Oct. 23, 2006

COLUMBIA, S.C. —University of South Carolina senior Ayo Akinsete (London, England) and sophomore goalkeeper Mike Gustavson (Aiken, S.C.) have been named the Conference USA Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, the league office announced Monday.

Akinsete scored the game-tying goal with 16 seconds remaining in regulation last Wednesday as South Carolina battled No. 1 SMU to a 1-1 tie in Dallas. The Gamecocks became the only team this season to tie the Mustangs on their home field. In Saturday’s contest at home, the senior scored the game-winning goal and logged an assist at Carolina defeated UCF, 2-1. This is the first weekly honor of Akinsete’s career.

Gustavson made a season-high nine stops against top-ranked SMU Wednesday and followed that with a six-save effort in against UCF Saturday. Gustavson owns a 0.97 goals-against average, and 0.80 in conference play. This is his second C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honor for the season and third of his young career.

The Gamecocks have a 10-3-1 overall record and a 4-2-1 mark in Conference USA matches. South Carolina wrapped up its home regular season schedule with an 8-1-0 record, including a perfect 4-0-0 mark in league matches.

South Carolina plays its final regular season match on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Tulsa.