VIDEO: Theo Hardenby Öhrwall Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman midfielder Theo Hardenby Öhrwall has been lauded the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year, as announced by the league office on Tuesday morning.
The Stockholm, Sweden native is just the second Eagle in program history to be recognized as the top freshman. The other was Omar Cooke back in 2006.
"I'm very happy (with the award) and also happy to play for this school. I mean, without my teammates and my coaches, this would not be possible," Hardenby Öhrwall said. "It's been very fun and very developing. I think we have a very strong group of players. From the first beginning, we've just played our game and it's been fun."
Along with the top-freshman nod, he is one of seven Eagles to land All-SAC honors, being named a first-team midfielder. This is the second-straight season that C-N has had seven players selected for the honors, pushing the total to 125 since 1990. These seven honors are the most for any team among the All-SAC lists after the Eagles received the top seed in the SAC Spring Championship Tournament, closing the regular season with 15 points on the league table.
Head coach Stephen Lyons' team led the league with 17 goals and 17 assists for 51 points throughout the regular season while also averaging a conference-high 8.25 corner kicks and six clean sheets.
Hardenby Öhrwall is joined on the first team list by forward Thaylan Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and goalkeeper Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands).
For a second season in a row, @CNmenssoccer lands 7️⃣ Eagles on the All-SAC lists.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 6, 2021
Introducing the first-team selections:
�� Thaylan Silva
�� Theo Hardenby Öhrwall
�� @bramkaarsgaren pic.twitter.com/gNDcadElaP
So far in his debut season, Hardenby Öhrwall has scored a team-leading 13 points, netting four goals and tallying five assists with starts in every game this season. He made a splash in his Orange and Blue debut, book-ending the C-N scoring effort in a 4-1 win at Belmont Abbey with two goals. He added on an assist in the match for a five-point day, becoming the first Eagle to account for five points in a match since Tom Read did so on Sept. 16, 2017 against Newberry.
"The first game was very fun to start off so strongly and to show that I can make an impact in the game," Hardenby Öhrwall said. "It's just continued throughout the season, so very fun to be able to help the team to win."
That first outing gave the freshman the league's first Offensive Player of the Week plaudit of the year. He is the first C-N freshman to receive the honor since the league started announcing them in 2006.
Hardenby Öhrwall made a spot for himself in the program's single game records list on April 1 with three assists in the win at Mars Hill. He became 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 third-most in a single game in team history.
Silva receives his first top-team plaudit a year after landing second-team forward honors. This year, the senior has been a consistent part of the Starting XI, starting in all nine matches thus far. Much like the Freshman of the Year, Silva has accounted for a team-high 13 points, also on four goals and five assists. Two of his goals this season have gone down as game-winners, the most for a single season in his four season with the team. He has scored in three-straight matches since the 3-0 win at Tusculum on March 29. He is the first Eagle to score in three consecutive games since he did so during the final three matches of the 2019 season.
With a pair of assists in the SAC Quarterfinal victory over Lincoln Memorial, Silva moved up the program's career assists ledger to sit in a tie for sixth with Sindre Welo at 15.
Kaarsgaren picks up his second-straight All-SAC first team goalkeeper laurel, making him the first C-N keeper to go back-to-back years on the first team since Rumwald Le Guevel did so in 2012 and 2013. He is the third keeper all-time for the program to do so. He has been the top netminder for the league this season by a wide margin, allowing just two goals in nine games with a .917 saving clip and a 0.22 goals against average, sitting at seventh and sixth, respectively, for those categories in the nation by the end of the regular season. His six shutouts heading into the postseason were the second-most in all of Division II with five of those coming in SAC regular-season matchups. He is currently 7-1-1 on the year and has needed just 22 saves.
The netminder anchored a Carson-Newman defensive that has been the anchor of a C-N defensive that has stood as one of the most stout this season. Before the conference tournament, it was second in the nation for shutout percentage and save percentage at 0.750 and 2.50, respectively.
Kaarsgaren has consistently propelled himself up the program's record book lists throughout the season. His seven shutouts this season are the seventh-most in a season in team history, pushing his career output to 11.1, good enough for fourth-most. He is sixth for career wins with 16. He was named SAC Defensive Player of the Week twice this season, moving him to four in his career.
Four Eagles landed second-team honors in the announcement, forward Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England), midfielders Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) and Greg Evans (Wrexham, Wales) and defender Gordon Zebrowski (Hattingen, Germany).
Wrapping up the All-SAC nods with four second-team picks.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) April 6, 2021
�� @H4rryWh1teh3ad
�� @niccarsh77
�� @gregevans07
�� Gordon Zebrowski pic.twitter.com/3aRQwHY3i9
This is the first postseason accolade for Whitehead after starting in eight of the nine matches Carson-Newman has played this season. The sophomore has made quite a breakthrough this season after moving up to forward, finding the back of the net four times on a league-high 39 shot attempts and 19 on frame.
Carsh makes his second-straight appearance on the second-team list this year, starting in all nine matches so far this year. He shares the top spot on the team for goals with four, holding 10 points with two assists. Like Silva, the junior has accounted for two game-winners this season, sending out 19 shot attempts with 11 on frame. Aside from Öhrwall, Carsh is the only other Eagle to net a multi-goal game this season, scoring twice in the 3-0 win at Mars Hill on April 1.
Evans makes his first appearance on the All-SAC lists since the 2018 season when he was also tabbed a second-team midfielder. The senior continues his stretch of being a consistent starter this season, starting in every match for a third-straight campaign. He is fourth all-time for minutes played in program history with 4,763 minutes on the pitch. He has sent out six shot attempts this year with one on frame.
The lone C-N defender recognized this season, Zebrowski has started in all seven of the matches he has played in, logging three shots with one on goal. His honor marks the third-straight season that one Orange and Blue defender has landed on the list, following the suit set by Samuel Jenkins in 2018 and Kensho Yoshikoshi in 2019.
The slew of All-SAC Eagles are back on the pitch Thursday night hosting fourth-seeded No. 11 Wingate in the SAC Spring Championship Semifinal. That match is set to start at 7 p.m. inside the friendly confines of McCown Field.
