Furman Soccer Places Four On NSCAA All-South Region Squads
Greenville, S.C. -- Four Furman men’s soccer players were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s All-South Region teams, it was announced on Friday morning. Jon Leathers, Shea Salinas and Patrick Murray garnered first team NSCAA All-South Region accolades while goalkeeper Bryan Amos was named to the third team.
It marked the first time four Paladins had been selected All-South Region since 2002 and the first time since 1999 that three Furman standouts earned first team honors.
A defender, Leathers garnered Southern Conference Player-of-the-Year honors for the second straight year and was named to the All-SoCon first team for the third straight season.. The Athens, Ga., native also earned College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer All-America honors this month. The selection marked Leathers’ third NSCAA All-South Region citation and second appearance on the first team.
Salinas, a two-time first team All-SoCon pick, garnered NSCAA All-South Region honors as a junior in 2006. The midfielder from Grapevine, Texas, tallied five goals and added nine assists as a senior and joined Leathers among the 54 players invited to attend the 2008 adidas MLS Player Combine next month.
A first team All-SoCon pick, Murray tallied two goals and ranked among the nation’s leaders with 13 assists this season. The midfielder started in all 23 matches for the Paladins.
Amos led the SoCon and established a new league record by posting a 0.58 goals against average. The senior notched 10 shutouts to move into third on the Paladins single season and career shutouts ledgers. The second team All-SoCon honoree was named as the SoCon Tournament’s most outstanding player.
First Team
Pos. Name Year School Hometown
K Brian Edwards Sr. Wake Forest Charlotte, N.C.
D Jon Leathers Sr. Furman Athens, Ga.
D Pat Phelan Sr. Wake Forest Enfield, Conn.
D Andre Sherard Sr. North Carolina Greenville, N.C.
M Sam Cronin Jr. Wake Forest Winston-Salem, N.C.
M Patrick Murray Jr. Furman Peachtree City, Ga.
M Shea Salinas Sr. Furman Grapevine, Texas
M Michael Videira Sr. Duke Milford, Mass.
F Cody Arnoux So. Wake Forest Wilmington, N.C.
F Mike Grella Jr. Duke Glen Cove, N.Y.
F Kareem Yearwood So. College of Charleston Sou Sou Lands, Tobago
Second Team
Pos. Name Year School Hometown
K Corbin Waller Sr. College of Charleston High Point, N.C.
D Tim Jepson Sr. Duke Yorba Linda, Calif.
D Steven Kinney So. Elon Norcross, Ga.
D Wes Knight Jr. College of Charleston Easley, S.C.
M Jokul Elisabetarson Jr. North Carolina-Greensboro Reykjavik, Iceland
M Richard Jata Jr. Campbell Port Richey, Fla.
M Jeff Scannella So. South Carolina Alpharetta, Ga.
M Justin Wyatt So. Elon Raleigh, N.C.
F Anton Axelsson Sr. Jacksonville Vaxjo, Sweden
F Thomas Campbell Jr. North Carolina-Greensboro Middletown, N.J.
F Juan Guerra So. Florida International Caracas, Venezuela
Third Team
Pos. Name Year School Hometown
K Bryan Amos Sr. Furman Plano, Texas
D Greg Eckhardt So. Clemson Orange Park, Fla.
D Tyler Ruthven So. South Carolina Alpharetta, Ga.
D David Worthen So. North Carolina-Greensboro Morehead City, N.C.
M Justin Fojo Fr. College of Charleston Lake Mary, Fla.
M Joe Germanese Sr. Duke St. Louis, Mo.
M Jeff Scannella So. South Carolina Alpharetta, Ga.
F Richard Godfrey Sr. Gardner-Webb Montego Bay, Jamaica
F Juan Guerra So. Florida International Caracas, Venezuela
F Ryan Roushandel Jr. Central Florida Atlanta, Ga.
F Sean Sassano Sr. Appalachian State Gastonia, N.C.
Elon’s Kinney, Wyatt, Paschall Grab Honors
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Elon University sophomores Steven Kinney (Norcross, Ga.) and Justin Wyatt (Raleigh, N.C.) were honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with Second Team All-South distinction. Kinney and Wyatt as well as senior Brett Paschall (Summerfield, N.C.) also earned All-State honors from the North Carolina Sports Information Association (NCCSIA).
Kinney and Wyatt were two of 14 Southern Conference players represented on the three teams which is four more players than the Atlantic Coast Conference landed. Furman, College of Charleston, UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State were the other SoCon schools represented. Elon's three players on the All-State squad was the second-highest total of any program represented.
Kinney was a First Team All-Southern Conference pick as a defender this year. Kinney scored his only goal of the season in Elon's 4-1 victory over High Point. Even larger for the team was his performance on the back line. He helped the Phoenix put together a school-record string of four consecutive shutouts during the 2007 campaign.
Wyatt was also a First Team All-Southern Conference selection as a midfiedler in 2007. He led the team with nine goals and 21 points. Wyatt netted three game-winners during his sophomore season - vs. Mount St. Mary's, vs. Davidson and at Wofford. He scored Elon's only goal in 1-1 ties at then-#1 Wake Forest (the eventual national champion) and Clemson.
Paschall was a First Team All-Southern Conference pick as a forward this season after leading the Phoenix with six assists and was second on the team with 20 points. He also added seven goals, the second-highest total on the squad. Two of Paschall's assists came on Elon's lone goals in ties with then-#1 Wake Forest (the eventual national champion) and North Carolina.
The Elon Phoenix men’s soccer program posted a successful 2007 campaign, finishing the year with an 8-7-4 overall record and a 4-3-0 mark in SoCon play. It was the second consecutive winning season for the Phoenix. Darren Powell’s squad finished in a tie for third in the SoCon and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals for the second time in three years. Elon ended the regular season with a ninth-place ranking in the South Region.
UNCG’s Elisabetarson, Worthen and Campbell earn all-region honors
CARY, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro placed three players on the NSCAA’s All-South Region team when awards were handed out this past weekend during festivities at the 2007 Men’s College Cup. Jokull Elisabetarson and Thomas Campbell each earned second-team honors, while David Worthen earned third-team accolades.
Campbell and Elisabetarson were also named to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association’s all-state team on Monday.
Campbell, a junior from Middletown, NJ, led the Spartans in scoring this season with 29 points this season on 13 goals and three assists. He recorded 24 points (11g, 2a) in conference play, including three matches of five or more points. He also scored both of UNCG’s goals in a 2-1 win over College of Charleston in the Southern Conference Tournament’s semifinal round. He earned his first all-conference award this year when he received first-team honors.
Elisabetarson, a junior from Iceland, was second on the team in scoring with 16 points. He had six goals and four assists, with four of his goals coming directly off penalty kicks and a fifth coming on a rebound. More importantly, Elisabetarson was dominant in the midfield, settling the defense and subtly jumpstarting the Spartan offense. He also earned first-team all-conference honors this season.
Worthen, a native of Morehead City, NC who will graduate from UNCG this spring with a degree in biology, earned All-Southern Conference honors four times with the Spartans. He appeared in 86 matches at UNCG, starting 85 of them. During his time at UNCG, the Spartans advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16 three times. The Spartans won two Southern Conference Tournament titles and three SoCon regular season crowns in his four seasons with an overall record of 62-23-5 during that span. Last week, Worthen was among 54 invitees to Major League Soccer’s player combine that will take place next January.
Cougar soccer players earn All-Region honors
Charleston, S.C. -- College of Charleston men’s soccer players Kareem Yearwood, Corbin Waller, Wes Knight and Justin Fojo were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas All-South Region teams, it was announced Sat., Dec. 15.
“This is a big honor for all four individuals,” said CofC Head Coach Ralph Lundy. “It’s an even bigger honor for our team to have four players recognized in such a high quality region.”
Yearwood, a sophomore forward, is the lone first-team selection. The Sou Sou Lands, Tobago, native led the team’s offense with 13 goals and three assists for 29 points. He took 48 shots with 60 percent of them on goal and owned a. 271 shot percentage. Yearwood led the Southern Conference in points, points-per-game (1.53), goals, goals-per-game (.68) and game-winning goals (6). His 48 shots tied him for third in the league.
Waller, a senior from High Point, N.C., anchored the team at goalie this season and was a second team selection. Starting in all 19 matches, he recorded 85 saves, enough for second in the conference. Waller holds third place in the league for goals-against-average (.88) and save percentage (.833), while ranking second in shutouts (9), first in shutouts-per-game (.47) and fifth in saves-per-game (4.47). His nine shutouts equal the team high set by Keith Wiggans. Waller was named the SoCon Player of the Week and men’s soccer Player of the Month for October.
Knight, a junior midfielder earned second team honors. The Easley, S.C., native recorded six assists tying him for fourth in the SoCon assists and assists-per-game (.32) rankings. Knight scored one goal for the Cougars for a total of eight points on the season.
Fojo, a freshman midfielder, was a third team selection. He took 11 shots and had one assist this season. He was an integral part of the Cougars’ midfield, helping to create plays on both sides of the field.
All four Cougars earned post-season conference honors. Yearwood and Waller were named to the All-SoCon first team, while Knight and Fojo received on the second team.