Skoda named AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Carson-Newman senior Nick Skoda's (Knoxville, Tenn.) four goals over the course of the last six days garnered the forward AstroTurf South Player of the Week Award, announced by the league Monday morning.
Skoda's award is the first for an Eagle since Oct. 29th, 2013 when All-American Ross Frame garnered his third award of the 2013 season; it is the senior's first SAC Player of the Week award of his career.
He has four goals in the 2015 and now has scored eight careers in his career.
"It's nice. It's my first time getting it, so it's nice to get a little recognition for what I'm doing for my team," Skoda said. "It's a recognition of me, but it brings attention to my team as a whole as well."
Skoda recorded the program's first hat trick since 2013 when he scored three goals against Belmont Abbey. He started the scoring in the second minute with a shot that resulted from a cross to beat the Crusaders' goalkeeper. His second goal resulted from save on a corner from C-N goalkeeper Kavi Luchowa (London, England) that Skoda took the length of the field early in the second half. The Knoxville-native capped off his hat trick in the 60th-minute with one-versus-one situation with the Abbey keeper.
"(The second goal) came when they had a set piece. Kavi had an unbelievable save; I kind of thought Belmont Abbey had scored and I was about to kind of hang my head. Then I see Kavi makes an unbelievable save and it pops out at the top of the box and I pick it up and go 80 yards, somewhat uncontested, and finish," Skoda said. "That game was really good for us because there was an injury kind of early in the first half and we had to make adjustments. Every adjustment we made we adapted well and played really well as a team. It was a really positive game for us."
Skoda scored the Eagles' lone Saturday night against the South Carolina Aiken Pacers with a tally in the 30th-minute. Senior Lucas Siqueira (Sao Paulo, Brazil) sent a cross into the back of the box that was headed back into center of box and left Skoda alone at the penalty spot for a clinical finish.
"It was something you work on in the training ground. It was a cross in at the back post; Marius was there to just head it down at the center of the box. You couldn't have put it in a more perfect of position and I just peeled off at the penalty spot and it became a simple finish for me. Lucas and Marius had to do most of the work and I kind of popped up at the right place at the right time," Skoda said.
Skoda and the Eagles open SAC play on Wednesday evening as they host the Lenior-Rhyne Bears at 7:30 p.m. on McCown Field.
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