belmont Abbey when he scored twice.
In the 32nd minute, Kranz and Silva teamed up to give a helping hand to Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.). Silva lined up for a free-kick just outside the right side of the penalty area, sending a sailing pass inside that Kranz headed toward the goal. That header hit off the foot of a falling Carsh who was in-line with Whalen just inside the mouth of the net.
Carsh is now up to five goals in his C-N career, this being his first since last season's visit to Mars Hill on Oct. 16, 2019. He ended the night with three shot attempts.
Make the lead for @CNmenssoccer a pair as @niccarsh77 finds the back of the net
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 5, 2021
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Carson-Newman went into the halftime break with a lead for the first time this season. It was already holding a substantial lead in the shot tally through the first 45 minutes at 8-0, five of those falling on frame.
Just over 20 minutes into the second half, Carson-Newman extended its lead on a goal from Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England). Kranz made a break toward the 18-yard box amidst a cluster of Lions. The junior dropped off a short pass that hit off Carsh's foot, landing with Whitehead. The sophomore sent a shot gliding across the grass that sailed past a diving Whalen and into the back of the net.
Whitehead's goal moves him to two this season and in his career. He led the team with four shot attempts on the night, three of those on frame.
As a whole, C-N outshot Mars Hill 15-2, giving the Eagles seven-straight matches spanning the 2019 season where they have outshot their opponents. Ollie Baggett and Jeppe Christensen were the only Lions to tally hits in the affair.
Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) picked up his second win of the year in a match where he was not called upon for a save, moving to 2-1-1 in net. This second shutout of the season gives him 6.1 in his career, sliding him out of a tie with Kevin Peters from the 1989-92 squads, giving him stand-alone eighth on the program's career shutouts list. He is now two shy of Rumwald Le Guevel who picked up 8.1 from 2012-13.
On the other end of the pitch, Whalen was forced into three saves, all of those coming in the first half.
With the postponement of next Thursday's game at Tusculum, the next match on the docket for C-N comes on March 18 at Lincoln Memorial. Kickoff from Harrogate, Tenn. is slated for 3:30 p.m.
