Nov. 12, 2009
TULSA -- Barry Rice and Jason Griffiths were each named first-team All-Conference USA in a voting of the league coaches and a total of five Kentucky men’s soccer student athletes earned all-league recognition, it was announced by the conference office Thursday afternoon.
Kentucky (13-5-0, 5-3 C-USA) placed a total of five players in the post season awards, including Rice and Griffiths who were UK’s lone first-team representatives. UK senior goalkeeper Dan Williams was named second team, along with UK freshman Matt Lodge. Sophomore defender Brad Walker earned third-team accolades, with Lodge also earning All-Freshman team honors.
Griffiths, a senior and native of Bracknell, England, earned his second consecutive first-team All-Conference USA accolade after totaling three goals and one assist as a stalwart in the midfield for UK. A four-year starter, Griffiths has played in 64 games with 63 starting assignments, totaling 34 points, with 12 goals and 10 assists. In his career, Griffiths has netted 8-of-8 penalty-kick goals, including two in 2009.
Rice, a native of Parma, Ohio, did not win C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honors for the first time since his freshman season, as he set a league record by winning the honor from 2007-08. A physical defender, Rice has started 17 of UK’s 18 games and owns two goals in 2009, including a game winner against UCF in Orlando. In his four-year career, Rice has 31 points with 12 goals and seven assists, including seven game-winning goals. As a freshman, Rice was named to the All-Freshman team and as a sophomore, junior and senior was named first-team All-Conference USA. After the 2008 season, Rice became the third All-America in program history.
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Williams, a four-year starter and one of the top goalkeepers in the nation, earned his third career C-USA post-season honor, after earning third-team accolades as a freshman and junior. In 2009, Williams has a league-leading 0.71 goals-against average, allowing only 13 goals in 18 games, saving 50 shots and totaling seven clean sheets. In his career, Williams has played in 72 games, totaling a 1.05 goals-against average with 21 shutouts, just one clean sheet shy of the school record.
A freshman out of Rossington, England, Lodge immediately stepped into the UK lineup as a true freshman and led the Wildcats with six goals and two assists, firing a team-best 40 shots with three game-winning goals. Lodge started the season with four goals and one assist in the first five games, totaling point in four straight games.
Walker, a sophomore defender, earned his second consecutive All-Conference USA post-season accolade, as he was named to the third team. A native of Sydney, Australia, Walker has been a fixture on the UK backline that leads the league with a 0.71 goals-against average. Walker has started all 18 games for UK in 2009, totaling one goal and one assist. Last season, Walker was named to the All-Freshman team after played in 20 games with one goal.
First Team
F – Sam Arthur, USC
F – Austin Neil, TLS
F – Two-Boys Gumede, UAB
MF – Jason Griffiths, UK
MF – Dustin Dawes, MAR
MF – Dane Saintus, SMU
MF – Ashley McInnes, TLS
D – Barry Rice, UK
D – Tyler Ruthven, USC
D – Justin Chavez, TLS
GK – Carl Woszczynski, UAB
Second Team
F – Matt Lodge, UK
F – Jose Parada, TLS
F – Babayele Sodade, UAB
MF – Payton Hickey, SMU
MF – Yaron Bacher, UCF
MF – Kevan George, UCF
D – Rick Alleman, MEM
D – Curtis Ushedo, UAB
D – Chris Taylor, TLS
GK – Dan Williams, UK
GK – Daniel Withrow, MAR
Third Team
F – Steven Cabas, FIU
F – Sebastian Frings, FIU
F – Blake Brettschneider, USC
F – Nicholas Robson, UCF
MF – Matt Butler, MAR
MF – Kekoa Osorio, SMU
MF – Hunter Christiansen, TLS
MF – Michal Mravec, UAB
D – Anthony Hobbs, FIU
D – Brad Walker, UK
D – Kendall Sutton, MAR
D – Andreas Guenther, MEM
D – Ian Kalis, SMU
GK – Jimmy Maurer, USC
All-Freshman Team
Anthony Hobbs, D, FIU
Sebastian Frings, F, FIU
Matt Lodge, F, UK
Devon Perkins, MAR
Daniel Withrow, GK, MAR
Tom Jackson, F, MAR
Andreas Guenther, D, MEM
J.J. Greer, F, MEM
T.J. Nelson, D, SMU
Kofi Gyawu, F, UAB
Nicholas Robson, F, UCF
MVP
Ashley McInnes, Tulsa
Offensive Player of the Year
Two-Boys Gumede, UAB
Defensive Player of the Year
Justin Chavez, Tulsa
Freshman of the Year
Daniel Withrow, Marshall
Coach of the Year
Bob Gray, Marshall
