Monday, September 08, 2008

MACON, Ga. – Stetson sophomore Eugene Starikov produced a multi-goal game for the second straight contest to claim the Atlantic Sun’s Offensive Player of the Week while Mercer goalkeeper David Bird hung tough against UAB to win the Defensive Player of the Week award, the conference office announced on Monday.

Starikov, an international business major from Palm Harbor, Fla. scored two goals and assisted on Stetson’s other two goals in a 4-1 win against Florida International on Friday. He scored the first two goals of the matches, (the second turned out to be his second game-winning goal of 2008). With the two goals in the books he could have scored a hat trick, yet decided to flip the ball across the open goal mouth to Richard Porteous for his first goal of the season to close out the scoring. Through the first two weekends, he leads or shares the A-Sun lead in all offensive categories: shots, 17; shots-per-game, 5.67; goals, four; goals-per-game, 1.33; assists, three; assists-per-game, 1.0; points, 11; points-per-game, 3.67; and game-winning goals, two.

Bird, a senior who majors in advertising, grabbed a career-high 10 saves in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss against Conference USA power UAB on Sunday. The Niceville, Fla. native kept the Bears in the game in the first half with a handful of game-saving stops, including a first half stop against UAB's Anthony King. King got loose in front of the Mercer goal and hammered a rocket at the top of the net that Bird deflected over crossbar with a full-extension leap.

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

Adam O'Neill, UNF (So. - F - London, England - Sports Management) -- Netted gamewinner with a little more than five minutes remaining in the second overtime against Gardner-Webb in Ospreys home opener; Put the ball in the top left corner of the net to give UNF a 3-2 win over a former conference foe.

Aliyu Sugri, ETSU (Fr. - F - LaVergne, Tenn. - Nursing) -- Scored the game-winning goal against VMI this past Saturday scoring on a breakaway; Goal was Sugri's second in three games as he leads the team in goals, points and shot percentage. The win marks the second straight for ETSU in its inaugural season.

Tony Taylor, JU (So. - F - Jacksonville, Fla. - Undeclared) -- Scored two goals, including the game winner, to help JU past Gardner-Webb on Sept. 5...Taylor scored on header for his first goal of the season before adding his second goal of the game less than seven minutes later on a breakaway.

A-Sun Weekly Notes

Junior midfielder Kezi Lara was named to the All-Tournament team at the Adidas Kick-Off Classic hosted by the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The Bisons lost 1-0 to UMBC and 3-2 in double overtime to the United States Naval Academy…Freshman goalkeeper Brent McGee made his first collegiate start against the United States Naval Academy Sunday, a 3-2 loss with the game-winning goal coming with 53 seconds left to play in double overtime.

The Mercer men's soccer team finished its weekend trip to the Yellowhammer State 0-2, dropping a 5-0 decision to Alabama A&M on Friday and losing a hard-fought, 1-0 overtime battle at UAB on Sunday ... In Sunday's loss, senior goalkeeper David Bird made a career-high 10 saves against the Blazers ... Despite being outshot 24-5 by UAB on Sunday, Mercer got quality looks as four of its five shots were on goal ... The Bears have been outshot 64-17 on the season ... After a tough three-game road trip to begin the 2008 campaign, the Bears celebrate the season opener at Bear Field this weekend when they host the Wingate by Wyndham Classic ... Mercer opens the tournament with a bout against Howard at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 13 and closes by entertaining intra-state rival, Georgia State at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

USC Upstate will look to shake off the rust from not playing in nine days as the Spartans travel to Georgia State Monday to take on the Panthers at 4:00. The Spartans will then play at Winthrop’s Tournament this weekend, taking on the host Eagles Friday night at 7:30 before facing former A-Sun rival Gardner-Webb at 4:30 Sunday. Upstate is 2-5-1 all-time versus Georgia State, having dropped a 3-1 decision last year in Spartanburg. The Spartans are 7-3-0 all-time against Winthrop and 4-0-1 all-time against Gardner-Webb.