Pictures from Fall '09 Maryland Trip

I'm finally catching up from the season and able to post some great pictures from our trip to Maryland in November. We traveled up on Thursday afternoon and were able to tour Washington, DC during our trip. This trip, along with our Lehigh/Bucknell trip, was one of the most memorable away trips from our 2009 season. Not only did we play a fantastic match versus the 2008 National Champions (lost 1-2), but we were able to take our players into Washington and see some of the beautiful monuments.

Morris Named to NSCAA/adidas All-South Team

Congratulations to Matt Morris for being named to the NSCAA/adidas All-South team. This is a very prestigious honor, as the South region is one of the toughest regions in the nation. Morris lead our team with 7 goals and 6 assists this past season and was one of our team captains. This is a great way to cap off a tremendous career as a Cougar! Congrats again Matt!

2009 Season Review

Overall Record: 11-10
- NSCAA/adidas South Regional Ranking- #7
- Southern Conference Regular Season- 2nd place (5-2)
- Southern Conference Tournament Semifinalists
- NSCAA and CollegeSoccerNews.com Top 25 Rankings- September 14, September 21
- Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic Champions
- Diadora/Spinx Furman Invitational Champions
- 1st Team All Conference- Matt Morris, Sean Flatley
- 2nd Team All Conference- Zach Prince
- All Freshman- Shawn Ferguson, Frannie Twohig, Ralphie Lundy
- CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week- Sean Flatley
- SoCon Players of the Week- Steven Nagy, John Bello, Frannie Twohig

Knight Finalist for USL-1 Rookie of the Year

Wes Knight, a former College of Charleston standout, was honored yesterday as one of three finalists for the USL-1 Rookie of the Year award. Knight signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps after a very successful MLS Combine. After a few offers from MLS and USL-1 teams, Knight decided that Vancouver would give him the best opportunity to play on a competitive team immediately. In 2008, the Whitecaps captured the USL-1 Championship defeating Puerto Rico. This year they again find themselves in the USL-1 Finals vs. Montreal.

Knight expressed, "It's an extremely exciting time for me to have been named a finalist for Rookie of the Year. It has been a tremendous adjustment from the college game and I'm proud to have been able to make an impact for the Whitecaps. As great as this honor is for me, it doesn't compare to the excitement that being in the finals brings. The team has peaked at the right time and we are confident to defend our title."

The Easley, South Carolina native was the USL-1's joint assist leader alongside Minnesota Thunder midfielder Ricardo Sanchez after recording eight assists in 29 regular season appearances for the Whitecaps. Knight was named to the league's Team of the Week on the three occasions during the season.

Congrats Wes, we're pulling for you!

Justin Fojo's Philadelphia Blog

Justin is a junior midfielder from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and boasts one of the teams top GPA's with a 3.8!

Thursday:
When we arrived in Philadelphia, the temperature was the first thing we all noticed. We all all immediately went for our "hoodies" and "CofC jackets." Taking that first breath of coolness suddenly set the mood for this trip. We started off admiring the old factories and historic ports thinking to ourselves of the history before us. After getting a bite to eat we met at the Independence Square downtown, seeing statues of Willam Penn, the Liberty Bell, and the lovely infrastructure within the city. My mates and I visited the famous "Rocky" memorial near the art museum and quickly emulated the great Rocky Balboa by running up the long flight of stairs, hoodies on and boxing thin air. It was great!

Friday:
Waking up buzzing with excitement for our new challenge the vibe seemed right, sharp and proper. We visited the wonderful Lehigh facility and were somewhat skeptical about the type of grass we weren't accostumed too. This night was slippery! We started off the game extremely flatfooted and slow to every ball. We did not high pressure like we can and as a result were being dominated for much of the first half. We came out in the second half fighting, hungry as ever and were starting to take control. We were winning air balls, playing more direct and keeping the ball in the attacking third and midfield. The night ended in a 2-3 loss but we went down fighting! We had to think about our next challenge....and that was it.

Saturday:
Sleep, recover, replenish, rehydrate and focus was my theme for the next day. It was great relaxing with my roomie Steven Nagy, listening to music, watching the tele and reading the autobiography on Steven Gerrard my coach suggested that I read! Eating good meals was great too, everyone on the team knows I can put down anything in front of me, I get jokes from the boys all the time. I got a chance to meet with Vernon Skinner, a man with a lot of football knowledge. He gave me advice on how to be a better player and how psychological the game can be. It was great talking to him! Night fell and my thoughts were purely about winning the game tomorrow.

Sunday:
We knew we had to get the "W" this game, that's why we flew up for this trip, to win! Entering Bucknell's facility my jaw dropped, I had never seen such a quality College level facility. This game was a true test of our commitment and devotion to our team. There was a lot to play for against Bucknell as our school's President and Athletic Director took the time to come see us play! It was an honor to play in front of President Benson and Joe Hull and get the result we wanted. I was humbled by this whole experience and it will definitely be a trip I always remember.

Cougars move to 5-0!

This past weekend we traveled to Greenville, SC and won the Furman Diadora/Spinx Invitational with wins over North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast. With the two wins we pushed our record to 5-0 on the season!

In the first match vs. North Florida we dictated the play early and Kareem Yearwood would create our first goal by outpacing the Osprey defense only to be brought down by their keeper for a penalty. Matt Morris stepped up to the spot and blasted home the penalty to give us a 1-0 lead. Sean Flatley then got forward from the left back position, collected a beautiful pass from Morris, and slammed home our second goal of the night. The final goal would come through Ralph Lundy dribbling past multiple defenders, playing a one-two with Yearwood, and calmly tucking the ball home. Goalkeepers Clark Hankins and Michael Flato combined with a solid Cougar defense for the 3-0 shutout win.

In the second match we faced a tough Florida Gulf Coast side, which tied Furman 2-2 in their first match. The first half saw us have better possession and more chances as we outshot our opponent 8-4. Unfortunately we failed to convert our opportunities and went into halftime tied at 0-0. Just three minutes into the second half Frannie Twohig slotted a great ball to Geordi Khoury who gave us the 1-0 lead. Florida Gulf Coast would find the equalizer at the 71st minute and the scored remained tied at 1-1- going into overtime. In double overtime Matt Morris earned us a free kick 22 yards out. Ralph Lundy stepped up and drove in a low shot that was followed up and finished by Twohig for the winner.

Furman Diadora/Spinx Invitational MVP Awards/All-Tournament Team
Offensive MVP- Matt Morris
Defensive MVP- Branko Gavric
All-Tournament Team- Justin Fojo, John Bello, Clark Hankins

Cougars Recognized on CollegeSoccerNews.com

College of Charleston junior Sean Flatley was named to the CollegeSoccerNews.com Team of the Week. This team highlights the top eleven performers in the nation. Congratulations Sean!

Our team also received votes to be in the Top 25 from CollegeSoccerNews.com. Hopefully we will continue to have success and push into the Top 25 next week.

Go Cougars!