SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman forward Jake Raine and Belmont goalkeeper Drew Romig have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Oct. 26-30. The weekly award is the final one of the season.  
 
Raine recorded six points on two goals and a pair of assists as Furman went 2-0 with wins at UNC Asheville and at VMI to conclude the regular season. Against the Bulldogs in nonconference action on Wednesday, the native of Stoke, England, knotted the score at 1 on a goal in the 72^nd minute of play before assisting on a goal by Miles Fenton in the 84^th minute that gave the Paladins the 2-1 win. Raine’s goal, which came off a rebound from a blocked shot by Fenton, was his team-leading 10^th of the season. On Saturday at VMI, the senior assisted on the first goal of the contest as Conor Dowler found the back of the net in the 16^th minute. Less than a minute later, Raine netted his 11^th goal of the season off a pass from Josh Hosie.  Raine is the first Paladin since Haris Cekic in 2007 to record double-digit goals in a season.
 
Raine’s goals in back-to-back games extended his scoring streak to six consecutive games and, based on records available since 2004, makes him the only Furman player to accomplish the feat. The Paladins (6-8-1, 4-2-0 SoCon), who finished the regular season on a three-game win streak, earned the No. 3 seed in the Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship and will take on No. 6 seeded Wofford (5-10-1, 1-4-1) in the quarterfinal round on Friday, Nov. 5, in Macon, Georgia.
 
Romig records his third Defensive Player of the Week honor of the year after helping Belmont to a 2-0 win at Eastern Illinois in the Bruins’ lone game of the week. Romig posted a career-high eight saves in the win, earning his seventh clean sheet of the season in the nonconference win. The native of Midlothian, Virginia, who broke the program’s single-season record for shutouts, is fifth in the nation in save percentage (.831), ninth in shutouts (7), 22nd in goals against average (0.80) and 26th in saves (64).
 
Belmont (11-4-1) enters the SoCon Men’s Soccer Championship as the No. 4 seed after finishing the SoCon slate with a 4-2-0 mark. The Bruins will face No. 5 ETSU (4-7-3, 1-3-2) on Friday in Greensboro, North Carolina.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Liam O’Brien (Belmont), Kadeem Agard (Mercer), Jack Birch (UNCG) and Brandon Oddy (Wofford).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Josh Hosie (Furman), Trevor McMullen (Mercer) and Joey Skinner (UNCG).
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Dylan Gaither, Sr., F, Mercer
Sept. 7        Niccolo Dagnoni, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 14      Liam O’Brien, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 21      Kadeem Agard, Fr., F, Mercer        
Sept. 28      Theo Collomb, So., F, UNCG
Oct. 5         Tarik Pannholzer, So., F/M, ETSU
Oct. 12       Tarik Pannholzer, So., F/M, ETSU
Oct. 19       AJ Chastonay, So., MF, Belmont
Oct. 26       JC Ngando, Fr., MF, UNCG
Nov. 2        Jake Raine, Sr., F, Furman
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Brant Zulauf, R-So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 7        Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont
Sept. 14     Joshua Old, Jr., GK, Wofford
Sept. 21     Trevor McMullen, So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 28      Emmanuel Hagan, Fr., D, UNCG
Oct. 5         Marco Milanese, Sr., D, UNCG 
Oct. 12       Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont
Oct. 19       Case Cox, So., D, Belmont
Oct. 26       Niclas Wild, So., GK, UNCG
Nov. 2        Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont