Oct. 21, 2008

Oct. 21 Men's Soccer Notebook

IRVING, Texas - No. 11 Tulsa grabbed a 4-0 win over Oral Roberts on Monday night for its eighth straight win. The game was effectively decided in the 26th minute when sophomore Chris Taylor converted his third penalty kick of the season after ORU’s Taylor Cluff received a red card. The last three goals came in the last 20 minutes. Freshman Austin Neil scored his team-high seventh goal of the season, while Ashley McInnes and Benjamin Pettit scored their first goals of the season. The Golden Hurricane, 5-0-0 in the C-USA standings and 9-3-1 overall, are off this weekend. During the eight-game streak, TU has tallied 22 goals.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
KOLBY LACRONE - Marshall
Sr., F, Zanesville, Ohio
LaCrone scored the game-winning goal against No. 24 SMU in a 1-0 win Sunday. He was able to score just 1:13 into the contest, knocking in a loose ball around the net. Wednesday LaCrone scored his first goal of the year in a victory over Florida International, 3-2. He was able to score when he used his chest to get past the FIU goalkeeper on a rebound shot. He finished the game with four shots on goal. LaCrone’s work helped the Herd claim its first two C-USA victories of the season. The weekly nod is the first of LaCrone’s career.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
MICHAEL COBURN - Memphis
Sr., D, Dundalk, Ireland
Coburn, a senior captain for the Tigers, scored a second-minute goal against South Carolina on a free kick on Friday after he bent a fantastic kick into the top of the goal over the head of the standout keeper Jimmy Maurer. Defensively, the preseason All-C-USA pick anchored a Tiger back four that held the high-powered South Carolina offense scoreless and led Memphis to its second shutout of the year. The stout defense also kept goalkeeper Michael Goodlett from facing any serious challenges. This is the first career weekly honor for Coburn.

SHOOTING STARS
- Tulsa freshman F Austin Neil scored his fourth game-winning goal and sixth goal of the season in Tulsa’s 2-0 victory over UCF. He headed in a cross from Jeovahnni Sandez in the 41st minute, giving the Golden Hurricane the advantage heading into the break. He had a team-best seven shots in the contest, including four on goal, insuring Tulsa’s win and top slot in the league. Neil leads TU with seven goals and 16 points.

- Marshall senior GK Greg Walter picked up two victories last week over Florida International and No. 24 SMU. In the FIU game, Walter finished with four saves and improved on his week with a shutout win at ranked SMU Sunday with six saves. Walter missed all of last season with an injury.

- Freshman Parker Duncan of Memphis has stepped up big lately for the Tigers. On Friday, the forward used impecable timing on a Ryan Ruble cross to be in the right place at the right time in order to head the ball in against South Carolina. The goal was Duncan’s third goal in the last two games on only three total shots.

- Florida International dropped a hard-fought match to Marshall, 3-2, last Wednesday. The Golden Panthers scored on a penalty kick by preseason C-USA Player of the Year Juan Guerra and on Steven Jair Cabas’ first goal of the year. FIU’s game on Sunday against Alabama A&M was canceled.

FIRST NCAA MEN’S SOCCER RPI RELEASED
The NCAA released the first Men’s Soccer Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 2008 on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Three Conference USA teams were ranked in the Top 75 out of 203 teams. SMU was the highest rated C-USA team appearing at No. 22, followed closely by Tulsa at No. 23. Affiliate member South Carolina was rated No. 64. A complete list of the most recent RPI rankings is located in the PDF above and the next report will be released Monday, Oct. 27.

MARSHALL UPSETS SMU, ON TWO-GAME WINNING STREAK
Marshall upset No. 24 SMU on Sunday night at Westcott Field in Dallas, 1-0. Senior Kolby LaCrone scored the only goal of the game just 1:13 into the contest when he knocked in a loose ball in front of the net. LaCrone now has two goals in the last two games, after also scoring in last Wednesday’s league win over Florida International. For his efforts, he was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week.

Senior Greg Walter helped to secure the Thundering Herd win with six saves in goal. The Mustangs outshot Marshall 25-7, but behind the play of Walter and the Herd defense, Marshall locked up the team’s second consecutive C-USA win.

CATS DOWN BLAZERS IN OVERTIME
Behind Tyler Burns’ golden goal in the 100th minute and a record-setting goal from Stephen Beiro, the Kentucky men’s soccer team posted a 2-1 win over host UAB on Saturday evening at UAB’s West Campus Field. Beiro needed just 18 seconds in the game to net UK’s first goal of the contest, setting the school record for the quickest goal in the history of the program.

Kentucky picked up its second consecutive C-USA win, after posting a 2-0 win over South Carolina last Sunday. The Wildcats have suffered four defeats on the year, with three of thoes coming to Top 25 foes.

The Wildcats have been led offensively by senior forward Michael Strong, who paces the club with seven goals, despite battling injuries that have limited him to just the 13th-most minutes on the team, 509 total. Forward Tim Crone checks in as UK’s second-leading scorer, posting 10 points on four goals and two assists. Co-captain Jason Griffiths and forward Marco dos Santos have totaled seven points, each with three goals and one assist. Chad Hagerty and Sam Vernalls lead the team in assists, each with three.

In goal, Dan Williams has solidified himself as one of the top goalkeepers in college soccer, posting a 0.75 goals-against average, allowing just 10 goals on the year – with two coming on penalty kicks and two coming as own goals. Williams, a co-captain and three-year starter, has posted five shutouts on the season.