Nov. 11, 2008

Nov. 11 Men's Soccer Notebook

IRVING, Texas - The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (13-3-2, 7-0-1) earned its second consecutive Conference USA regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed in the 2008 C-USA Men's Soccer Championship, played Nov. 12-16 at SMU’s Westcott Field in Dallas. TU is just the third team in league history to claim the regular season title with no league losses. Tulsa has won all eight of its contests in the month of October, and is unbeaten in 13 total games dating back to Sept. 19.

Eight C-USA teams advanced to the league championship, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 12, with first-round matches at Noon, 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. CT. The semifinals are Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the final set for Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. CT. The final will be aired live on CBS College Sports and Conference USA's official website, www.ConferenceUSA.com, will provide live stats, box scores, recaps, photos and video streaming throughout the event.

Top-ranked Tulsa will play No. 8 seed UAB (6-9-3, 2-5-1) in the 5:30 p.m. match-up Wednesday to begin the evening session. The Golden Hurricane was undefeated in conference play for the second consecutive season. The two teams faced each other on Oct. 4, with Tulsa picking up the 2-1 win in overtime in Birmingham. The Blazers downed Marshall on Friday night and coupled with an FIU loss at home to SMU, the Blazers secured the final spot in the 2008 Conference USA Tournament.

No. 2 seed Kentucky (10-4-4, 6-1-1) will kick things off against No. 7 seed Marshall (3-12-1, 3-5-0) Wednesday at Noon. The Wildcats last defeat came at Tulsa on Oct. 8, a span of seven consecutive matches. During that time the Wildcats have rolled to a 5-0-2 record with wins over league foes South Carolina and SMU and draws at No. 14 Indiana and against Memphis. Four times in program history the Wildcats have spanned a seven-game unbeaten streak - in 1997, 1998, 2004 and in 2008.

The 2:30 p.m. match will feature No. 3 seed Memphis (6-10-2, 3-4-0) against No. 6 seed UCF (6-10-1, 3-4-1). The Tigers used a double overtime tie with second-seeded Kentucky on Friday to lock up the No. 3 seed, while the Knights also tied on Friday against No. 5 South Carolina to lock themselves into the No. 6 spot.

Host and fourth-seeded SMU (10-5-2, 3-4-1) squares off with No. 5 seed South Carolina (7-5-5, 2-2-4) in the nightcap at 8:00 p.m. CST. Both teams have been nationally-ranked this season and both are featured in the latest NSCAA regional rankings. The Mustangs and the Gamecocks played to a draw in Dallas on Oct. 8 during league play.

A complete schedule of the 2008 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship follows:

2008 CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 12 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 - (2) Kentucky vs. (7) Marshall - Noon
Match 2 - (3) Memphis vs. (6) UCF - 2:30 p.m.
Match 3 - (1) Tulsa vs. (8) UAB - 5:30 p.m.
Match 4 - (4) SMU vs. (5) South Carolina - 8:00 p.m.

Friday, November 14 (Semifinals)
Match 5 - Winner of UK/MAR vs. MEM/UCF - 5 p.m.
Match 6 - Winner of TLS/UAB vs. SMU/USC - 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, November 16 (Finals)
Match 7 - Semifinal Winners - 1 p.m. (CBS C)

All times Central.
All Matches played at SMU’s Westcott Field (Dallas, Texas)

2008 ALL-CONFERNCE USA AWARDS
Conference USA announced its 2008 all-conference first, second and third teams and postseason award winners for men’s soccer today, as selected by the conference’s nine head coaches. The awards are announced one day before the start of the 14th Annual C-USA Championship, which is scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 12-16, at Westcott Field on the campus of SMU.

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane (13-3-2, 7-0-1) earned its second consecutive Conference USA regular season title and will be the No. 1 seed. TU was just the third team in league history to claim the regular season title with no league losses. Sophomore ASHLEY MCINNES tallied 11 points on three goals and five assists for TU and was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year. McInnes earned a spot on the All-Conference USA second team and was joined by teammates JOE SALEM, CHRIS TAYLOR, TYREL LACEY, AUSTIN NEIL, CHRIS CLEMENTS and JOSE PARADA as all-conference members, respectively. Neil also picked up C-USA Freshman of the Year honors after leading his team with 22 points on a team-high nine goals with five game-winners and four assists.

Tulsa head coach TOM MCINTOSH was named the C-USA Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after leading the Golden Hurricane to back-to-back league regular season titles. His team is currently riding a 12-game unbeaten streak and is ranked No. 7 in the latest NSCAA poll. McIntosh is the first coach in C-USA Men’s Soccer history to earn back-to-back Coach of the Year accolades.

Kentucky’s BARRY RICE repeated as the league’s Defensive Player of the Year, also a league first. Rice was a preseason All-American and also a member of the Hermann Trophy Watch List. The junior started all 18 games and played in every second of UK’s conference contests. He has notched one goal and one assist and ranks third on his team with 26 shots, while winning 152-of-171 contested-header attempts in 17 of UK’s 18 games in 2008.

Another Wildcat, junior MARCO DOS SANTOS, was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year. Dos Santos ranks third on his team with 12 points on four goals and four assists. He has played in 17 of UK’s 18 games – missing one due to injury – totaling 24 shots, with eight on goal.

Besides Tulsa’s three selections to the All-Conference USA first team, both South Carolina and Kentucky had two first-team selections. The Wildcats were represented by Rice and JASON GRIFFITHS, while SAM ARTHUR and BLAKE BRETTSCHNEIDER were both first-time first-team selections for Carolina. Preseason C-USA Player of the Year JUAN GUERRA was a repeat first-team honoree, as was Lacey from Tulsa.

Tulsa led all teams with seven total selections, while South Carolina had six and four apiece for SMU and UAB. SMU, South Carolina and Tulsa all had two selections on the league’s All-Freshman team.

2008 C-USA MEN’S SOCCER SPECIALTY AWARDS
Offensive Player of the Year
Ashley McInnes, F, Tulsa

Defensive Player of the Year
Barry Rice, D, Kentucky

Freshman of the Year
Austin Neil, F, Tulsa

Newcomer of the Year
Marco dos Santos, F, Kentucky

Coach of the Year
Tom McIntosh, Tulsa

NEWEST MEN’S SOCCER RPI RELEASED
The NCAA released the latest Men’s Soccer Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 2008 on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Three Conference USA teams were ranked in the Top 100 out of 203 teams. Tulsa was the highest rated C-USA team appearing at No. 23, followed by SMU at No. 48. Kentucky was rated at No. 61 this week, jumping 36 spots after tying RPI No. 3 Indiana and beating No. 48 SMU since the last report. A complete list of the most recent RPI rankings is located in the PDF at the top of the page.

SMU AWARDED 2008 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
In keeping with its goal of bringing top-level collegiate athletic events to the DFW Metroplex, SMU has been selected to host the 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s College Cup. In partnership with FC Dallas, this event will be held at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, Dec. 12 & 14, 2008. Dallas has hosted several national and international soccer events including the 1994 World Cup, the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cups, the 2001 Women’s College Cup, the 2002 Men’s College Cup and numerous international friendlies and exhibitions. Dallas is also home to SMU men’s soccer, which is the only NCAA Division I men’s soccer program in the state of Texas. Recognized as one of the top soccer facilities in the nation, Pizza Hut Park features a 21,193-seat, state-of-art soccer stadium and 17 championship-quality soccer fields located just north of the stadium.