Oct. 30, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina men’s soccer sophomore Sam Arthur and classmate Jimmy Maurer were honored with selection to the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District (III) First Team, while classmate Will Traynor was selected to the Second Team as announced by the organization on Thursday. The award is the first for all three student-athletes. To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must hold at least a 3.3 grade point average and be a sophomore in academic and athletic standing.

Arthur has 11 goals in 15 contests this season, also contributing three assists for a total of 25 points. He has been named to numerous teams of the week, including the Sept. 16 and 22 TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, the Sept. 22 CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week and the Sept. 22 Soccer America Team of the Week. Arthur also garnered TopDrawerSoccer.com Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 16. Arthur was honored by the league office on Sept. 22, collecting co-Offensive Player of the Week honors. He is also South Carolina’s first double-digit goal scorer since the 2001 campaign.

Maurer has enjoyed a stellar season in net for Carolina. His most recent shutout against Marshall on Oct. 25 marked his seventh of the season, while his shutout against Florida International on Oct. 4 was his sixth of the year, a career high for Maurer, who collected five during his freshman campaign. Maurer has collected four Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week awards in 2008, which ties for the most-ever C-USA weekly awards in one season. He was also selected to the Sept. 2 TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week.

Traynor has played a crucial role on the South Carolina defensive line that has allowed just 13 goals for the year. He has also contributed one goal for the Gamecock offense. Traynor was also selected to the adidas Gamecock Classic All-Tournament team earlier this season.

South Carolina continues C-USA play when it travels to No. 9 Tulsa this Saturday. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET.