Sept. 23, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s soccer team (4-2-1) travels to face intrastate rival Furman (2-4-1) on Wednesday in its second-straight road contest against a Southern Conference opponent. The Gamecocks ride a three-game winning streak into the match, with all three of those shut-out victories. South Carolina holds a 17-7-4 advantage in the all-time series with the Paladins, which dates back to the inaugural season of Carolina soccer in 1978. The Gamecocks look for their first victory against the Paladins since the 2001 campaign, as Furman has won two of the last three meetings and the squads tied in 2003.

QUICK TAKES
• South Carolina rides a three-game winning streak into Wednesday’s match against Furman.
• Sophomore forward Sam Arthur has tallied three consecutive games with two goals and leads the Gamecocks with eight goals in just seven games this season.
• Senior striker Kevan Hawkins tallied the first multi-goal performance of his career against Charleston last Friday. Hawkins has two goals on nine shots thus far in 2008.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer has collected three consecutive shutouts entering Wednesday’s match at Furman.

Sam Arthur Leads Nation In Points Per Game, Second In Goals Per Game
South Carolina sophomore striker Sam Arthur leads the nation in points per game (2.57) and ranks tied for second in goals per game (1.14), as announced in the NCAA Division I men’s soccer statistics on Tuesday. Additionally, Arthur has been named to the Soccer America Team of the Week, marking his third national team of the week award this week. Arthur tallied two goals, including the game winner to lead South Carolina past intrastate rival College of Charleston last Friday. Arthur has now been selected to the Soccer America, TopDrawerSoccer.com (twice) and CollegeSoccerNews.com respective Teams of the Week this season for his outstanding effort for the Gamecocks.

Sophomore striker Sam Arthur was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com and TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week after leading the Gamecocks to victory over College of Charleston with two goals, including the game winner, last Friday. The award marks the second-consecutive week that Arthur has been selected to the TopDrawerSoccer.com squad (TopDrawerSoccer.com Player of the Week last week (national award). The effort against Charleston marked the third consecutive game in which Arthur contributed two goals, while he collected all three game winners during the stretch.

Arthur And Maurer Collect Weekly Conference USA Honors
South Carolina sophomore striker Sam Arthur has been named the Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, while classmate and goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer has been named Defensive Player of the Week. The duo led the Gamecocks to victory over College of Charleston with two goals and six saves, respectively, last Friday, marking Carolina’s first win over a ranked opponent and first road victory of the season. The league honor is the first of the year for Arthur, while Maurer has collected three of four possible Defensive Player of the Week awards this season.

Arthur collected two goals in the first half against the Cougars to lead the Gamecocks. The Roswell, Ga., native leads C-USA in nearly every major offensive statistical category, including shots (25), shots per game (3.57), goals (8), points (18) and goals per game (1.14).

Maurer collected his third-consecutive shutout and fourth of the season against Charleston, where he collected six saves. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native ranks second among C-USA teams with a 0.69 goals against average, 5.00 saves per game and an .875 save percentage, while he is tied for first with 35 saves on the year.