Memphis held onto the top spot in the C-USA standings with a 2-1 victory at DePaul Friday night. Junior Dayton O’Brien scored the game-winning goal, his third of the season. O’Brien also scored the Tigers lone goal in a 1-1 non-conference tie with Illinois-Chicago on Sunday. Saint Louis shut out Louisville, 3-0, to move into second place in the conference as No. 9 USF suffered its first loss of the season at Cincinnati. The Bearcats’ Wiremu Patrick scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory over the visiting Bulls. Charlotte also earned a big win over a ranked opponent, upsetting No. 7 South Carolina in non-conference action.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mira Mupier, Charlotte
Senior, Forward, Houston, Texas
Mupier scored the game-winning goal in the 49ers' 1-0 victory over No. 7 South Carolina, and added a goal in a 2-1 conference win against Marquette. The goals were Mupier's first two of the season. He is just one goal shy of Charlotte's Top 10 goal scorers list with 25 career goals to date.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mike Vessells, Cincinnati
Sophomore, Goalkeeper, Cincinnati, Ohio
Vessells recorded his second shutout in the Bearcats' last three matches, holding No. 9 USF scoreless in a 1-0 Cincinnati victory. He has allowed only two goals in his last four matches and tallied a career-high 12 saves in a 1-1 tie against non-conference foe Butler on Tuesday.


CONFERENCE USA MEN'S SOCCER NOTES

TEAM CAPSULES
Charlotte - The 49ers posted a pair of wins this week with a 2-1 victory against Marquette on Saturday and a 1-0 upset over No. 7 South Carolina on the road Wednesday in non-conference action. Senior Mira Mupier scored a goal in both games and earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Goalkeeper Josh Beachem recorded his second shutout of the season on the road over a nationally ranked foe and collected 14 saves in the two matches.

Cincinnati - Sophomore goalkeeper Mike Vessells accomplished what others had tried, shutting out a ninth-ranked and previously unbeaten USF squad as the Bearcats earned a 1-0 victory Saturday. Senior Wiremu Patrick scored the game-winner for UC off a Jeff Hughes assist as the Bearcats are now 2-0-2 in their last four matches. Earlier in the week, Vessells tallied a career-high 12 saves in a non-conference bout with Butler that ended in a 1-1 tie.

DePaul - John Partyka tied Saturday's match against Memphis with a goal in the second half, but the Blue Demons could not hold on and suffered a 2-1 loss Partyka and teammate Patrick Vyncke have combined for eight of DePaul's 11 goals this season.

East Carolina - The Pirates suffered their first shutout of the season with Saturday's 1-0 loss to No. 24 UAB. Despite the shutout, ECU still has the most goals scored in the conference with 28 in 13 games. The Pirates took 15 shots against UAB. Terron Amos leads ECU with 18 points and eight goals this season.

Louisville - Goalkeeper Tyler Wilcox earned his fourth shutout of the season with a scoreless draw against Ohio State on Wednesday. It was the fifth overtime match for the Cardinals this season and the second time they tied a Big Ten squad (tying then-No. 13 Michigan, 1-1, on Oct. 3). The Cardinals could not get on the board in Saturday's C-USA match with Saint Louis, dropping a 3-0 decision to the league's preseason favorite.

Marquette - The Golden Eagles' Matt Blouin scored on a Mike Manone assist to tie Saturday's match with Charlotte, 1-all, before the 49ers earned the 2-1 victory. The match was played in very cold and windy conditions in Milwaukee. Goalkeeper Steven Grow remains in the C-USA top 5 with a 1.10 goals against average.

Memphis - The No. 25 Tigers hold the top spot in the C-USA standings after a 2-1 victory against DePaul on Friday night. Memphis junior Dayton O'Brien hit the game-winning goal with 10 minutes to play, scoring on a free kick from outside the penalty box. O'Brien also scored the tying goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw against non-conference foe Illinois-Chicago.

Saint Louis - Junior midfielder Ryan Wileman scored his conference-best fourth game-winning goal as the Billikens shut out Louisville, 3-0, on Saturday. Wileman, a member of last week's College Soccer News Team of the Week, scored two goals in the game and moved just behind teammate Will John for the top two places on the C-USA scoring chart. Senior goalie Martin Hutton tallied three saves as he earned his 14th career shutout. The Billikens seem back on track, winning their last three matches and four of their last five. Saint Louis is ranked No. 20 on the most recent College Soccer News poll (Oct. 17).

UAB - The 24th-ranked Blazers earned their fifth shutout of the season by blanking East Carolina, 1-0, on Sunday. Jerson Monteiro scored off a header from C-USA preseason Player of the Year Leandro de Oliveira's cross in the 85th minute for the game-winning goal. Since opening C-USA play on September 18, UAB is 6-1 and has only allowed three goals thanks to a defense featuring junior Sandy Gbandi and goalkeepers A.J. Robles and Jeremy Drake.

USF - The Bulls' unbeaten streak ended at nine matches (tied for the third longest in school history) when USF lost on the road to Cincinnati Saturday night. Freshman goalkeeper Freddy Hall made six saves in his first collegiate start but gave up the lone goal in the 78th minute. The Bulls still lead the conference with a 0.75 goals against average this season.

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. The championship match on Sunday, Nov. 14, will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network.

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. 12)
1. UC-Santa Barbara
2. UNC-Greensboro
3. New Mexico
4. Indiana
5. Virginia
6. SMU
7. South Carolina
8. Creighton
9. Santa Clara
10. St. John's
11. James Madison
12. Notre Dame
13. USF
14. Boston College
15. Pennsylvania
16. Va. Commonwealth
Duke
18. Stanford
19. California
20. Penn State
21. Maryland
22. Michigan
23. Hartwick
24. UAB
25. MEMPHIS
Washington
Seton Hall

ARV -SAINT LOUIS

Soccer America (Oct. 11)
1. UC-Santa Barbara
2. Santa Clara
3. New Mexico
4. Indiana
5. UNC-Greensboro
6. Duke
7. Notre Dame
8. South Carolina
9. USF
10. Stanford
11. SMU
12. Washington
13. California
14. Creighton
15. Virginia
16. Wake Forest
17. James Madison
18. Penn State
19. UCLA
20. Akron
21. Maryland
22. St. John's
23. Va. Commonwealth
24. William & Mary
25. SAINT LOUIS



College Soccer News (Oct. 17)
1. UNC-Greensboro
2. Virginia
3. UC-Santa Barbara
4. Creighton
5. SMU
6. Indiana
7. New Mexico
8. Notre Dame
9. James Madison
10. Washington
11. UCLA
12. Santa Clara
13. USF
14. Duke
15. California
16. Wake Forest
17. Va. Commonwealth
18. Boston College
19. St. John's
20. SAINT LOUIS
21. Penn State
22. Stanford
23. South Carolina
24. Maryland
25. Old Dominion
26. UAB
27. Cal State Northridge
28. Akron
29. Butler
30. Hartwick

ARV - MEMPHIS

Soccer Times (Oct. 11)
1. UC-Santa Barbara
2. UNC-Greensboro
3. New Mexico
4. Indiana
5. Santa Clara
6. Duke
7. USF
8. California
9. Notre Dame
10. Creighton
11. SMU
12. Virginia
13. Stanford
14. Washington
15. South Carolina
16. St. John's
17. Michigan
18. Penn State
19. Maryland
20. James Madison
21. Boston College
22. UCLA
23. Wake Forest
24. Va. Commonwealth
25. William & Mary

ARV - MEMPHIS, 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 Will John, Saint Louis
O18 Mira Mupier, Charlotte
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 Kareem Smith, USF
O18 Mike Vessells, Cincinnati
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
O10 Ryan Wileman, Saint Louis

Soccer America Team of the Week
S7 Will John, Saint Louis
S20 Simon Schoendorf, USF
O5 Andy Metcalf, Memphis
O12 Will John, Saint Louis


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 4-0-1
Cincinnati 1-5-0
DePaul 2-6-2
East Carolina 4-4-0
Louisville 3-3-3
Marquette 3-3-0
Memphis 4-2-1
Saint Louis 3-3-0
UAB 3-3-0
USF 4-0-1
Total 31-29-9 (.514)

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 0-2-2
Big West 0-1-0
Colonial 0-2-0
Horizon 6-2-3
Independent 3-0-0
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 31-29-9

NCAA STAT LEADERS
Here is where Conference USA schools and players stand in the national rankings following matches through October 3:
Points Per Game
16t. Terron Amos, ECU 9gms/18pts/2.00pg
19t. Will John, SLU 11gms/21pts/1.91pg

Goals Per Game
17t. Terron Amos, ECU 9gms/8gls/0.89pg
21t. Will John, SLU 11gms/9gls/0.82pg
30t. Chris Lee, MAR 11gms/8gls/0.73pg

Assists Per Game
9t. Simon Schoendorf, USF 9gms/6ast/0.67pg
14t. Dayton O'Brien, MEM 11gms/7ast/0.64pg

Goals Against Average
19. Dane Brenner, USF
9gms/867min/7ga/0.727gaa

Team Scoring Offense
16t. East Carolina 12gms/28gls/2.33pg
22t. Saint Louis 11gms/24gls/2.18pg

Team Shutout Percentage
13t. USF 9gms/5sho/0.56pg

Team Goals Against Average
19. USF 9gms 0.73gaa
34. Memphis 11gms 0.89gaa


C-USA SUCCESS
Here's a look at each school's records since the league began play in 1995:
Charlotte 98-76-19
Cincinnati 77-83-26
DePaul 55-113-8
East Carolina 23-38-5
Louisville 77-102-16
Marquette 96-81-15
Memphis 71-107-10
Saint Louis 125-47-20
UAB 119-57-12
USF 107-63-9


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.