Date Posted: 11/3/2008

MACON, Ga. - Richard Jata and Stephen Oyuga garnered Atlantic Sun Conference weekly honors after Campbell started and finished the week with program-defining victories, the conference office announced on Monday.

Campbell opened the week with a 2-0 blanking of No. 7 North Carolina and book-ended the week with a 3-0 whitewashing of Mercer that clinched an unblemished conference mark for the Camels.

Jata scored in the 39th minute against UNC, marking the seconnd-straight year he has provided the winner against the Tar Heels to kick-start his Player of the Week campaign. The senior midfielder broke a scoreless tie in the 52nd minute against Mercer and added an assist as well as CU extended its win streak to a 10 games, which tied the school’s Division I-era record and lifted the Camels to their first national ranking (No. 24 in this week's Soccer America poll) in 20 years. Jata narrowly missed a hat trick as he hit the wood work twice in the first half versus the Bears.

The Port Richey, Fla., native has scored the game-winning goal in each of his last six matches and moved into a tie for third place on the A-Sun career game-winning goals list with 11. Along the way, Jata also moved into 21st place on Campbell’s all-time scoring list with 60 points (23G, 14A) in 54 games during his Camel career. The Camels have never lost (18-0-1) in games when Jata scores since his arrival for the 2006 season.

Oyuga has played all 1542 minutes in the central defense this year for the Camels, who own the best team goals-against average (0.88) in the conference. On Saturday, against Mercer, the senior from Nairobi, Kenya scored his first goal of the season on a second-half header. Oyuga and the Camels have registered eight shutouts this year, second-most in school history, and have tied a school record with five-straight shutouts. Oyuga and the Campbell defense have not allowed a goal in over 480 minutes.

The Camels became the first A-Sun team since FIU in 1995 to post an unblemished (no losses & no ties) record to win the conference title and the nine conference wins are the most in the history of the A-Sun.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and 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

David Bird, Mercer (Sr. – GK – Niceville, Fla. – Advertising)
Posted Mercer’s first shutout in over a year with a 1-0 clean sheet at Georgia Southern.

Gonzalo de Mujica, Stetson (Fr. – F – Weston, Fla. – International Business)
Piled up two goals and four assists in 2-0-0 week for the Hatters.

Ramak Niakan Sami, Jacksonville (Sr. – F – Jacksonville, Fla. – Marketing)
Scored twice versus Lipscomb to help JU clinch a first round bye at the A-Sun Championship.

A-Sun Weekly Notes

The Fighting Camels (12-5-0, 9-0-0 A-Sun) tied a school Division I era (since 1977) record with their 10th-straight win and improved to 8-0-0 at home after Satuday's 3-0 win over Mercer…CU is ranked 24th in this week's Soccer America poll, the school's first national ranking since 1988..Campbell is the first team in Atlantic Sun men’s soccer history to finish a regular season 9-0-0 in the league and set a school record for most conference regular season wins in a season…Aaron Johnson, a senior goalkeeper from St. Charles, Mo., and the Camels have not surrendered a goal in more than 480 minutes, including a 2-0 victory Tuesday against seventh-ranked North Carolina. CU has registered five-straight shutouts to tie a school record set in 1986…Senior midfielder Richard Jata has scored the game-winning goal in each of his last six games, including wins last week over UNC and Mercer.

Freshman forward Garrett Pettis scored his 11th goal of the season in Lipscomb’s 3-1 loss at Jacksonville Sunday, setting a new school record for goals in season. He broke the record of 10 set by forward Miguel DaSilva, also during his freshman season. DaSilva has nine assists this season, easily shattering the old mark of five set by Ben Page in 2003. He also has 25 points, breaking his own record of 20 in a season set last year…Defensively, the Bisons allowed 32 goals, well below the old mark of 40 set in 2003. They have made 32 assists this season, shattering the old team mark of 23 set in 2005. They reached the 100-mark in points for the first time ever with 106, eclipsing the old mark of 71 set in 2005. The Bisons, the No.3-seed, will be making their second consecutive appearance in the Atlantic Sun Tournament under the direction of coach Charles Morrow.

The Mercer men's soccer team clinched the sixth seed in the A-Sun Championship when Stetson knocked off ETSU, 4-1, on Sunday ... Mercer returns to the tournament after failing to make the cut first time in 10 years in 2007 ... The Bears play Lipscomb in the opening match of the tournament on Nov. 12 ... Lipscomb defeated the Bears 4-3 on Oct. 18 ... The two teams have never met in the A-Sun Championship ... Mercer picked up its second win of the season on Tuesday, a 1-0 win against in-state rival, Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga. ... The win snapped a 30-match road losing streak for the Bears, and was their first shutout in over a year, with the last coming on Oct. 27, 2008 against Campbell.

USC Upstate finishes the 2008 season Friday night at Clemson in a non-conference matchup. The Spartans are 1-1-1 in their last three games, thanks in large part to the play of senior David Stanbra. Stanbra had a goal and an assist in the 3-1 win over Mercer last Sunday to give Upstate its first A-Sun win of the year. He finished off the A-Sun season with two goals in the 2-2 tie at Florida Gulf Coast this past Sunday. Stanbra and Alex Garcev, who ranks third in the A-Sun in assists, are tied atop the scoring standings on the team with nine points each. The duo also lead the team in scoring during A-Sun play with seven points apiece.

Related Links:
 • A-Sun Men's Soccer