Marquette's Chris Lee registered his third career hat trick as the Golden Eagles defeted intrastate rival Wisconsin-Green Bay, 3-1. Andy Metcalf of Memphis netted his third consecutive game-winning goal of the season in a 1-0 victory against Louisville. DePaul played its seventh overtime match of the season - a 1-1 draw with Cincinnati in C-USA competition.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Co-OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Adam Ruud, Charlotte Junior, Forward, Hanover Park, Ill. Ruud scored both goals in a 2-0 shutout of preseason C-USA favorite Saint Louis. He scored a goal in each half in front of a Billiken crowd of 2,453. Rudd moves into a tie for third place in the Conference standings with six goals on the year as the 49ers picked up their first C-USA win of the season.
Andy Metcalf, Memphis Junior, Forward, Jackson, Tenn. Metcalf scored three goals, including both game-winners this week as the Tigers posted victories against Cincinnati (2-0) and Marquette (3-1). He scored two goals within the first 15 minutes against the Golden Eagles on Saturday and moves into a tie for third place with six goals on the season. Memphis is off to its best start in C-USA play at 4-0 and 8-2 overall.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Josh Beachem, Charlotte Junior, Goalkeeper, Jacksonville, N.C. Beachem recorded his first career shutout as the 49ers earned a huge win on the road at C-USA preseason favorite Saint Louis. He tallied a career-high seven saves.
CONFERENCE USA MEN'S SOCCER NOTES
TEAM CAPSULES Charlotte - Junior Floyd Franks scored with less than 30 seconds on the clock to give the 49ers their second win in a row with a 2-1 victory at East Carolina on Wednesday. Adam Ruud, a College Soccer News Team of the Week selection, scored the first goal in the game. Charlotte posted another big road win Saturday by shutting out Saint Louis, 2-0, in front of 2,453 fans. Ruud scored both Charlotte goals and keeper Josh Beachem recorded his first collegiate shutout.
Cincinnati - The Bearcats' Jeremiah Gallegos scored first off an assist from junior Jeff Hughes, but Cincinnati played host DePaul to a 1-1 tie Wednesday. UC is now 2-7-1 overall and 1-2-1 in Conference play.
DePaul - Overtime has given the Blue Demons a devil of a time as they played their seventh OT game Wednesday versus Cincinnati. DePaul senior Patrick Vyncke scored off an assist from Kurt Albrecht in the 82nd minute to tie the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw. The Blue Demons are now 0-4-3 in overtime games and 2-4-0 in regulation play this season.
East Carolina - The Pirates snapped a two-game win streak with a 2-1 loss to instrastate rival Charlotte on Wednesday. ECU senior Rob Cann scored his third goal of season, heading in a corner kick from classmate Reed Avren. Goalkeeper Chris Hicks made five saves in the match, but gave up the winning goal with less than 30 seconds left in regulation.
Louisville - The Cardinals were shutout, 1-0, Wednesday by No. 24 Memphis to drop to 0-1-1 in C-USA play. It was U of L's second match against a ranked opponent as the Cards knotted a 1-1 match with No. 13 Michigan on Sunday afternoon. Marco Terminesi scored the only goal for the Cardinals.
Marquette - Senior Chris Lee registered his third career hat trick as the Golden Eagles defeated Wisconsin-Green Bay, 3-1, Wednesday night. With the performance, Lee moved into second place in the C-USA standings for points (17) and goals scored (8) this season. Marquette looks for its first Conference win as the Golden Eagles travel to East Carolina this Sunday.
Memphis - The Tigers are riding a five-match win streak and are off to their best start since 1992 following a 1-0 victory against Louisville on Wednesday. Junior Andy Metcalf, the C-USA c-Offensive Player of the Week and member of the Soccer America National Team of the Week, scored the third straight game-winning goal for the Tigers. Memphis moved into a tie for 24th place in the NSCAA/adidas National Rankings.
Saint Louis - C-USA Preseason Player of the Year and Hermann Trophy candidate Will John scored twice and assisted on the third Billiken goal in a 3-2 non-conference win Wednesday against Southwest Missouri State. John scored the game-winner in the 69th minute off a pass from junior midfielder Danny Wynn. Saint Louis had never lost to the Bears and holds a 6-0-3 record in the series. John moved into the top spots on the C-USA offensive charts with a league-best 20 points and nine goals this season. The win was a nice rebound from a 2-0 loss to Charlotte on Saturday, October 2. The Billikens return to Conference play Saturday as host to No. 24 UAB.
UAB - The Blazers, tied for 24th in the latest NSCAA/adidas National Rankings, are lighting up their competition as their win streak improved to five matches with a 1-0 victory Saturday against Cincinnati. Sophomore Jerson Monteiro scored the lone goal as UAB improved to 3-0 in C-USA play and received a No. 28 ranking from College Soccer News. UAB also remains undefeated at home with a 4-0 record.
USF - Head Coach George Kiefer earned his first win over Florida International as his 17th-ranked Bulls took a 2-1 victory in non-conference play Sunday night. Freshman Rodrigo Hidalgo netted the winning goal. USF is off to a 6-0-2 start, tied for the fourth-best in school history. The Bulls have only trailed opponents a total of 24 minutes all season. The Bulls' match originally scheduled for Sept. 29 with another in-state rival, Florida Atlantic, was cancelled due to inclement weather.
Good Company - USF moved up to 10th on the Soccer Times National Poll and the Top 15 of the other three major polls this week. The Bulls are off to a 6-0-2 start and are one of only seven NCAA Division I teams without a loss this season, joining California (7-0-2), UC-Santa Barbara (9-0-1), Duke (11-0-0), James Madison (9-0-1), New Mexico (8-0-0) and UNC-Greensboro (9-0-1).
Tenth Annual Championship - Louisville will host the 2004 Dr. Mark Lynn & Associates, PLLC Conference USA men's soccer championship on November 11-14. This will be the first time the Championship will be held in Louisville and the Derby City becomes the sixth site in 10 seasons.
C-USA 10th ANNIVERSARY
Conference USA celebrates its 10th anniversary during the 2004-05 season. The league kicked off its 10th year with the introduction of "Conference USA: Top 10 Moments in History." There will also be a 10th Anniversary C-USA men's soccer team selected by a panel of the league's coaches and select media members. For more information about C-USA's 10th anniversary, please log onto www.ConferenceUSA.com.
ACHIEVEMENTS * The league has produced 20 NCAA Tournament appearances in its nine-year history, with two teams advancing to the Final Four and six playing in the final eight.
* Twice Conference USA has advanced a team to the College Cup (Saint Louis in 1997 and Charlotte in 1996).
* C-USA has advanced four different schools (Charlotte, Saint Louis, South Florida and UAB) to the final eight of the NCAA championship over the last five years.
* The teams that comprise C-USA have combined to make 64 NCAA Tournament appearances all-time.
* Six different schools (Charlotte, Cincinnati, Marquette, Saint Louis, UAB and USF) have won at least a share of the regular season championship in the league's first nine seasons.
* Thirty C-USA players have earned All-American honors in the league's nine seasons. Nine players have earned Academic All-American honors during that time.
* Conference USA has placed 74 players on Soccer America's Team of the Week since 1995.
POLLING PLACE Here's a look at the 2004 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Soccer America, Soccer Times and College Soccer News men's polls.
NSCAA (Oct. 5) 1. UC-Santa Barbara 2. UNC-Greensboro 3. Indiana 4. Duke 5. New Mexico 6. Va. Commonwealth 7. California SMU 9. Penn State 10. Virginia 11. Creighton 12. Boston College 13. St. John's 14. USF 15. Notre Dame 16. Santa Clara 17. South Carolina 18. William & Mary 19. Michigan 20. Stanford 21. Hartwick Brown 23. Seton Hall 24. MEMPHIS UAB
Soccer America (Oct. 5) 1. Duke 2. UC-Santa Barbara 3. California 4. Santa Clara 5. New Mexico 6. Indiana 7. Stanford 8. UNC-Greensboro 9. Notre Dame 10. South Carolina 11. USF 12. Penn State 13. SMU 14. Washington 15. Creighton 16. Akron 17. Virginia 18. Wake Forest 19. UCLA 20. St. John's 21. Va. Commonwealth 22. Boston College 23. William & Mary 24. Maryland 25. Brown
College Soccer News (Oct. 3) 1. UC-Santa Barbara 2. Indiana 3. California 4. Santa Clara 5. New Mexico 6. UNC-Greensboro 7. Duke 8. Virginia 9. Creighton 10. Penn State 11. USF 12. Stanford 13. SMU 14. Notre Dame 15. Va. Commonwealth 16. Boston College 17. Michigan 18. St. John's 19. South Carolina 20. UCLA 21. Wake Forest 22. Maryland 23. Akron 24. Washington 25. James Madison 26. William & Mary 27. Old Dominion 28. UAB 29. Villanova 30. Brown
ARV - MEMPHIS
Soccer Times (Oct. 4) 1. UC-Santa Barbara 2. Duke 3. UNC-Greensboro 4. California 5. Indiana 6. New Mexico 7. Santa Clara 8. Penn State 9. Notre Dame 10. USF 11. Creighton 12. SMU 13. Stanford 14. Michigan Virginia 16. Washington 17. Boston College 18. South Carolina 19. St. John's 20. Va. Commonwealth 21. UCLA 22. Maryland 23. William & Mary 24. Wake Forest 25. Old Dominion
ARV - MEMPHIS, UAB, SAINT LOUIS
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK C-USA names an Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week during the 2004 season. The awards are announced on Mondays throughout the season. Players of the Week are selected by the conference office.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK S7 Will John, Saint Louis S13 Will John, Saint Louis S20 Maurice Hughes, UAB Hunter West, USF S27 Dayton O'Brien, Memphis O4 Adam Ruud, Charlotte Andy Metcalf, Memphis O11 O18 O25 N1 N8
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK S7 A.J. Robles, UAB S13 Dane Brenner, USF S20 Dane Brenner, USF S27 Kareem Smith, USF Sebastian Vecchio, Memphis O4 Josh Beachem, Charlotte O11 O18 O25 N1 N8
NATIONAL TEAMS In addition to the C-USA Players of the Week, league players are honored for their superior performances on a national level throughout the season by Soccer America and College Soccer News.
College Soccer News Team of the Week S7 John DiRaimondo, Saint Louis S19 Hunter West, USF S26 Dayton O'Brien, Memphis O3 Adam Ruud, Charlotte
Soccer America Team of the Week S7 Will John, Saint Louis S20 Simon Schoendorf, USF O5 Andy Metcalf, Memphis
CONFERENCE USA MEN'S SOCCER NOTES
C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS Saint Louis, who has taken at least a share of every Conference USA men's soccer title every year since 1997, is the unanimous choice by the coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2004 Championship. The Billikens' top returning scorer Will John, a sophomore midfielder/forward, shares Preseason Player-of-the-Year honors with junior midfielder Leandro de Oliveira from UAB. The top six finishers in the regular season earn a spot in the 2004 Conference USA Tournament, November 11-14 in Louisville.
2004 C-USA PRESEASON POLL (as selected by C-USA coaches) 1. Saint Louis 2. UAB 3. USF 4. Charlotte 5. Cincinnati 6. Marquette 7. Louisville 8. DePaul 9. Memphis 10. East Carolina
2004 C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS
CO-PLAYERS OF THE YEAR Leandro de Oliveira, Jr., MF, UAB Will John, So., MF/F, Saint Louis
ALL-CONFERENCE Leandro de Oliveira, Jr., MF, UAB John DiRaimondo, So., MF, Saint Louis Floyd Franks, Jr., MF, Charlotte Brian Grazier, So., MF, Saint Louis Martin Hutton, Sr., GK, Saint Louis Will John, So., MF/F, Saint Louis Chris Lee, Sr., MF, Marquette Andy Metcalf, Jr., F, Memphis Jerson Monteiro, So., F, UAB Mira Mupier, Sr., F, Charlotte Dayton O'Brien, Jr., MF, Memphis Wiremu Patrick, Sr., F, Cincinnati Hunter West, Jr., MF/F, USF
OUT OF LEAGUE Here's a summary of the non-conference records of Conference USA teams in 2004: Charlotte 3-0-1 Cincinnati 1-5-0 DePaul 2-5-2 East Carolina 4-4-0 Louisville 3-3-2 Marquette 3-3-0 Memphis 4-2-0 Saint Louis 3-3-0 UAB 3-3-0 USF 4-0-1 Total 30-28-6 (.516)
CONFERENCE SUMMARY Here's a summary of C-USA's record vs. other conferences in non-conference play in 2004:
Conference Record ACC 1-2-0 America East 0-0-0 Atlantic Soccer 0-0-0 Atlantic Sun 3-0-1 Atlantic 10 0-1-0 Big East 0-1-0 Big South 3-2-1 Big Ten 0-1-1 Big West 0-1-0 Colonial 0-2-0 Horizon 6-2-1 Independent 2-0-0 Ivy 0-0-0 Metro Atlantic 0-0-0 Mid-American 0-1-0 Mid-Continent 2-4-1 Missouri Valley 7-6-0 Northeast 0-0-0 Pac-10 0-0-0 Patriot 0-0-0 Southern 3-4-1 WCC 1-1-0 Non-Division I 2-0-0 TOTAL 30-28-6
NCAA STAT LEADERS Here is where Conference USA schools and players stand in the national rankings following matches through October 3: Goals Per Game 23t. Will John, SLU 9gms/7gls/0.78pg 30t. Adam Ruud, CHA 8gms/6gls/0.75pg
Assists Per Game 7t. Dayton O'Brien, MEM 9gms/7ast/0.78pg 19t. S. Schoendorf, USF 8gms/5ast/0.63pg
Goals Against Average 24. Sebastian Vecchio, MEM 8gms/709min/6ga/0.762gaa
Team Scoring Offense 15t. East Carolina 10gms/24gls/2.40pg 30t. Saint Louis 9gms/19gls/2.11pg 30t. Memphis 97gms/19gls/2.11pg
Team Shutout Percentage 27. UAB 9gms/4sho/0.44pg
Team Goals Against Average 25. USF 8gms 0.81gaa 32. Memphis 9gms 0.86gaa 33. UAB 9gms 0.87gaa
C-USA SUCCESS Here's a look at each school's records since the league began play in 1995: Charlotte 96-75-19 Cincinnati 75-83-25 DePaul 55-110-8 East Carolina 22-37-5 Louisville 76-101-15 Marquette 96-79-15 Memphis 70-106-9 Saint Louis 123-47-20 UAB 118-56-12 USF 106-62-9
C-USA ON TV The championship match of the 2004 Conference USA Men's Soccer Tournament will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. The championship match will be played on Sunday, November 14 in Louisville. More details will be released as the championship approaches.
