Spartan Teammates Earn A-Sun Weekly Men's Soccer Honors
10/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 8, 2007
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate men's soccer team entered last week with an 0-8-0 overall record and an 0-2-0 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Looking for its first Division I win and the program's 400th victory, Upstate got strong performances from Troy Simon and Jason McCabe to notch a pair of A-Sun wins over Lipscomb and Belmont. For their efforts, Simon was named the A-Sun Player of the Week, while McCabe earned A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Simon, from Freeman's Village, Antigua, assisted on a pair of goals in Friday's 4-2 victory over Lipscomb to lead Upstate to its first victory of the year and the 400th in the history of the program. With his Spartans leading 1-0, he made a move by a Bison defender at midfield and created a 2-on-1 opportunity, drawing Lipsomb's defender to the ball before sliding a pass off to Jack Burridge for the goal. Holding onto a tenuous 3-2 lead in the second half, he played a cross to David Acosta who put the shot and the match away with a 4-2 lead. Facing Belmont Sunday, Simon watched as Upstate's 1-0 lead dropped to a 2-1 deficit in the second half. After the Spartans tied the game at 2-2, the senior took a cross and fired a shot home from 22 yards out to give Upstate a 3-2 victory. Simon finished the week with a goal and two assists to lead the Spartans to a pair of wins.
McCabe, from Irmo, S.C., has started the last seven games in goal for Upstate. However, none of his performances were as big as the last two games when he collected 19 saves, four of which came on point blank shot opportunities within the six-yard box Friday and Sunday against Lipscomb and Belmont. Although he gave up two goals in each contest, his ability to make dramatic saves in one-on-one situations enabled Upstate to stay in both games early and get the wins. The freshman watched 41 shots come his way, with 24 of the 41 shots being placed on goal. He has tallied 54 saves on the year and leads the A-Sun in saves per game.
Simon and McCabe are the first Upstate men's soccer players to earn weekly honors from the A-Sun. They also become the second and third Spartans to earn weekly/monthly honors from the league in the history of the program since the University's athletics program made the transition to NCAA Division I status as members of the A-Sun this year. Men's golfer Josh Gallman earned A-Sun Golfer of the Month honors last Friday.
