Four Gamecocks Earn All-Conference Honors
IRVING, Texas – Four
South Carolina men’s soccer players garnered All-Conference USA honors,
the conference office announced today.
Junior defender
Mahamoudou Kaba was selected to the All-Conference USA First Team and
his fellow center back junior Braeden Troyer earned a second-team slot.
Midfielder Kurtis Turner and goalkeeper Marco Velez earned spots on the
league’s all-freshman team. The conference’s coaches vote on the honors.
As
a dominant force on set pieces, Kaba has scored a team-leading five
goals this season. The defender posted his first career goal against
rival Clemson in the second game of the season. In a three game stretch
that featured Charlotte, Presbyterian and Tulsa, Kaba netted a goal in
each match. Against Charlotte, Kaba scored the equalizer to help the
Gamecocks come from behind for a 2-1 victory on the road. Just four
days later, he recorded the first multi-goal game of his career and
scored his first game-winning tally at South Carolina against
Presbyterian. An imposing central defender, Kaba has played a crucial
role in the Gamecocks’ six shutouts, including three in league play.
This is the first C-USA honor for the Yipsilanti, Mich., native.
Troyer
made the switch from midfielder to defender this season and has played
an integral part of the team’s six shutouts alongside Kaba. Troyer has
scored two goals in 2013, both coming in league play. The first was an
unassisted game winner against Charlotte. He added another tally on a
penalty kick in the first half of a 2-1 win over FAU. Earlier this
month, the Gamecock was named to his second-consecutive Capital One
Academic All-District 4 Team. Troyer has now been recognized by C-USA
all three years of his career in the Garnet and Black. In 2011, the
Columbia, S.C., native was named to the third team and the all-freshman
team. Last year, the Gamecock earned second-team honors.
Turner
has played and started all 18 matches of his career in the midfield at
South Carolina, recording one goal and four assists. In a 5-2
non-conference win over High Point, Turner assisted on three goals, the
second most by an individual in a game in C-USA this season. The
performance was the first three-assist match by a Gamecock since 2008.
In a 2-1 win over FAU, Turner netted the game-winner for his first
career goal with just three minutes on the clock. Later in the week in
a 1-1 tie on the road at Marshall, Turner earned his fourth assist of
the season on senior J.P. Rafferty’s equalizer in the second half.
Velez
was thrust into action the fourth game of the season and has started
every match since. The freshman has notched four shutouts, including
three in league play. In a 2-1 win over Charlotte, the netminder posted
a career-high seven saves in his first C-USA match. For his clean sheet
against then-No. 25 New Mexico, Velez was named C-USA Defensive Player
of the Week. Velez hauled in three saves as the Gamecocks limited the
eventual regular season champions to just three shots on goal. It was
the only conference loss of the season for the Lobos.
South
Carolina travels to the 2013 Conference USA Tournament in Charlotte,
N.C. this week. The fourth-seeded Gamecocks play the five seed Tulsa in
the event’s first match on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The winner of the
quarterfinal takes on regular season champion New Mexico on Friday at 5
p.m.
Conference USA All-Conference Awards Most Valuable Player: Kyle Venter, New Mexico
Defensive Player of the Year: Kyle Venter, New Mexico
Offensive Player of the Year: Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion
Golden Boot Award: Alex Clay, UAB; Kyle Parker, Charlotte
Freshman of the Year: Christopher Wehan, New Mexico
Coach of the Year: Jeremy Fishbein, New Mexico
All-Conference USA First Team F: Guiseppe Gentile, Charlotte F: Tim Hokinson, Old Dominion
F: Cristian Mata, Tulsa
F: Freddy Ruiz, UAB MF: Aidan Kirkbride, Charlotte MF: Ben McKendry, New Mexico MF: Michael Calderon, New Mexico MF: Omar Mata, Tulsa D: Kyle Venter, New Mexico D: Jason Gaylord, Old Dominion D: Mahamoudou Kaba, South Carolina GK: Callum Irving, Kentucky
All-Conference USA Second Team F: Quentin Albrecht, FIU
F: Diego Navarette, UAB
MF: Gonzalo Frechilla, FIU
MF: Brad Doliner, Kentucky
MF: Akiel Barrett, Tulsa MF: Alex Clay, UAB D: Thomas Allen, Charlotte
D: Steven Perinovic, Kentucky D: Mathew Gibbons, New Mexico D: Braeden Troyer, South Carolina GK: Sean Stowe, Old Dominion
All-Conference USA Third Team F: Kyle Parker, Charlotte F: Ryan Price, Florida Atlantic F: James Rogers, New Mexico MF: Zach Hunter, Marshall MF: Michael Kafari, New Mexico
MF: Tony Rocha, Tulsa D: Travis Brent, Marshall D: Bradley Bourgeois, Tulsa D: Darion Copeland, UAB GK: Michael Lisch, New Mexico GK: Rafael Ville, UAB
Conference USA All-Freshman Team Brandt Bronico, MF, Charlotte Luke Waechter, D, Charlotte Marvin Hezel, MF, FIU Napo Matsoso, MF, Kentucky Christopher Wehan, MF, New Mexico Niko Hansen, F, New Mexico Jesse Miralrio, F, Old Dominion Cole Stringer, MF, Old Dominion Kurtis Turner, MF, South Carolina Marco Velez, GK, South Carolina Quinton Duncan, D, Tulsa Jake McGuire, GK, Tulsa Rami Dajani, F, UAB
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