VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Riding a four-match winning streak with a 10-0 scoring advantage in that span, Carson-Newman heads to Mars Hill on Thursday night to close out the regular season at Meares Stadium.
The South Atlantic Conference Pod 3 crown rests in this matchup between the group's two leading sides. Carson-Newman (5-1-1, 4-1 SAC) jumped into the top spot over Mars Hill (3-1-2, 3-1-1 SAC) after Monday's win over Tusculum. The Eagles lead the group with 12 points while the Lions sit just behind with 10. A win or tie would give C-N an automatic spot in the SAC Tournament based with the top team in each pod gaining a one, two or three-seed.
The Eagles went the entire month of March without allowing a goal. In terms of gameplay, the group has gone 422:14 without an opposition goal. This four-game stretch of winning clean sheets is the longest since C-N won seven-straight shutouts in 2017. Additionally, a win on Thursday would extend the team's unbeaten streak in league road games to nine-straight, currently at 5-0-3 since the 2018 season.
"The guys have been doing well and it's been a squad effort," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "I know we mentioned the other day that we've got guys coming off the bench that have been able to impact the game. Obviously, defensively, being solid. Bram (Kaarsgaren) has been doing great, but, again, it's kind of a back-to-front effort, or front-to-back, even. The way that we press and the intensity the guys have been bringing to the games and buying into what we've been asking, I think they've been getting some of the results they deserve."
Led by SAC Defensive Player of the Week Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands), the C-N backfield holds the fewest goals allowed in the league this season with two, tied for the 12th-fewest in the nation. Their five shutouts are also the most in the SAC and tied for sixth in the nation. Kaarsgaren leads the conference with a .287 goals against average, good enough for fifth in all of Division II, and .895 saving clip.
With four @SAC_Athletics Player of the Week plaudits in his career, @bramkaarsgaren holds the most weekly honors from the league for a goalkeeper in @CNmenssoccer history.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CNathletics) March 31, 2021
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While the defense has been powerful as a whole, the Orange and Blue offensive has been a force to be reckoned with throughout a large majority of the season. It leads the league with 14 goals, 16 assists, 58 corner kicks, 117 shots with 51 landing on goal. The unit is tied for third in the nation for corner kicks while being tied for seventh for assists.
Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) and Theo Hardenby Öhrwall (Stockholm, Sweden) lead C-N with three goals each, tying them for fourth in the conference. The Eagles occupy all three of the top spots in the SAC standings. Whitehead leads everyone with 28 shot attempts, landing him in a tie for the eighth-most in the nation, while Thaylan Silva (São Paulo, Brazil) and Öhrwall trail with 20 and 19, respectively. Whitehead's 15 shots on frame are the most in the league and are tied for sixth nationally.
Much like C-N, Mars Hill enters the contest on an unbeaten streak of its own, going 2-0-1 since falling to Carson-Newman on March 4 at McCown Field. It swept meetings with Lincoln Memorial and drew with Tusculum. Head coach Gregg Munn's group has been solid at home throughout the year with a 2-0-2 record, outscoring its opponents 7-3.
"It's going to be a tough game," Lyons said. "Greg has done a great job. They've had some great results. Mars Hill is always a tough place to go. I think the weather is going to drop temperature-wise tomorrow night so conditions are going to be a little bit different, but we've just got to adapt and go out there with our gameplan and bring the intensity that we've asked from the guys all year long. Hopefully, defensively, we can do a good job, keep a clean sheet and put the shots away."
Senior forward Sebastian Bertilsson leads the group with five goals and 12 points this season. Each match he has netted a goal in has resulted in a Mars Hill victory. His goals are enough for second-most in the league while tying for the top spot for points with Felipe Mendonca for points. His two game-winning goals are also tied for the most in the SAC, placing him at 11th in the nation.
Bertilsson and Fabio Berrer have led the Lions with 13 shot attempts each. Nine of those have landed on frame for Bertilsson while Berrer has landed a trio.
Goalkeeper Brennan Whalen has been the go-to choice in net for the Lions this season with a 3-1-2 record. He has two shutouts on the year with six goals allowed on a .786 saving clip. The two-time SAC Defensive Player of the Week is third in the conference and 15th in the nation for saves while playing the second-most minutes in the SAC at 580.
C-N leads the overall series 21-10-5, going without a loss in each of the last four meetings and winning both of the previous two by a 3-0 margin. Overall, the Eagles have dominated the series as the visiting side, holding a 12-3-2 record at Mars Hill with a 31-20 scoring advantage. The last time they faced a loss at Mars Hill was on Oct. 19, 2001, falling 1-0 in overtime. Since then, the Eagles have gone 8-0-2.
Kickoff from the Ammons Family Athletic Center and Meares Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. A live video stream of the match will be provided by Mars Hill and can be accessed by clicking here with real-time updates being sent out via @CNathletics on Twitter.
