Nov. 13, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) ¨C With three players selected, the UCF men¡¯s soccer team was well represented on the 2009 All-Conference USA teams, the league office announced. Junior Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.) and sophomore Kevan George (Decatur, Ga.) both were voted onto the second team while freshman Nicholas Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) earned a spot on both the all-conference third team and the C-USA All-Freshman team.
Each of the three all-conference teams and the all-freshman team were comprised of 11 players. Voting was done by each of the league's nine head coaches.
George was honored for the second time in as many years with postseason all-conference honors. The midfielder was named first-team all-conference as a freshman and to the Preseason All-C-USA team prior to the 2009 season. George switched to play more of a defensive midfield this season, but still finished the campaign with three assists.
Bacher, in his second season with UCF after transferring from Longwood, had an impressive season. The midfielder started all 16 of the Knights¡¯ games and recorded four goals and three assists for 11 points. All three totals were good for second on the team. The captain also finished with 45 shots to rank fourth in C-USA.
In only his freshman season with the Knights, Robson helped drastically improve the UCF offense. He led the team in goals (8) and assists (6), and ranked first in overall points (22) for both the team and the entire conference. Robson broke the ice by scoring first in multiple games this season, and he netted a game-winner against Manhattan.
UCF finished the regular season at 6-7-3 overall and 2-5-1 in league play. The Knights posted many positive and improved statistics this season, including 247 shots, 25 goals and 30 assists compared to 184 shots, 16 goals and 10 assists in their 2008 campaign.
Tulsa¡¯s Ashley McInnes was named the league¡¯s most valuable player while teammate Justin Chavez took home defensive player of the year honors. Two-Boys Gumede of UAB was named the offensive player of the year while Marshall¡¯s Bob Gray and Daniel Withrow were voted the coach and freshman of the year respectively.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com ¨C the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF¡¯s new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
All-Conference USA First Team
F: Sam Arthur, South Carolina
F: Austin Neil, Tulsa
F: Two-Boys Gumede, UAB
MF: Jason Griffiths, Kentucky
MF: Dustin Dawes, Marshall
MF: Dane Saintus, SMU
MF: Ashley McInnes, Tulsa
D: Barry Rice, Kentucky
D: Tyler Ruthven, South Carolina
D: Justin Chavez, Tulsa
GK: Carl Woszczynski, UAB
All-Conference USA Second Team
F: Matt Lodge, Kentucky
F: Jose Parada, Tulsa
F: Babayele Sodade, UAB
MF: Payton Hickey, SMU
MF: Yaron Bacher, UCF
MF: Kevan George, UCF
D: Rick Alleman, Memphis
D: Curtis Ushedo, UAB
D: Chris Taylor, Tulsa
GK: Dan Williams, Kentucky
GK: Daniel Withrow, Marshall
All-Conference USA Third Team
F: Steven Cabas, FIU
F: Sebastian Frings, FIU
F: Blake Brettschneider, South Carolina
F: Nicholas Robson, UCF
MF: Matt Butler, Marshall
MF: Kekoa Osorio, SMU
MF: Hunter Christiansen, Tulsa
MF: Michal Mravec, UAB
D: Anthony Hobbs, FIU
D: Brad Walker, Kentucky
D: Kendall Sutton, Marshall
D: Andreas Guenther, Memphis
D: Ian Kalis, SMU
GK: Jimmy Maurer, South Carolina
C-USA All-Freshman Team
Anthony Hobbs, D, FIU
Sebastian Frings, F, FIU
Matt Lodge, F, Kentucky
Devon Perkins, Marshall
Daniel Withrow, GK, Marshall
Tom Jackson, F, Marshall
Andreas Guenther, D, Memphis
J.J. Greer, F, Memphis
T.J. Nelson, D, SMU
Kofi Gyawu, F, UAB
Nicholas Robson, F, UCF
Most Valuable Player - Ashley McInnes, Tulsa
Offensive Player of the Year - Two-Boys Gumede, UAB
Defensive Player of the Year - Justin Chavez, Tulsa
Freshman of the Year - Daniel Withrow, Marshall
Coach of the Year - Bob Gray, Marshall