VIDEO: Ben King Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The final installment in the three-part series highlighting each of the Carson-Newman men's soccer positions shines a light on the defenders and goalkeepers this season with Ben King.
The entire backfield this year is comprised of 16 Eagles looking for playing time, 12 at defender and four in net. Both positions are evenly split between returners and newcomers, sitting at six defenders and two keepers, respectively.
C-N's entire defensive unit allowed a conference-low 4 goals during the spring, giving it the fourth-best goals against average among all of Division II at 0.400. The group's seven clean sheets were good enough for third in the nation, as well.
"As a back unit, with the back four and the keeper, all you want is a clean sheet because if you keep a clean sheet, you can't lose the game, so that's a good starting point," King said. "Last year, we had a lot of consistency. The back five, I think, it was mostly the same back five for a lot of the games. So, clicking really helps getting good chemistry with those guys next to you."
At defenders, half of the returners logged substantial playing time in the spring campaign with King (Hertfordshire, England), Pim Janssens (Venlo, The Netherlands) and Gabe Martin (Corryton, Tenn.) starting in each of the 10 matches. The only consistent starter lost from the position heading into this season is All-South Atlantic Conference second-team pick Gordon Zebrowski who started in eight of the 10 matches.
King brings a bevy of experience back to the position this season as he heads into his senior campaign, making 29 starts in 37 appearances to date. He has tallied a pair of assists for three consecutive seasons. Both he and James Coady (Franklin, Tenn.) are the lone Eagle defenders to have at least three seasons with playing time to their names. Heading into his fifth year, Coady has made 11 starts in 22 appearances. Martin joins the pair as a returner who has been on the squad for a number of seasons, but he made his playing debut in the spring. He picked up an assist with two shot attempts, one on frame.
Janssens comes off a debut season with the team that saw him make four shot attempts with one landing on goal.
Alex DeRusha (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Zach Pope (Statesville, N.C.) also make returns to the defender slot this season, looking to gain their first minutes on the pitch.
The group welcomes six new Eagles this season, including Niels Buurman (Vienna, Austria) and Evan Czerwinski (Hendersonville, Tenn.). Buurman played 112 matches within the Austrian football Association before coming to C-N, most recently with ASK Bad Vöslau. He scored two goals in 7,934 minutes on the pitch. As for Czerwinski, he heads to C-N after being a high school career that came with District 10 AAA All-District honors in his senior year at Station Camp High School where he was on a successful Bison squad that won a pair of Division I AAA district and regional titles along with runner-up at the TSSAA state championship in 2018-19.
The pair is joined by fellow newcomers Jakob Lechner (Enzesfeld-Lindabrunn, Austria), Daniel Vennesland (Tananger, Norway), Tim Vercelli (Münster, Germany) and Eric Schmutzer (Wöllersdorf, Austria).
"They've just been pushing everyone," King said. "You know, the new guys, they're really positive, no one's being negative at all. Everyone is really good technically and everyone seems to be so far understanding their roles, you know. For me, as a right back and left back, you know, when to go forward, when to drop off, when to press, stuff like that, the new guys haven't really had to be caught up on anything. They've got right down to it. They've started really well."
In net, the Eagles have four Eagles they can call upon during the season, led by two-time All-SAC first-team goalkeeper Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands). He comes off of a spring season that saw him go 7-2-1. His collection of clean sheets moved him to the fourth-most in program history for a career with 11.1. His 0.40 goals against average set a new season-best in program history. The senior is one win away from moving into the top five for career wins, currently sitting at sixth with 16.
The only other returning netminder for C-N this season joining Kaarsgaren is Matt Meschendorf (Knoxville, Tenn.) who made his debut on the pitch in the season-opening win at Belmont Abbey, allowing no goals in his three minutes of action. They will be joined by Darrin de Meza (Hoofddorp, The Netherlands) and Levi Burdette (Seymour, Tenn.).
"The goalkeeper's one of the biggest positions on the field," King said. "We saw last year, Bram started most of the games and how many big saves he made for us at nil-nil or 1-nil. So, you know, if maybe there's an injury or if there's a bit of rotation, like I said, everyone needs to be ready, and that goes for every position, not just in goal."
Carson-Newman opens the season and the gates to McCown Field on September 2 as Lee visits Mossy Creek. Kickoff for that match is set for 5 p.m.
