Tuesday, September 02, 2008

MACON, Ga. - Belmont freshman Dan Meacock made an impression in his first two collegiate games scoring a pair of overtime, game-winning goals to win the Player of the Week award. Mercer’s Bolade Ogunmade won the first Defensive Player of the Week accolade for his effort in the Bears’ tie against NC State the conference office announced.

Meacock, a Sarasota, Fla. native, scored the lone goal against Big South preseason favorite Winthrop in Belmont’s opener on Friday. The freshman became the first Bruin to score a game-winning goal in his first career shot since Ryan Hooks netted the winner against nationally-ranked Furman last November 2. Two days later, he again tallied the winner, knocking off tournament host Gardner-Webb. For his efforts, Meacock was named to the Soccer For A Cure Classic’s All-Tournament team.

Ogunmade, a senior defender from Glasgow, Scotland scored the game-tying goal in a 1-1, double-overtime draw with NC State on Sunday, spoiling the Wolfpack’s grand opening of the new NC State Soccer Stadium. Ogunmade’s shot was a 35-yard blast into the upper-left corner off a set piece following a Wolfpack foul, and came just over three minutes after NC State's Federico Nachmann gave the Wolpack the lead at the 65:58 mark. In addition to his offense, the economics major anchored a back line that held traditional ACC-power NC State to only one goal in the 110-minute contest, of which he played every minute. He helped the Bears notch their first-ever draw with NC State, as they entered the game with a 0-6-0 record against the Wolfpack

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Other Top Performers

Miguel DaSilva, LIP (So. - F - Lauderhill, Fla. - Management) -- Scored three goals; two in the 4-0 win against Gardner-Webb and one against Winthrop; Perfect in shots on goal (3-of-3).

Janrai Gravely, BEL (Jr. - GK - Dallas - Psychology) -- Made All-Tournament team at Soccer For a Cure Classic; Had seven saves and seventh career shutout in 1-0 OT win vs Winthrop; Saved six in 2-1 OT win vs Gardner-Webb.

Eugene Starikov, STET (So. - F - Palm Harbor, Fla. - International Business) -- Scored two goals and assisted on another to lead the Hatters to a 6-1 win on Friday night versus Webber International.

A-Sun Weekly Notes

Campbell is ranked 4th in the Sept. 2 South Region, its highest regional ranking in Doug Hess' seven seasons as head coach at the University. Florida Gulf Coast (8th) and Belmont (9th) also represent the league in the regional poll...In addition to moving into a tie for third place on Campbell’s career list in shutouts (13), senior Aaron Johnson climbed into second place on CU’s goalkeeper record books for matches started (55) and minutes played (5083) during Friday's 3-0 win over UNC Wilmington…CU's three-goal victory over UNCW ended a string of 7-straight one-goal decisions in games played by the Eastern North Carolina rivals. The victory, which was Campbell's 4th-straight against the Seahawks, was the most one-sided result since a 5-0 CU triumph in October 2000.

Lipscomb opened the season on the road in the “Soccer for a Cure Classic” at Gardner-Webb. The Bisons beat Gardner-Webb 4-0 in the opener. They lost 4-1 to Winthrop in the second round…Forward Miguel DaSilva scored three goals in the first two games of the season with two in the 4-0 win over Gardner-Webb and one against Winthrop. He was perfect in shots on goal (3-of-3)…Freshman forwards Andrew Chamberlain and Evan McGee each scored a goal in their first collegiate game.

Mercer earned a 1-1 draw with NC State in head coach Brad Ruzzo's first regular season match at the helm on Sunday afternoon. The Bears avoided losing to the Wolfpack for the first time in program history, improving their all-time record against the ACC foe to 0-6-1…With the draw against NC State, Mercer improved its record against ACC opponents to 2-23-3 all-time…The Bears, who open the season with three road games, (the most since 2005) head to the Alabama Tournament next weekend. Mercer starts the weekend with a tilt against Alabama A&M on Friday and concludes the tournament on Sunday against UAB.

USC Upstate opened the season with a 3-2 victory over Brewton-Parker to improve to 22-7 overall in season openers in the 29-year history of the program…The Spartans also improved to 11-3 overall under head coach Greg Hooks in both season openers and home openers…Hooks claimed his 275th win with the victory. Three different Spartans scored in the Brewton-Parker game. Alex Garcev opened the scoring by converting a penalty kick, while David Stanbra followed with a goal to give Upstate a 2-0 lead. After Brewton-Parker came back to tie the game at 2-2, Chad McCoy, the leading returning scorer for the Spartans, scored the game winner.