Oct. 3, 2008

IRVING, Texas - Four C-USA Men's Soccer league matchups are on tap for this weekend with three conference matches set for Saturday. The action will be highlighted on Sunday afternoon by No. 14 SMU traveling to Memphis to take on the Tigers in a match that will be televised by CBS College Sports at Noon CT.

UPCOMING MATCHES
Saturday, October 4
Xavier at Kentucky                                       6:00p
*Florida International at (23) South Carolina  6:00p
*UCF at Marshall                                         6:00p
*(15)Tulsa at UAB                                       7:00p

Sunday, October 5
*(14) SMU at Memphis (CBS C) Noon

No. 14 SMU at MEMPHIS (CSB C)
The No. 14 Mustangs will travel to Memphis on Sunday to battle the Tigers in a contest that will be televised Live by CBS College Sports. SMU is coming off of a tough 4-1 loss last weekend to league rival Tulsa, while the Tigers are also winless in C-USA play at 0-2.

The Mustangs currently rank third among all league teams in goals, goals per game and points. SMU is also third in shutouts, notching four clean sheets on the season, and it carries a 0.87 goals against average.

Individually, the Mustangs are led by Paulo da Silva and Gabe Arredondo. da Silva is a two-time C-USA Offensive Player of the Week recipient this season and leads the team in shots, shots per game and points. He has tallied a team-high five goals in 2008. Arredondo currently is ranked No. 47 in the latest NCAA stats in assists per game at 0.44 and has tallied a league-high tying four assists on the season.

The Tigers are led offensively by Brian Farrell. Farrell leads his team and and is among the league leaders in all the major offensive stat categories. He has notched three goals on the season and six points.

In addition to being available CBS College Sports, the contest will also be available live and on-demand around the world via Internet video streaming as part of special online events offered by league schools in conjuntion with CBS College Sports.

FIU at No. 23 SOUTH CAROLINA
After picking up their first victory of the season last Sunday, the FIU men’s soccer team is looking to continue their winning ways as they travel to Columbia, S.C. for their C-USA opener as they face the Gamecocks of South Carolina.

The Golden Panthers (1-5-2) beat the Eagles of Florida Gulf Coast 1-0 last weekend, picking up their first win of the season. In the win, freshman keeper Jesse Fullerton notched seven saves on his way to his first career shutout. Senior defender Corey Kendall provided the offense, scoring his first goal of the season and just the second of his career.

FIU will face a South Carolina team that comes into the weekend with a 5-3-1 record, having won three of their last four, including a 4-0 victory over Davidson in their last match. Last season FIU dropped a 3-1 decision to South Carolina in Miami. The Gamecocks are led this year by Sam Arthur who has been stellar in ’08 scoring nine goals and dishing out two assists. The 20 points by Arthur are tops in C-USA.

UCF at MARSHALL
UCF returns to action Saturday, traveling to Huntington, W.Va., for a Conference USA game against Marshall. The game with the Thundering Herd is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The Knights enter the game with a 4-4-0 record overall and a 1-0-0 mark in C-USA play while Marshall is currently 0-8-1 and 0-1-0 in league contests.

Both teams are coming off 4-0 losses earlier this week. The Knights fell to 23rd-ranked Charlotte team Tuesday while Marshall dropped their conference opener at home to Kentucky.

Prior to the loss to Charlotte, UCF had won three-straight games beginning with a 1-0 shutout victory against Memphis in its C-USA opener on Sept. 20.

The Knights' recent success has been noticed as this week UCF finds itself in the NSCAA/adidas South Region poll for the third-straight week at seventh.

Freshman Kevan George leads UCF in scoring with three goals and six points this season. George scored the team's lone goal in the win over Memphis.

Sophomore Sean Johnson and the defense have posted three shutouts this season for UCF. Johnson is currently tied for first in C-USA in saves with 42 and first in saves per game (5.25).

The Thundering Herd enters the game having allowed a league-high 26 goals in nine games this season. The team is led by Sterling Flunder and Dustin Dawes, who have tallied two goals apiece.

Marshall leads the all-time series with UCF 3-2-1, including a 2-1 win in Orlando on Nov. 9, 2007.

No. 15 TULSA at UAB
The UAB men's soccer team will kick off the home portion of its 2008 Conference USA campaign when it plays host to the No. 15 Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The contest will mark UAB's first home game since a 1-0 loss to Western Illinois on Sept. 14.

Tulsa and UAB have played on six previous occasions, with the Golden Hurricane holding a 4-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. Tulsa made it three straight wins in the series with a pair of victories over the Blazers last season. The two teams played the final game of the regular season at Tulsa, with UAB dropping a 2-0 decision. In the very next game in the opening round of the 2007 C-USA Tournament, hosted by UAB, the Blazers fell 1-0. UAB's only victory in the all-time series came with a 2-1 win at Tulsa back on Sept. 23, 2002.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane are ranked 15th in the nation in the latest Soccer America poll released earlier in the week. That is due in large part to the Golden Hurricane's 4-1 dismantling of previously unbeaten and sixth-ranked SMU in Dallas, Texas last Saturday.

Tulsa, who is the defending Conference USA regular season and tournament champion, has had 10 different players account for its 14 goals scored on the season. Leading the way is freshman forward Austin Neil and sophomore midfielder Zach Nulisch. Neil currently leads the team with six points (2g, 2a) while Nulisch is second with five points (2g, 1a). Senior goalkeeper Tyrel Lacey has played every minute in the goal this season for the Golden Hurricane. He has allowed eight goals and made 35 saves on his way to a .88 GAA on the campaign.

UAB recently snapped a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 win at Memphis on Sept. 27, which was the league opener for the Blazers. The result marked the first time the Blazers opened conference play with a road victory since a 2-1 win at Marquette in the 2004 campaign.

The Blazers are led by three players with five points, all coming on two goals and an assist. Senior Derek Rios, junior Two-Boys Gumede and sophomore Michal Mravec each lead the Blazers with two goals and an assist on the year, while senior Shane Elsner also has found the back of the net on two occasions. Senior Carlo Schiavoni has a team-leading three assists on the campaign.

Goalkeepers Wes Johnson and Carl Woszczynski split time in the net for the Blazers. Johnson recorded his first shutout of the season and seventh of his career in UAB's win at Memphis last week. He now has a team-low goals allowed average of .80 in five games this season. Meanwhile, Woszczynski has also played well in the net this season. He has a 1.33 GAA in the four contests he has played, and has made a team-high 19 saves on the year.

XAVIER at KENTUCKY
Unbeaten in five consecutive matches and riding a 314-minute shutout streak, the Kentucky men’s soccer team steps out of Conference USA play, hosting the Xavier Musketeers at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday at the UK Soccer Complex.

Kentucky (5-2-2, 1-0-0 C-USA) is coming off its biggest conference-opening win in nine years, dating back to a 6-0 result at Marshall on October 1, 1999. Wednesday, UK pounded the Thundering Herd 4-0, behind Michael Strong’s school-record two goals in a 15-second span in the second half.

UK has not lost since a 3-1 setback at 24th-ranked Cal Poly, posting wins over Cincinnati, Michigan and Marshall during that span, tying Alabama A&M and UNC-Asheville. The Wildcats are unbeaten at the UK Soccer Complex in their past five matches, dating back to 2007. UK owns a 3-0-1 record at home in 2008, and has posted a 17-6-2 (.720 winning percentage) record in the last three years on its home pitch.

In the match at Marshall, Kentucky overcame cold and drizzly conditions to slam the Thundering Herd, using goals from Sam Vernalls and Jason Griffiths, in addition to the two historic goals from Strong. Dan Williams continued his shutout streak with a six-save shutout, his fourth shutout of the season and the 11th of his career.

Offensively, UK has been led by Strong, a senior forward from San Antonio, Texas. Strong ranks third in the league in shots (23), fourth in shots per game (2.56), second in points (15), second in points per game (1.67), second in goals (7) and second in goals per game (0.78). Williams, a three-year starter in goal, leads C-USA with a 0.65 goals-against average.

Kentucky’s potent offensive attack has now scored 22 goals in just nine games, a year removed from totaling 23 goals during its 19-game season. That offensive attack ranks as the league leader in points (63), goals (22), goals per game (2.44), checking in second in assists (19) and assist per game (2.11). Defensively, UK’s 0.67 goals-against average and six goals allowed rank tops in C-USA. UK’s five team shutouts rank as the best in the conference.

The Wildcats lead the all-time series with Xavier, 5-2, having dropped the last two consecutive meetings, both in Lexington, in 1996 and 2001. Kentucky opened the series with wins in the first five meetings, from 1991-96. UK is 3-2 vs. the Musketeers at the UK Soccer Complex.