ROCK HILL, S.C. – The final South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week accolades for the regular season were swept by Carson-Newman with Bram Kaarsgaren and Nic Carsh winning the defensive and offensively plaudits, respectively, as announced by the league on Wednesday.
This marks the second time that the Eagles have swept the weekly awards since the conference first began breaking them down in 2018. The first time was in Oct. 15, 2019 when the duo was recognized for the same honors.
All-told, C-N has amassed five Player of the Week laurels this season, matching its amount from the year prior. These final two honors of the year come after a successful close to the regular season for head coach Stephen Lyons' group, winning road matches at Tusculum and Mars Hill with back-to-back 3-0 results to lock up the top-seed in the Spring Championship Tournament.
Carsh nets his first offensive plaudit of the year thanks to a five-point week. He started the final push of the regular season with an assist in the win at Tusculum before turning around and scoring a pair of goals at Mars Hill, including the game-winner in the 55th minute.
The Newberg, Ore. Native locked up the honor in the win at Mars Hill on the first multi-goal outing of his career, scoring the first and last goal C-N netted in the win.
This is the second weekly honor for Carsh in his career.
Kaarsgaren's latest honor marks his third of the season, moving his career total to a program-high five. He surpasses Tobias Solem Karlsen for the most SAC weekly accolades, who grabbed four between 2017 and 2019. He is the second Eagle in program history to net the honor three times in one season since the league started naming them in 2006, the last being Ross Frame who was a three-time SAC Player of the Week in 2013.
The Den Bosch, The Netherlands native grabbed his fifth and sixth clean sheets of the year in the final week of the season. He anchored the Orange and Blue defensive efforts with nine-combined saves in the two matches, extending the run of gameplay without a goal allowed to 512:14.
Carsh, Kaarsgaren and the rest of the No. 14 Eagles are back on the pitch Thursday afternoon for a SAC Semifinal meeting with No. 25 Wingate. That match will start at 3 p.m. from McCown Field.
2020-21 SAC AstroTurf Men's Soccer Players of the Week
Offensive Player of the Week
Feb. 17 – Theo Hardenby Ohrwall, Carson-Newman
Feb. 24 – Damien Baltide, Tusculum
Mar. 3 – Felipe Mendonca, Queens
Mar. 10 – Victor Cascon, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 17 – Andres Ruiz, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 24 – Niclas Wittur, Wingate
Mar. 31 – Troy Paul, Newberry
Apr. 7 – Nic Carsh, Carson-Newman
Defensive Player of the Week
Feb. 17 – Brennan Whalen, Mars Hill
Feb. 24 – Bram Kaarsgaren, Carson-Newman
Mar. 3 – Robin Hermann, Lincoln Memorial
Mar. 10 – Dani Fernandez, Lenoir-Rhyne
Mar. 17 – Brennan Whalen, Mars Hill
Mar. 24 – Gal Elyashiv, Anderson
Mar. 31 – Bram Kaarsgaren, Carson-Newman
Apr. 7 – Bram Kaarsgaren, Carson-Newman
