VIDEO: Paul Csmarich Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – We continue previewing the Carson-Newman men's soccer team with a look at the midfielders with assistance from junior Paul Csmarich.
Six of the eight players that are in this year's midfield group return from 2023. The only senior in the room is Mitchell Honcoop (Nieuw-Vennep, Netherlands). The preseason All-SAC second-team pick was one of just three C-N players to play in all 17 games, starting 16 of them. The midfielder had two goals and one assist, with both of his goals helping seal wins versus West Alabama and Tusculum. Honcoop led C-N in minutes playing more than 1300 this past season.
Right behind Honcoop in minutes played was Paul Csmarich (Vienna, Austria), who spent just under 1300 minutes on the pitch in 16 appearances. In just his third game, the captain recorded his first career goal and first career assist during C-N's 4-1 thrashing of Young Harris on Sept 6th.
The only returning all-conference midfielder is Maxime Wester (Brussel, Belgium), who put together a superb freshman campaign. He scored his first career goal in the final seconds of the 3-0 win versus Emory & Henry on Sept 20. His second and final goal came as the finishing touches on a 3-1 comeback victory versus Tusculum on Nov 1. Both goals he scored in his freshman season were scored in the final minute of the game.
"We have a very good midfield group," Csmarich said. "It's a small group, we don't have many additions which kind of speaks to the trust that the coach has in us. It's been fun playing with those guys. Everyone has quality and everyone wants to play futbol. Every one of us has different qualities that we bring to the table. As long as we trust each other and play together, then I think we will have a good season."
The three remaining returners are juniors Cooper Cross (Knoxville, Tenn), Tim Haans (Tilburg, Netherlands) and Rhydian Williams (Llannerfydd, Conwy, Wales).
Haans appeared as a reserve in six games, including the final three games of the season. He recorded his first career assist in C-N's 3-1 senior day win versus Tusculum on Nov 1st.
Williams was another impact freshman, making most of his impact toward the final stretch of the season. He recorded his first career goal in a 2-2 tie with Catawba on Oct 14. His first career assist came two days later, in a 1-1 tie with Lee. The midfielder was efficient, with seven of his nine shots going on target in 15 games on the pitch.
Despite six key returning players in the midfield, they combined to score just six goals in 2023.
"We have a lot of offensive quality in the midfield," Csmarich said. "Mitch is very creative, Rhydian has a good strike on him. Tim also has a good strike on him and is very creative with good final balls in the final third. Maxime is very aggressive in driving the ball forward to create opportunity. We need to show some more determination to be the ones to actually score as well, and not just leave it up to our front three."
Four of the six returners played in all but two games or more and saw more than 800 minutes. Only time will tell whether that cohesion is beneficial in 2024.
"Team chemistry is huge," Csmarich said. "Having that first season together is going to help us a lot. We are much closer than we were whenever came in, obviously. If your closer off the pitch, it also helps you on the pitch. It helps you understand how others want to play. I'm looking forward to a fun season because I know we trust each other and we have lots of quality in that midfield."
Lucas Trull (Johnson, City, Tenn.) is the lone newcomer in the midfield. The Science Hill product was a TSSL Division I all-state tournament team pick and a three-time All-American series Golden Ball winner.
Carson-Newman's position previews conclude on Friday, August 30th with a look at the defenders and goalkeepers with assistance from graduate student Federico Simonetti (Crema, Italy).
