SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman midfielder Alfredo-Diaz Santillan and Mercer defender Sekou Agard have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Sept. 20-26.
 
Santillan started both games for Furman and registered three goals and six points on the week as the Paladins earned a 3-0 victory over Winthrop on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and suffered a 3-1 loss to Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 25. In Tuesday’s contest against the Eagles, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native netted his three goals in the opening 25 minutes, volleying in a Dylan Lane cross just 1:39 into the match to give Furman a 1-0 lead before scoring twice in the 25th minute off assists from Tommy Redhead and Christian Kraus. The senior's hat trick against Winthrop marked the first for a Paladin since Cole McLagan found the back of the net three times in an 8-0 victory over VMI on Oct. 13, 2018.
 
Agard scored one goal and tallied one assist in Mercer's two contests last week as the Bears went 1-0-1, earning a 3-2 victory over UAB on Tuesday and playing to a 2-2 draw against North Florida on Saturday. Against the Blazers, Agard assisted on Mercer’s first goal of the game, passing the ball to Ousman Jabang, who pounded in the cross to hand the Bears' the 1-0 lead. In the tie against the Ospreys, the sophomore connected with a Kevin Kim left corner kick in the 54th minute, outjumping his teammates and opponents to head in his first goal of the season and hand Mercer a 2-1 advantage before North Florida evened the score in the 62nd minute. The Snellville, Georgia, native finished with three total points on the week.
 
The Paladins (5-2-1, 0-0-0 SoCon) will open their conference schedule on Saturday, Oct. 1, at UNCG (5-1-2, 0-0-0) and travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina, for a nonconference match against USC Upstate on Tuesday, Oct. 4. Mercer (3-2-4, 0-0-0) welcomes Georgia Southern to Macon, Georgia, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, before hosting Wofford (2-5-1, 0-0-0) on Saturday to open conference play.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Dylan Gaither (Mercer) and Nathan Lam (VMI).
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Kieran Richards, Sr., F, ETSU
Sept. 6       Steven Hernandez, Fr., F, UNCG
Sept. 13      Marco Afonso, Gr., F, UNCG
Sept. 20      JC Ngando, So., MF, UNCG
Sept. 27      Alfredo-Diaz Santillan, Sr., MF, Furman
 
2022 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 30       Cole Hunter, R-Sr., GK, ETSU
Sept. 6        Trevor McMullen, Jr., GK, Mercer
Sept. 13      Ben Roberts, Sr., GK, Furman
Sept. 20      Niclas Wild, Jr., GK, UNCG
Sept. 27      Sekou Agard, So., D, Mercer