2021 D2CCA Southeast All-Region Team
MURFREESBORO, N.C. - A trio of Carson-Newman men's soccer players earned D2CCA All-Region honors for their play this season on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
Thaylan Silva led the way with first-team All-Region laurels, while teammates Bram Kaarsgaren and Gabe Martin all earned second-team All-Region nods. It is the first career honor for all three players and the fifth straight year the Eagles have placed at least one member of the convocation on the D2CCA All-Region team. There was no team selected during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bram Kaarsgaren earns second-team honors after 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.
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.
Kaarsgaren was named SAC Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career and earned First-Team All-SAC honors from the conference for the third straight season.
Gabe Martin built off of a strong season in his final year in Mossy Creek, earning his first career All-Conference honors and being named First-Team All-SAC. 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.
Thaylan Silva continues to add to his trophy case following a stellar 2021 fall campaign. The grad student becomes the second-straight Eagle to earn first-team All-Region laurels as Kensho Yoshikoshi earned the honors following the 2019-20 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.
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.
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.
Silva earned 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. This is the third straight year that Silva has been named all-conference and second straight year he has earned SAC First-Team honors.
Last week, Silva earned honors for his work in the classroom, being named CoSIDA Academic All-District for the second straight year. With a 3.75 GPA, the four-time Eagle Scholar graduated with a degree in Communications in December 2020. Silva is currently pursuing an MBA and holds a grad school GPA of 3.80.
The Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All Southeast Region honors are selected from players nominated by SIDs at schools in the South Atlantic, Peach Belt and Conference Carolinas. A total of 10 players from the SAC were named All-Region this season. Yesin van der Pluijim of Young Harris was voted Southeast Region Player of the Year.
The first-team All-Region selections will move on to the All-American round of voting. The D2CCA All-American teams will be announced later this year.
