McCabe Nets A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week Honors
9/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After leading the Spartans to their first shutout victory since the move to Division I play, senior goalkeeper Jason McCabe has earned the Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Week award, the conference office in Macon, Ga., announced today.
On Wednesday night, McCabe (Irmo, S.C/Dutch Fork) recorded five saves between the pipes and was complimented by Maurice Beggs' (Arima, Trinidad/Middle Georgia College) goal in the 15th-minute as Upstate downed visiting UNC Asheville, 1-0, to earn its first victory of 2010, as well as the first shutout victory since the Spartans began D-I play in 2007.
McCabe followed up his shutout performance with another shutout on Saturday night. This time the Spartans and the visiting Furman Paladins battled to a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes of action. The shutout over Furman was the second consecutive shutout and third in D-I for the Spartans, who battled ETSU to a 0-0 draw during the 2009 season.
On the week, McCabe was perfect in 200 minutes of play, as he recorded seven saves over two games without allowing a goal for a 1-0-1 record. Through seven matches in 2010, McCabe is tied for the A-Sun lead in shutouts (2), sits tied for second in shutouts per match (0.29), ranks fifth in total saves (27) and sixth in saves per game (3.86).
The weekly award is the second for McCabe, who earned the award as a freshman in 2007 after leading the Spartans to back-to-back home victories over Lipscomb (10/5/07) and Belmont (10/7/07). During that two-match stretch, McCabe recorded 19 saves to help the Spartans earn their first two victories as members of the A-Sun.
Upstate will return to the pitch on Thursday night as they open A-Sun play against Mercer. Kick-off at County University Soccer Stadium is slated for 7:00 p.m.
