Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams And Award Winners Announced

ROCK HILL, SC - Lincoln Memorial University's Leandro Pereira, who helped guide the Railsplitters to their first South Atlantic Conference men's soccer championship, was named the 2007 men's soccer Player of the Year, and was one of six Railsplitters named the All-Conference team, the league announced today.

Pereira, a sophomore from Brasilia, Brazil, led the conference in goals per match and points per match. He ranked sixth in Division II in both categories, helping Lincoln Memorial rank as the highest-scoring team in Division II.

Leandro Pereira

Lucas Paulini

Daniel Waymont

Brett Teach

Tusculum's Lucas Paulini, who finished second in the conference in assists per match and was second on his team in scoring, was named Freshman of the Year. Paulini helped Tusculum to a share of the conference championship.

Tusculum coach Brett Teach, who guided the Pioneers to a share of the conference championship in his first year, was named Coach of the Year.

The Scholar Athlete Award for men's soccer went to Daniel Waymont of Mars Hill College, who won the honor for the third year in a row.

Joining Pereira on the All-Conference first team from Lincoln Memorial are midfielder Leonardo de Barros, defender Felipe Nogueira and goalkeeper Brent Cole. Midfielder Nelson Pizzaro and defender Vitor Souza were named to the second team.

Conference co-champion Tusculum placed four on the All-Conference team, including Pauline, a first-team midfielder. Forward Bruno Conceicão was also named to the first team, while midfielder Anteneh Lemma and defender Matt Ross were named to the second team.

Carson-Newman College had four selected to the All-Conference team. Defender Thomas Ostvold was named to the first team, while forward Omar Cooke, midfielder Jakop Storhaug and defender Everardo Flores were second team choices.

Wingate University placed three on the All-Conference team, with forward Junior Nyemb, midfielder Luke Mulholland and defender Ben Clark all named to the first team.

Lenoir-Rhyne College had three All-Conference representatives. Defender Aaron Wheeler and midfielder Luis Carrizosa were both first-team honorees, while defender Gary Higgins was named to the second team.

Newberry College also had three All-Conference selections. Forward Debola Ogunseye was a first-team selection, while forward Kwame Gyamfi and midfielder Shane Abbott were named to the second team.

Mars Hill College had a pair of All-Conference second team members in forward Daniel Waymont and goalkeeper Sean Merfeld.

Catawba College midfielder Ryan Villiard rounds out the second team.

The All-Conference teams are selected by the head coaches of the league.

The Fair Play Award for men's soccer went to Carson-Newman College. The award recognizes good sportsmanship throughout conference games.

Waymont, a senior forward from Winchester, England (North Buncombe, N.C. HS) has a 3.94 GPA as a sports management major. He is a Grayson Scholar and a member of the Mars Hill College Dean's List and SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Waymont is a four-year letterwinner for the Lions and and three-time All-Conference selection.

In the community, Waymont is senior class treasurer for the Student Government Association and is a dormitory resident assistant. He volunteers at Mountain Hopes, helping disabled children and doing landscaping work. He also is a volunteer assistant coach for the North Buncombe Middle School soccer team.

2007 SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS AND AWARD RECIPIENTS

FIRST TEAM
Forward - Leandro Pereira, Lincoln Memorial
Forward - Debola Ogunseye, Newberry
Forward - Bruno Conceicão, Tusculum
Forward - Junior Nyemb, Wingate
Midfielder - Luis Carrizosa, Lenoir-Rhyne
Midfielder - Leonardo de Barros, Lincoln Memorial
Midfielder - Lucas Paulini , Tusculum
Midfielder - Luke Mulholland, Wingate
Defender - Thomas Ostvold, Carson-Newman
Defender - Aaron Wheeler, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defender - Felipe Nogueira, Lincoln Memorial
Defender - Ben Clark, Wingate
Goalkeeper - Brent Cole, Lincoln Memorial

SECOND TEAM
Forward - Omar Cooke, Carson-Newman
Forward - Daniel Waymont, Mars Hill
Forward - Kwame Gyamfi , Newberry
Midfielder - Jakop Storhaug, Carson-Newman
Midfielder - Ryan Villiard, Catawba
Midfielder - Nelson Pizzaro, Lincoln Memorial
Midfielder - Shane Abbott, Newberry
Midfielder - Anteneh Lemma, Tusculum
Defender - Matt Ross, Tusculum
Defender - Everardo Flores, Carson-Newman
Defender - Rondon Bacchus, Mars Hill
Defender - Vitor Souza, Lincoln Memorial
Defender - Gary Higgins, Lenoir-Rhyne
Goalkeeper - Sean Merfeld, Mars Hill

COACH OF THE YEAR: Brett Teach, Tusculum
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Lucas Paulini, Tusculum
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Leandro Pereira, Lincoln Memorial
SAC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE: Daniel Waymont, Mars Hill
FAIR PLAY AWARD: Carson-Newman

STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
Goals Per Match - Leandro Pereira, Lincoln Memorial, 1.12
Points Per Match - Leandro Pereira, Lincoln Memorial, 2.59
Assists Per Match - Luis Carrizosa, Lenoir-Rhyne, 0.62
Goals Against Average - Jordan Moore, Carson-Newman, 0.74
Goalkeeper Shutouts Per Game - Jordan Moore, Carson-Newman, 0.41; Sean Merfeld, Mars Hill, 0.41
Save Percentage - Jordan Moore, Carson-Newman, .822
Team Points Per Match - Lincoln Memorial, 8.94
Team Goals Per Match - Lincoln Memorial, 3.47
Team Assists Per Match - Wingate, 2.37
Team Shutouts Per Match - Lenoir-Rhyne, 0.50
Team Goal Against Average - Carson-Newman, 0.74
Team Winning Percentage - Carson-Newman, .824

SENIOR AWARDS
Kapil Davis, Carson-Newman
Dane Hodge, Carson-Newman
Troy Brown, Catawba
Sam Ketner, Catawba
Ryan Villiard, Catawba
Nick Denton, Catawba
Garth McCormack, Catawba
Nathan Brown, Catawba
Darren Back, Lenoir-Rhyne
Nate Whitehurst, Lenoir-Rhyne
Szymon Hryszczyk, Lenoir-Rhyne
Brent Cole, Lincoln Memorial
Vitor Souza, Lincoln Memorial
Marcelo Galafassi, Lincoln Memorial
Claudio Rico, Lincoln Memorial
Leonardo Barros, Lincoln Memorial
Nelson Pizarro, Lincoln Memorial
David Fiest, Mars Hill
Daniel Waymont, Mars Hill
John Burk, Mars Hill
Edsel Rudder, Newberry
William Koch, Newberry
Kyle Rudder, Newberry
Edgar Valencia, Newberry
Matthew Ross, Tusculum
Boazin Katina, Tusculum
Tony Prisco, Tusculum
Jonathan Shute, Wingate
Kerrin Sheldon, Wingate
Ben Clark, Wingate
Jordan Bowen, Wingate
Chris Bohach, Wingate
Andrew Charlton, Wingate
Matt Van Liew, Wingate

The Lincoln Memorial University men's soccer team celebrates are receiving their 2007 men's soccer regular season co-champion trophy during Thursday night's soccer awards ceremony.

The Tusculum College men's soccer team celebrates after receiving their 2007 men's soccer regular season co-championship trophy.

Lincoln Memorial University's Leandro Pereira receives his men's soccer Player of the Year award from Commissioner Doug Echols.	Mars Hill College's Daniel Waymont receives his award as the SAC Scholar Athlete for men's soccer from Commissioner Doug Echols.
Tusculum College head coach Brett Teach receives his award for men's soccer Coach of the Year from Commissioner Doug Echols.	Tusculum College's Lucas Paulini receives his award as the men's soccer Freshman of the Year from Commissioner Doug Echols.