Nov. 7, 2005

IRVING, Texas – The South Carolina men’s soccer team swept Conference USA’s weekly honors, the league office announced Monday. Junior forward Mike Sambursky is this week’s Offensive Player of the Week and freshman goalkeeper Mike Gustavson picked up Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Sambursky scored a total of three goals in South Carolina’s wins at Florida International and UCF over the weekend. The junior scored his sixth goal of the season against FIU and tallied a pair of goals, including the game-winner, against UCF. The Gamecocks became the only team to go undefeated on the road in conference play and finished with a 7-1-1 record.

Sambursky is tied for the team lead with 22 points on seven goals and eight assists. He also finished with 15 points on five goals and five assists in conference games.

Gustavson allowed only two goals and made 13 saves in the Gamecocks’ pair of wins over FIU and UCF this weekend. He finished conference play with an 0.98 goals-against average, the second best among league goalkeepers. The Aiken, S.C., native has 72 saves on the season, the second-most in school history for a freshman. Gustavson owns a 1.35 goals-against average in all games and has a pair of shutouts.

Gustavson joins fellow Gamecocks senior Greg Reece (Sept. 26) and junior Ryan Leeton (Oct. 10) in earning Defensive Player of the Week honors this season, while Sambursky becomes the second straight Carolina player to garner Offensive Player of the Week honors. Senior Josh Alcala earned offensive honors last week.

With two wins this weekend, the Gamecocks became the only team to go undefeated on the road in conference play and finished with a 7-1-1 record. South Carolina (10-6-1) is the No. 2 seed in this week’s Conference USA Tournament, which begins Wednesday, Nov. 9, in Dallas, Texas. The Gamecocks will face No. 7 seed Kentucky at 3:30 p.m. ET Wednesday in the first round.