VIDEO: Bram Kaarsgaren Interview
VIDEO: Thaylan Silva Interview
VIDEO: Stephen Lyons Interview
ROCK HILL, S.C. - The Carson-Newman men's soccer team took home quite the haul in SAC postseason awards, with Bram Kaarsgaren being named Defensive Player of the Year, Thaylan Silva being named Offensive Player of the Year, and coach Stephen Lyons earning Coach of the Year honors on Tuesday, Nov. 9.
Eight Eagles were named to the SAC All-Conference teams, with Silva, Kaarsgaren and Gabe Martin earning First-Team All-Conference Honors. Harry Whitehead, Greg Evans, Yannick Kranz and Eric Schmutzer earned Second-Team All-Conference accolades. Nic Carsh was voted Third-Team All-Conference for the Eagles. It is the third straight season that Carson-Newman have placed at least seven players on the All-Conference teams.
Carson-Newman is the first school to win three of the four postseason awards since Lenoir-Rhyne did so in 2018. The Bears won the Coach of the Year award and the Defensive and Freshman Player of the Year awards.
Stephen Lyons earns his second career SAC Coach of the Year honors. Lyons previously won the award in 2019 after leading the Eagles to their tenth SAC regular season championship.
"It's a great acknowledgement," says Lyons. "I'd like to share it with my all of my staff. To be recognized in a very strong conference means a lot. All of the guys that earned awards today deserved it."
During the 2021 season, the Eagles rallied after an 0-2 start to win seven straight matches, including three straight shutouts, to climb towards the top of the SAC table. After a loss to Anderson, Carson-Newman won four straight matches, including an upset of eleventh-ranked Limestone to claim their second straight SAC regular season championship and third straight number one overall seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament.
"We had to refocus on what we did in training," says Lyons. "Against Shorter we played well but couldn't finish the match. We got some good performances and the guys can be proud of what they achieved."
Good morning from the 1⃣1⃣ time Conference Champs @CNmenssoccer pic.twitter.com/8JSvZ2LTUa
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 31, 2021
Since arriving at Mossy Creek before the 2017 season, Lyons has revitalized the Eagle program, recording a record of 46-22-10 over the past five seasons. Lyons has helped turn McCown Field into one of the toughest places to play in all of Division II men's soccer, with a 24-10-2 record on the banks of Mossy Creek. Under Lyons, the Eagles have not lost more than two matches a season at McCown Field.
The Eagles have also recorded ten-win seasons in two of the last three years under Lyons, the first time the Eagles have done so since recording two ten-win seasons from 2013-2015 under Richard Moodie.
Kaarsgaren earns Defensive Player of the Year honors after a stellar year in net for the Eagles. The senior from The Netherlands lead the conference in save percentage, recording 54 saves in the regular season at a clip of .782, a mark that ranks 34th in all of Division II.
"It is a great honor," says Kaarsgaren. "I knew I was close last year and to finally get it is a great award. I get the recognition but a lot of the credit needs to go to my teammates and defenders who forced pressure on other teams and they were a big help this season."
Kaarsgaren moved up the Carson-Newman record books this season. He became just the fourth goalkeeper in program history to start 40 career matches in net. His goal against average of 1.10 is eighth best in a single season in Carson-Newman history. Kaarsgaren recorded four shutouts this season, giving him 15.1 for his career on the banks of Mossy Creek.
Earning two defensive player of the week awards from the SAC, Kaarsgaren earned his seventh career SAC player of the week honor, the most in program history. Kaarsgaren became the first goalkeeper in SAC history to earn multiple weekly awards in one season in 2019. Since then, he has earned at least two weekly awards in every season since his first year in Mossy Creek. During the 2021 spring season, Kaarsgaren became the second player in SAC history to earn three weekly awards in one season.
Kaarsgaren's efforts were instrumental in leading the team to their eleventh conference regular season championship. The senior recorded six saves against a powerful Limestone offense on Oct. 30 to shutout the nationally ranked Saints for the second time this season, including a save on a late penalty kick in the 77th minute.
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— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 31, 2021
Clean sheet intact! PK thwarted!
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⚜️ @LimestoneSaints 0
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"That was an incredible moment," says Kaarsgaren. "To come up with a big save in a big game with a great atmosphere was so great. To win against Limestone and the conference championship win was huge."
This is Kaarsgaren's first career Defensive Player of the Year honors. Kaarsgaren is the second Carson-Newman player in the last three season to earn the award. In 2019 Kensho Yoshikoshi earned the honor for the Eagles. It is the third straight season that Kaarsgaren has been named to the All-Conference first-team.
Thaylan Silva earns SAC Offensive Player of the Year honors after consistantly stuffing the stat sheet during his senior season. Silva lead the team in goals, points, shots on goal and game-winners during the 2021 season.
Silva recorded 11 goals during the 2021 season, fifth most in the SAC and 23rd most in Division II this season. In a span from Oct. 13-23, Silva recorded three-straight braces, the first Eagle to do so since 1994, finding the back of the net twice in matches against LMU, Newberry and Coker. During the match against Newberry, Silva became the program's all-time leader in penalty kicks made, connecting on his sixth of his career and third of the season in the win over the Wolves.
Penalty King ��
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 18, 2021
Thaylan Silva has been a trusty pick from the penalty spot in his @CNmenssoccer career. pic.twitter.com/SR5E94ib2k
"After the Anderson game we needed to bounce back," says Silva. "All of those games were important so we stepped it up on offense and needed to do so to stay on path for conference."
Consistantly peppering the box, Silva recorded 51 shots this season with 26 of those on goal. With 160 career shot attempts and 66 career shots on goal, Silva ranks 10th and eighth in program history in both of those categories.
Silva did not only score for the Eagles, but set up others to score for Carson-Newman, recording four assists this season. His 19 career assists are tied with Robert Hill for fourth most in program history.
"To be honest, it's easy to run an offense when you have so many good players around you," says Silva. "From Nic, Harry, Ben Stein, Tim, Yannick, all those guys just make it easier and they get in a position to score and helped set me up to score as well."
Silva was also a steady presence for the Eagles on the pitch, logging 1300 minutes played and starting in all 16 matches this season. He also logged 90 minutes in five matches this season, inlcuding 99 minutes in the Eagles' overtime matches against Coker and Anderson. Silva has played 4306 minutes in his career at Carson-Newman, seventh most all-time.
Silva came up clutch several times for the Eagles, recording four game-winning goals during the 2021 season, the most in the SAC and 16th most in the nation.
The awards poured in for Silva during the season as he was the only player in the SAC this year to earn back-to-back conference player of the week honors. Silva was voted the SAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 16 and Oct. 23 this season in a run where the senior from Brazil scored six goals in three matches.
History was made during Silva's senior season when he was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week on Oct. 18, the first men's soccer player from Carson-Newman to earn the honor and the first soccer player at Carson-Newman to be named National Player of the Week since Lauren Wade earned the accolade for the women's team in 2017.
"This year was a great year," says Silva. "While the season didn't end the way we wanted it to, everyone was on the same paage and that got us through the tough matchups and we won the regular season. The boys will be back even stronger next season and will win even more next year."
This is the third straight year that Silva has been named all-conference and second straight year he has earned SAC First-Team honors.
"Both Thay and Bram were brilliant," says Lyons. "Thay probably had the best performance of his career this year. Bram is just a presence and made several big saves when we needed it. They are all a great example of what us as a team are about."
Gabe Martin rounds out the First-Team accolades for the Eagles, earning his first career All-Conference honors. The senior from Corryton, Tenn. was a defensive nightmare for his opponents during the 2021 season, helping the Eagles record five shutouts this season. Martin was also an offensive force for the Eagles, recording two assists and scoring his first career goal on senior day against Coker.
Hey, heads-up, @gabe_martin1 scored the first goal of his @CNmenssoccer career yesterday.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 24, 2021
(and on senior day, no less��) pic.twitter.com/lqAbyQZoFq
Greg Evans leads the Eagles on Second-Team All-Conference. Evans became the all-time leader in minutes played this season, surpassing Sindre Welo on Oct. 23 for the most minutes played all-time in program history with 6014 minutes played. Evans has now logged 6304 minutes played in the Orange and Blue.
68 starts.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 25, 2021
73 appearances.
Most minutes played in @CNmenssoccer history.
The captain, @gregevans07, has done it. pic.twitter.com/dAM5d3SPgG
This is Evans third All-Conference honor of his career, all three being second-team honors. It is also Evans' first back-to-back honors of his career after earning second-team honors following the 2021 spring season.
Harry Whitehead earned second-team All-Conference honors for the second straight season and for the second time of his career. The junior from Oxford, England was an offensive dynamo for the Eagles this season, logging 54 shots in fourteen matches. That tally ranks third in the conference and 35th in all of Division II. A total of 23 shots were on goal, eighth most in the conference, with Whitehead finding the back of the net six times this season. His 15 points were second-most on the team and twelfth in the conference.
nifty @niccarsh77 touch
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) October 6, 2021
⬇️@H4rryWh1teh3ad net-mover
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Yannick Kranz was a solid distributor for the Eagles this season. The senior from Hannover, Germany logged six assists this season, the most on the team and fourth most in the conference.
Kranz also found the back of the net twice this season, including the game-winner against rival Tusculum in the 16th minute. Kranz also scored the quickest goal of the season for the Eagles, needing just 38 seconds to score the opening goal for Carson-Newman in the Eagles 2-1 win over Mars Hill on Sept. 15.
This is the first conference honor of Kranz's career.
Yannick Kranz wastes no time and it's 1-0 Eagles.
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 15, 2021
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Eric Schmutzer wraps up the second-team honors for the Eagles, earning them in his first year in Mossy Creek. The junior from Austria was a strong force for the Eagles defense all season. Schmutzer found the back of the net once for the Eagles, scoring the game-winner for Carson-Newman against Newberry in the lads 3-1 win in the Palmetto state.
Nic Carsh is the lone Eagle on the SAC third-team. It's Carsh's third straight year earning All-Conference honors after being named to the second-team in 2019 and the 2021 spring season.
Carsh recorded four assists this season, 13th most in the SAC and second most on the team. Carsh found the back of the net twice this season for the Eagles, including the game-winner against Catawba on a laser from outside the box, the second longest goal by distance scored by the Eagles this season.
What a screamer by @niccarsh77 off the beauty of a pass by Yannick Kranz! Eagles double their lead
— Carson-Newman Athletics (@CN_Eagles) September 25, 2021
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The eight selections for Carson-Newman are the most by a SAC team this year on all three teams. Limestone was second with seven selections while Lenoir-Rhyne had five.
"You have to have good players to win this conference," says Lyons. "I'm very happy with Gabe because he had to wait a few years to even play when he got here. For him to be named First-Team is excellent. All of our guys deserved it"
To keep up to date with the Carson-Newman men's soccer team, check out all the action at cneagles.com or follow on social media on Twitter at @cn_eagles
