MARS HILL, N.C. – No. 17 Carson-Newman picked up its fourth shutout victory on Wednesday night with a trio of Eagles scoring goals in a 3-0 win over Mars Hill at Meares Stadium.
Carson-Newman (9-2-1, 5-1-1 South Atlantic Conference) now has its longest winning streak of the season at four-straight. It extends its streak of matches without a loss at Mars Hill (3-8-1, 0-6 SAC) to 10 matches.
"A quality performance tonight from the lads with another clean sheet and goals coming from different areas," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "Mars Hill were looking to make things difficult for us, but we stayed patient and moved the ball well. When things opened up, we took the chances very well."
The Eagles' defense provided a substantial performance in the victory, allowing just three shots total from the Lions on the night. That total matches the fewest amount of shots seen by an opponent this season set by Salem back on Sept. 10.
Through the first 45 minutes of play, Mars Hill was unable to get a shot off, marking the first time this season that a C-N opponent was held without a shot heading into the break.
Evan Harr (Bristol, Tenn.) logged his first goal of the season to open the scoring brigade on an arching shot from the middle left portion of the 18-yard box. Collin Hensel (Spring Hill, Tenn.) had a quick possession that he was able to dish over to Harr despite being tangled up with a Lion. Harr's quick reaction ended with a shot that sailed to the back-right corner of the net to put C-N up 1-0 in the 42nd minute.
The goal marked the first for the senior since Oct. 22, 2016. It also became the first game-winner of his career.
Mars Hill didn't see it first shot until the 55th minute when Joakim Lien sent one wide. All three of the Lions' shot attempts came within the 55th and 58th minutes.
A bang-bang play near the mouth of the net in the 62nd minute saw Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) push a header deep inside the box that pinged toward Tobias Solem Karlsen (Kongsvinger, Norway) before ending up with Will Sainsbury-Logan (Norwich, England). The redshirt-sophomore knocked the open ball in easily near the right post to extend the Orange and Blue lead to two.
In the 65th minute, it was Nic Carsh's (Newberg, Ore.) turn to score. Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) handed off a cross ahead to Carsh. The SAC Offensive Player of the Week sent a shot on goal before colliding with a Lion defender that went past a falling Brennan Whalen and into the back left corner of the net to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead.
Carsh has now scored a goal in back-to-back matches, the first Eagle to do so this season.
Silva's assist moves him to seven on the season, tying him for 10th on the program's single-season assist list.
Of Carson-Newman's 20 shots on the night, Silva and Carsh combined for eight attempts with four each. They each had a shot land on frame.
Lien accounted for two of Mars Hill's three shots in the match with one landing on goal. That lone shot ended up being the only save C-N's Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, Netherlands) needed in the match. He has had to make a single save in four matched this season, the last time being in the 1-1 draw with Anderson on Sept. 28.
Kaarsgaren now has three complete shutouts on the season. The SAC Defensive Player of the Week moves to 8-2-1 on the season. His eight wins push him into a tie for 10th with Twan Verweij for most wins in a single season while also moving him into seventh for career wins.
Carson-Newman gets a week-long respite before heading back on the road for a Wednesday match with Lander. The match from Greenwood, S.C. will begin at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23.
