Opdahl's golden goal overthrows Royals in overtime
October 2, 2021

Opdahl's golden goal overthrows Royals in overtime

CHARLOTTE – After a scoreless stalemate through regulation, Marius Opdahl netted a golden goal in the 96th minute to give Carson-Newman a 1-0 win over Queens on Saturday night at the Queens Sports Complex.

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CHARLOTTE – After a scoreless stalemate through regulation, Marius Opdahl netted a golden goal in the 96th minute to give Carson-Newman a 1-0 win over Queens on Saturday night at the Queens Sports Complex.

Opdahl's (Jevnaker, Norway) goal marked the first game-winning goal in extra time for Carson-Newman (6-2, 5-0) since Thaylan Silva (Sao Paulo, Brazil) netted one in the second overtime period at Catawba on Oct. 26, 2019. The last Eagle to net one in the first overtime period was Matheus Bachi at Anderson on Nov. 2, 2013.

"I thought tonight was a very good battle between two quality teams," Carson-Newman coach Stephen Lyons said. "I did feel we dominated for long spells and deserved the win overall. That was our best defensive performance and to get another clean sheet was brilliant. We created lots of opportunities going forward too and constantly looked a threat. We talk about it a lot, but having players come off the bench and impacting the game is huge. The players left everything out there tonight and couldn't have asked any more."

C-N has now won six consecutive matches this season, five of those in South Atlantic Conference action. Its six-match winning streak marks the second straight campaign with such a winning streak. The team has won 10 consecutive league tilts since last season while extending its unbeaten string of road matches to 11-straight, going 8-0-3 in those matches since Oct. 24, 2018.

The Eagles move their winning streak in the series with Queens (3-4-1, 2-2-1) to four straight with an 8-5-1 overall lead. It is the longest winning streak in the series for either side.

This was the first overtime period Carson-Newman has needed in a match since tying with Tusculum on Nov. 6, 2019.

Within the first 25 minutes of action, C-N forced Royals' keeper Nicolai Andersen into a trio of saves, two coming off of Harry Whitehead (Oxford, England) headers.

Queens provided a pair of chances in the first half that had strong chances of scoring, both of those being punched away and saved by Bram Kaarsgaren (Den Bosch, The Netherlands).

The Eagles faced a 0-0 score at the half for the third time this season. They dominated the shot tally in the frame, 8-5. Queens needed to make four saves in the frame compared to three from C-N.

In the 57th minute, Queens' Andre Castro sent a look into the box before a shot taken by the right post forced Kaarsgaren to make a quick-thinking save.

Neither side could make connections down the stretch, forcing the match into extra time.

Two minutes into overtime, the Eagles had a shot make it into the net but it was called offsides. That chance paved the way for Opdahl to score after a cross from Greg Evans (Wrexham, Wales). He worked by two Royal defenders, getting a shot just past the stomping boot of one that launched at Andersen's hand, sending the keeper falling back as the ball went over him and into the back of the net.

C-N led Queens 14-9 in shooting with a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. Whitehead led all players with four attempts, three on frame. Nic Carsh (Newberg, Ore.) made three attempts with one on goal.

Kaarsgaren's second consecutive clean sheet came in a four-save outing, moving to 6-2 on the year. He is now tied with Rumwald Le Guevel for the third-most career wins in program history with 22 while moving his career shutout mark to 13.1.

 Both Matheus Pereira and Felipe Mendonca led the Royals with two shot attempts, one on goal each. Andersen was called upon for five saves.

Lyons' team heads back to McCown Field on Wednesday, stepping out of conference play to host Shaw. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m.

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