KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Four Southern Conference student-athletes earned spots on the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-South Region teams, the organization announced this week.
UNCG forward Jacques Francois was a first-team selection, while Furman goalkeeper Sven Lissek and Wofford defender Connor Davis were second-team picks and Mercer defender Ian Antley landed on the third team.
The South Region includes student-athletes from the Southern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference and Big South Conference. Francois is now eligible for All-America honors, which will be announced Friday.
UNCG’s Francois becomes the first Spartan to earn all-region honors since Hakan Ilhan earned third-team accolades in 2011 and is the first Spartan to be named to first-team all-region since Scott Jones in 2006.
Francois was named the SoCon Player of the Year and first-team All-SoCon after his impressive senior campaign. He led the league and ranked 17th in NCAA Division I in scoring during the regular season with 26 points. He became the fifth Spartan all-time to earn league Player of the Year honors and the first since Randy Patterson won back-to-back awards in 2004 and 2005.
Francois was tied for first on the team in scoring with eight goals and led the league with 10 assists. He ranks sixth in the nation in total assists.
Furman’s Lissek posted a 0.70 goals against average and seven shutouts while helping to lead Furman to a second straight Southern Conference tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance in 2015. The senior posted shutouts of Mercer and ETSU during the SoCon Championship to garner most outstanding player honors.
In the league semifinal versus the Bears, Lissek made a key save during the penalty-kick shootout to help Furman advance to the finals. Lissek’s back-to-back shutouts, combined with his three shutouts en route to the 2014 SoCon championship, gave him five straight clean sheets versus SoCon opposition in postseason play.
The Sewau, Germany, native finished second in SoCon history with 28 career shutouts and guided Furman to three consecutive draws in NCAA tournament play, recording penalty-kick saves in each of the three contests.
Wofford’s Davis, a Roswell, Ga., native, started all 17 games he played this season, scoring three goals on six shots on goal while anchoring the Terrier defense as the center back. Two of his three goals were game-winners. He finished his Terrier career this season having totaled 49 career points (18 goals and 13 assists), tied for the second-most for a player in Wofford’s Division I era.
It is the second time in Davis’ career he has earned the distinction from the NSCAA. He also earned second-team honors his sophomore season. Davis earlier this season was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District team and first-team All-SoCon.
The Terriers finished the 2015 season at 9-7-2 (4-5-1 SoCon) after losing in the first round of the SoCon tournament to ETSU on Nov. 7.
Antley anchored a Mercer back line that recorded a league-leading eight shutouts this season. The Bears' defense also notched a 1.01 team GAA, which ranked third in the conference. Antley also registered a pair of goals and assists to total six points on the year and was named to the All-Southern Conference First Team and the all-tournament team.
In 2015, Mercer recorded an overall record of 11-6-3, while tallying a 5-3-2 mark in SoCon play. The Bears advanced to the SoCon tournament semifinal match for the second straight season.