Carsh and Kaarsgaren sweep SAC weekly honors
October 15, 2019

Carsh and Kaarsgaren sweep SAC weekly honors

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the first time since the South Atlantic Conference began naming weekly Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, Carson-Newman has swept the accolades with Nic Carsh and Bram Kaarsgaren receiving the latest laurels, as announced on Tuesday.

 

 

 

VIDEO: Nic Carsh and Bram Kaarsgaren Interview

ROCK HILL, S.C. – For the first time since the South Atlantic Conference began naming weekly Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, Carson-Newman has swept the accolades with Nic Carsh and Bram Kaarsgaren receiving the latest laurels, as announced on Tuesday.

This marks Carsh's first Player of the Week accolade while Kaarsgaren has now won the honor twice.

Carsh played a role in both of the game-winning goals for Carson-Newman's pair of wins this week. The Newberg, Ore. native tallied the assist on Collin Hensel's (Spring Hill, Tenn.) goal in the 90th minute to lift C-N above Alabama Huntsville, 2-1, on Oct. 8. Carsh sent a shot toward the net that connected with the chest of UAH's netminder Drew Kelly. Standing within reach, Hensel picked up the save with a quick flick past Kelly for the first game-winning goal of his career.

"It feels really good [to get this first award]," Carsh said. "I feel like a lot of it came from my team, my teammates and my coach so I'd really like to put the honor toward them for that."

On Saturday, the sophomore scored a golden goal in double-overtime to upset No. 15 Coker, 1-0. His goal came on his lone shot in the match, picking up his third goal of the season. A header from Hensel was flicked into Carsh's path, allowing the sophomore to get a look at the goal. His shot deflected off the keeper and made its way to the back of the net.

While Carsh's goal came up clutch for the Eagles in getting their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2017, it was the defensive unit that picked up the crucial clean sheet. Kaarsgaren now holds 2.1 shutouts in his debut season with the Eagles.

In Saturday's win, the Den Bosch, The Netherlands native needed just five saves, four of those coming in the second half alone. The defensive unit tacked on pressure in overtime to stymie the Cobra's shooting chances, allowing no shots throughout the entirety of overtime.

"It was really important for us," Kaarsgaren said. "We were really hungry for a shutout. We were really close against Queens and were a little bit unlucky. This was our first shutout in a few games. It feels really good, and we're hungry for more shutouts this season."

The victory moved the junior to 7-2-1 on the season. His seventh win places him into a four-way tie for ninth on the program's career wins list.

The Players of the Week along with the rest of the Eagles continue their road stint on Wednesday with a midweek meeting at Mars Hill. That match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. with a live stream from the staff at Mars Hill with live stats provided. Fans can also follow live tweets from @CNathletics on Twitter during the match.