MARS HILL, N.C. – A two-goal outing from Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) and the fifth-straight shutout win of the year with a 3-0 result over Mars Hill the Ammons Family Athletic Center allowed Carson-Newman to lock up the top spot in both Pod 3 and the upcoming South Atlantic Conference Men's Soccer Spring Tournament.
Carson-Newman (6-1-1, 5-1 SAC) finished the regular season with 15 points on the league table after getting its final three points in the victory. It ended up five points above Mars Hill (3-2-2, 3-2-1 SAC) who was second in the pod with 10 points. The victory also marked the season sweep for the Eagles over the Lions, winning three-straight in the overall series. With its No. 1 seed, Carson-Newman will host a quarterfinal match on Monday night.
"The guys were brilliant again tonight, and I thought they thoroughly deserved the win," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "Some excellent goals and the energy levels didn't drop for 90 minutes. Another clean sheet was brilliant for the group. Now we look to prepare for Monday."
For an 11th consecutive game spanning this and the 2019 season, Carson-Newman outshot its opponent, leading Mars Hill 22-8 with an 8-3 advantage for shots on goal, as well. In that stretch, the unit has led the shot tally 193-92.
Lyons' team extends its unbeaten streak in conference road contests to nine-straight with a 6-0-3 record since Oct. 20, 2018.
Carsh grabbed the first multi-goal outing of his career, sandwiching a goal from Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) in the third-straight 3-0 Orange and Blue victory this season.
Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands) and the Eagle defense continued their run of dominance with their sixth clean sheet of the season. Those six shutouts move Kaarsgaren into a tie for seventh for single-season shutouts while lifting him to a tie for fourth on the career list with 10.1. The win marks the 15th of his career and sixth of the current campaign.
Kaarsgaren collected all three of the shots that came his way in the contest.
another Mars Hill attempt
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 2, 2021
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Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden) provided an assist on each of the goals, moving him to a team-high five assists and 11 points this season. He is just the fifth player in program history to account for a trio of assists in one game and the first to do so since Harrison Collins (Cardiff, Wales) at North Greenville on Sept. 6, 2019. Those assists place him in a tie for the second-most in a single game in team history.
Harry Whitehead (Lincolnshire, England) and Silva led all players with six shots each in the contest. Carsh and Öhrwall accounted for four shots and two on frame apiece.
Whitehead logged the first shot on goal for either side in the 13th minute with a skidding attempt that was picked up by Lions keeper Brennan Whalen. Minutes later, the sophomore took another chance, this time off the head, but it was also captured.
Mars Hill did not register a shot until the 23rd minute when Ollie Baggett sent a long look toward the net that fell right into the hands of Kaarsgaren.
By halftime, Whitehead had already accounted for all three of C-N's shots on frame, leading all players with four shot attempts. He did not see a shot on goal in the second half. He was responsible for half of the team's shooting output in the first period with the Eagles leading in shots, 8-2.
The 0-0 stalemate at the half marked the fifth of the season for Lyons' group, going 4-0-1 in those matches.
Within the first minute of the second half, Mars Hill's Fabio Berrer fired a shot that hit the inner part of the crossbar before bouncing back to the ground, leaving the game even.
C-N needed just a 37-second window to quickly make it a 2-0 affair in the 55th minute.
Carsh found an open ball from Öhrwall on the right side of the pitch that he directed through two Lion defenders. His sliding look went right past a standing Whalen to put the Eagles ahead, 1-0.
Moments later, Silva received a dish from Öhrwall that he quickly launched past a falling Whalen for a 2-0 advantage.
A red card on Whalen in the 75th minute gave C-N a man-up advantage with Daniel Burdaspar coming in at net.
In the 78th minute, Carsh found the back of the net again after a short face-off with a Lion just inside the right side of the 18-yard box. He spun around his defender and sent a rocket screeching past Burdaspar, extending the lead to 3-0. The goal gave him the first multi-goal game of his career and moved him the most goals on the team this season with four.
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 2, 2021
The junior now has his first-ever multi-goal game.
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Thomas Bertelsen's three shots were the most attempted by a Lion. Baggett had the most shots on goals for the group with two.
Whalen was called upon for four saved in net for Mars Hill in the 75:17 he played. Burdaspar went without a save.
The Eagles now set their sights on postseason action with the SAC Spring Tournament Quarterfinal coming to Mossy Creek. As the No. 1 seed, C-N will host No. 8 seed Lincoln Memorial on Monday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at McCown Field.
