Spartan Soccer Standout Simon Earns All-Conference Honors
11/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 15, 2007
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate standout senior midfielder Troy Simon has been named to the All-Conference team in the Atlantic Sun Conference, announced the league.
Simon becomes the first men's soccer player to earn All-Conference honors from the A-Sun. Upstate made the transition from Division II to Division I and played its first season on the Division I level in the A-Sun on 2007. He is a Second Team All-Conference selection.
"It's a nice honor for Troy and a good way for him to end his career," said head coach Greg Hooks. "For him to come back from what could have been a career-ending knee injury last year and return to lead this team says a lot about Troy as a person. He worked hard to come back and the honor is a testament to what he has meant to this program for the last three years."
Simon, from Freeman's Village, Antigua, earned the honor after spearheading an offensive resurgence midway through the season. Simon started the year as a defender but was moved to the midfield to help jumpstart a struggling Spartan offense. His move to the midfield precipitated increased offensive production. It culminated in Simon earning A-Sun Player of the Week honors after leading Upstate to back-to-back conference wins over Lipscomb (Oct. 5) and Belmont (Oct. 7). He dished out a pair of assists in the 4-2 win over Lipscomb and scored the game-winning goal in the 3-2 win over Belmont.
Simon finished the season with six points on two goals and two assists in 2007. The fact that he was as productive as he was is a testament to his ability to recover from a serious knee injury in 2006. He tore his ACL after four games in 2006 and missed the remainder of the season. After having surgery and under the care of the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas and the Upstate athletic training staff, Simon was able to return to the field in 2007, having received a medical red shirt.
The All-Conference honor was the first for Simon at USC Upstate. However, he received First Team All-America honors as well as two All-Conference nods at Bryant & Stratton prior to transferring to Upstate.
