JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Winners of back-to-back South Atlantic Conference matches, Carson-Newman returns to McCown Field after a week away from action as it welcomes Coker for a senior day contest at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
Carson-Newman (9-3, 7-1) will honor seven seniors during halftime of the women's match that is set to start at noon, those Eagles being Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) Greg Evans (Wrexham, Wales), Pim Jannsens (Venlo, The Netherlands), James Coady (Franklin, Tenn.), Emmanuel Olaluyi (Manchester, England), Gabe Martin (Corryton, Tenn.) and Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands). All told, the group has combined for 199 starts in 245 appearances on the pitch with 22 goals, 24 assists and 132 saves.
Saturday brings a chance for three of the seniors to make even more moves in the program record book, most notably the opportunity for Evans to take over the lead for the most minutes played in team history. He currently holds 5,924 minutes on the pitch, leaving him 83 minutes away from bypassing Sindre Welo at the top of the list with 6,006 minutes from 2012 to 2015.
After taking over the program's career penalty kicks attempted and made lists at Newberry last Saturday, Silva is one game-winner away from moving into a tie for seventh-most and one assist away from a tie at fourth-most. He has tallied a brace in the past two matches, helping him to earn Player of the Week nods from both the conference and the United Soccer Coaches.
SAC POTW ➡️ National POTW
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 20, 2021
Thaylan Silva's eight-point week leads him to @CNmenssoccer's first-ever National Player of the Week laurel from the @UnitedCoaches.
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In net, Kaarsgaren is one start away from moving into a tie for fourth-most goalkeeper starts with Tyler Baldock who started in 38 from 2003 to 2006.
The Eagles, currently tied for the top spot on the league table with No. 11 Limestone, are looking to get their first win inside the friendly confines of McCown Field since Anderson snapped a five-match home winning streak on October 9. Since then, they have won back-to-back road matches by a 7-1 margin. This season, the group is 5-2 on the home pitch, 3-1 against SAC teams, outscoring opponents 16-9.
C-N trails the overall series with Coker (10-3-1, 5-3) that started in 1990 but was not picked back up again until 2013, sitting at 4-5 all-time, winning two of the last five meetings.
The Eagles are 1-3 when hosting the Cobras. The lone win came on Sept. 22, 2018 with Tobias Solem Karlsen netting a hat trick in the 4-1 win. That victory marks the only one for the Eagles that hasn't come in shutout fashion.
The last time these two sides went to battle was in the 2019 SAC Quarterfinals when top-seeded C-N fell to eighth-seeded Coker 5-1 at McCown Field. No team has scored more goals on the Eagles since that day. Coker held a 1-0 lead at the halftime break thanks to a look from Christian Provenzano. The Cobras added on two more goals before C-N made its way on the board with a goal from Karlsen in the 64th minute, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Coker scored twice in the final 10 minutes to put the match away including a dagger from Adam Kennedy as time expired.
Coker gets back into conference action after drawing with Shaw on Wednesday, 1-1. Against the league this season, third-year coach Michael Antoniewicz's group is 5-3, winning three of the last five including an upset of then-No. 9 Limestone on October 16, 3-2. The team is currently fifth in the SAC standings after being voted to finish at 10th in the preseason poll.
Road matches have been kind to the Cobras this season, going 6-1 away from Hartsville, S.C. with a 16-10 scoring advantage. Their only loss was a 2-1 result at Catawba on October 2.
The Cobras lead the SAC with 18.64 shots per game, also good enough for second nationally, 7.93 shots on goal per game and are tied with Limestone for the most total goals scored at 31. They also lead the league when it comes to bookings with 37 yellow cards and four red cards shown, placing them nationally at sixth and second, respectively.
Coker has attempted double-digit shots in four of its last five outings, being held to just four attempts in the win over Limestone when it was outshot 10-4. In the last five contests, the unit has outshot opponents 93-47.
Jacques Fokam-Sandeu has been an offensive powerhouse for the Cobras, scoring 26 points on 11 goals and four assists. He has netted a goal in each of the last three matches with a pair of two-goal matches earlier in the season and five goals against SAC opponents. His is third in the conference for both total goals and points, good enough for 12th and 11th in the nation, respectively.
Jasper Rump has been the keeper of record in all 14 matches for the Cobras this season, playing in a league-high 1277:29 minutes on the year that place him at ninth nationally. His four shutouts are second in the league, two of those coming in SAC contests. He saves at a .719 clip with 18 goals allowed on 46 saves.
Bastiaan Jager was voted the SAC Defensive Player this past week after anchoring the Cobra defense in back-to-back wins over Wingate and Limestone. He netted the game-winner over the Saints.
Saturday's afternoon tussle between the Eagles and Cobras can be enjoyed globally thanks to the Eagle Sports Network by visiting cneagles.com/live with up-to-the-minute tweets coming from @CN_Eagles on Twitter.
