Men's soccer picked first in C-USA

[PonyPride]

SMU Tops Conference USA Men's Soccer Preseason Poll

Senior Jay Needham Selected Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

Aug. 16, 2006

IRVING (SMU) - SMU, coming off a 2005 NCAA College Cup appearance, has been selected by the league's coaches as the preseason favorite to win the 2006 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship. Returning All-Conference USA first team selections Mike Sambursky of South Carolina and the Mustangs' Jay Needham have been named the Preseason C-USA Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively.

The Mustangs posted a 14-6-3 overall record last season as they advanced to their 12th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance, and 21st out of the last 22 years. SMU became the third Conference USA team in the league's 11-year history to advance to the NCAA College Cup. This year's Mustang squad will be led by Needham, as well as preseason all-conference teammates Mynor Gonzalez and Bruno Guarda.

Defending Conference USA Tournament champion South Carolina was picked second after earning the automatic berth to the 2005 NCAA Championship. The Gamecocks finished the regular season 12-6-2 and were 9-1-2 in October and November. Sambursky, who tallied the game-winning goal in the 2005 C-USA Championship, is joined on the preseason all-conference team with 2005 C-USA Freshman of the Year and All-Conference USA second team goalkeeper Mike Gustavson.

UAB was chosen third, followed by 2005 C-USA Tournament runner-up Tulsa in fourth. The Blazers have a strong returning corps, with three earning a spot on the preseason all-conference team: senior midfielder Sandy Gbandi, sophomore defender Dejan Jakovic and senior forward Jerson Monteiro. All three earned All-Conference honors last season.

Tulsa junior Eric Burkholder, Kentucky junior Michael D'Agostino and Marshall senior Karim Boukhemis round out the 2006 All-Conference USA Preseason Team.

The top eight finishers in the regular season earn a spot in the 2006 Conference USA Championship, which will be held November 1-5 in Tulsa, Okla. The league's 12th regular season kicks off Friday, Aug. 25.

2006 C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS

C-USA PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jay Needham, Sr., D/MF, SMU (Fort Worth, Texas)

C-USA PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Mike Sambursky, Sr., F, South Carolina (Katy, Texas)

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM
Michael D'Agostino, Jr., MF, Kentucky (Langley, British Columbia)
Karim Boukhemis, Sr. F/MF, Marshall (Huntington, W.Va.)
Mynor Gonzalez, Sr., D, SMU (Guatemala City, Guatemala)
Bruno Guarda, So., MF, SMU (Piricicaba, Brazil)
Jay Needham, Sr., D/MF, SMU (Fort Worth, Texas)
Mike Gustavson, So., GK, South Carolina (Aiken, S.C.)
Mike Sambursky, Sr., F, South Carolina (Katy, Texas)
Eric Burkholder, Jr., MF, Tulsa (Broken Arrow, Okla.)
Sandy Gbandi, Sr., MF, UAB (Houston, Texas)
Dejan Jakovic, So., D, UAB (Etobicoke, Ontario)
Jerson Monteiro, Sr., F, UAB (Houston, Texas)