ROCK HILL, S.C. - Thaylan Silva earned SAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second week in a row on Tuesday, Oct. 26.
This is Sliva's second straight SAC Offensive Player of the Week honor this season and the second of his career. It is the third time an Eagle has been named a SAC men's soccer player of the week this season.
"This individual honor is great," says Silva. "However, I could not have done it without my teammates. Everything we have done this season has been a collective effort and now we have two big games to finish the regular season strong. My teammates have been amazing this season from back to front and I am just happy to help them when the opportunities come."
Silva earns the nod this week after scoring two goals in the Eagles 3-1 victory over conference foe Coker on Saturday, Oct. 23. The senior from Sao Paulo, Brazil gave the Eagles the lead in their matchup with the Cobras in the 51st minute, thanks to an assist from Harry Whitehead to put C-N up 2-1 early in the second frame.
Silva's game-winning goal against the Cobras gives him four this season, moving him into a tie for eighth most in a season in program history. The goal was also Silva's seventh career game-winning goal, moving him into a tie for seventh most in school history and breaking a tie for 10th with Brian Stayton.
In the 78th minute, Silva cemented a third straight brace with help from the first goal-scorer of the day and fellow senior Gabe Martin, who sent a long clearance from beyond the midfield line that found a wide-open Silva near the top of the 18-yard box. The senior went one-on-one with Coker keeper Jasper Rump nearly 10 yards out from the net, sending a look soaring through the pipes for a 3-1 lead.
Three straight matches with a brace?
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 23, 2021
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Silva becomes the first Carson-Newman men's soccer player to record three straight braces since 1994. Last week, Silva scored the first two goals of the match in a 4-0 victory over Lincoln Memorial. The offensive onslaught continued from Silva in the Palmetto State on Oct. 16, where Silva scored a pair of goals to give Carson-Newman the 3-1 win over Newberry.
During the match, Silva cemented himself as the Eagle penalty king, connecting on his third attempt of the season and the sixth of his career, making him a perfect six-for-six in his career on penalty kicks. Silva now owns sole possession of the most penalty kicks made and attempted in Carson-Newman history.
Silva becomes the first SAC men's soccer player and first Carson-Newman player to earn back-to-back player of the week awards since Bram Kaarsgaren earned back-to-back defensive honors in the Spring 2021 season, winning the award on Mar. 31 and Apr. 7.
This week, Silva joins Limestone's Johan Hipper as the only two SAC men's soccer players to earn weekly honors from the conference twice in the same season. Hipper earned his first defensive player of the week honor on Sept. 21.
The honors have been pouring in for Silva over the past two weeks, as he became the first Carson-Newman men's soccer player to ever be named United Soccer Coaches National DII Player of the Week on Oct. 20. Silva became the third SAC player to be honored with the award this season. He is also only the second Eagle across both soccer teams to earn the national honor, as Lauren Wade won the women's award in 2017.
"I'm honored to be named back-to-back player of the week for the conference but it really is a reflection of how we've done as a team this year," says Silva. "We need to keep our mentality for the next few games and the tournament coming up."
Silva leads the Eagles in goals this season with 11, good enough for fourth in the SAC and 16th in all of Division II. His four game-winners are tied with Alexandre Cox-Ashwood of Anderson for most in the SAC and eighth in all of Division II. The 25 points by Silva lead the team and rank him fifth in the conference and 18th in Division II.
In his career, Silva has scored 22 goals with 18 assists, landing 66 of his 155 career shots on frame.
The Eagles will have an opportunity to win their second straight SAC regular season championship and their third straight number one overall seed in the SAC Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 30, in the home regular season finale against second-place Limestone. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM to close out homecoming festivites at Carson-Newman at McCown Field. Those who cannot make the game can enjoy the live Eagle Sports Network broadcast for free at cneagles.com/live.
