JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn – The South Atlantic Conference has released its Preseason men's All-Conference teams and Carson-Newman has placed five players on the two squads, including a pair on the first team.
Junior forward Tom Read(London, England) and sophomore midfielder Thibault Mathorez(Graces, France) both earned first-team All-Conference spots. Senior forward Marius Staalby(Trondheim, Norway) garnered a spot on the second-team for the second consecutive year and he's joined by sophomore forward Bruno Andrade(Sao Paulo, Brazil) and senior mid Poly Avgousti(Paphos, Cyprus).
Read, who has also been named a preseason All-American by HERO Sports, posted the best assist-per-game average in the country in 2015 at 0.89, with 16 assists in 18 games. That assist total also led the conference and put him third in the nation. He added eight goals for a total of 32 points, also tops in the SAC and was twice given the Tennessee Sports Writer Association Player of the Week award.
Mathorez is one of only two sophomores to land on the first team, along with Wingate goalkeeper Pablo Jara. He also finished last year on the SAC first-team and tallied five goals, the fourth most on the team, to go with one assist. Mathorez's season included a goal in his first college game on 9/5 vs. Alabama-Huntsville and three game-winners.
For Staalby, his second straight preseason second-team nod means he begins this season in the same place he ended 2015, as he was also honored as second-team All-SAC at the end of last year. Staalby's eight goals in 2015 were the fourth most in the league and his two assists gave him 18 points for the year, the third most on the team. His year also included the first two goal game of his career, as he scored twice on 9/19 against Newberry.
Joining Staalby at the forward spot is Andrade, whose freshman season saw him put up three goals and five assists. Andrade posted a pair of multi-point performances, with a goal and an assist on 9/9 against Belmont Abbey and two assists on 9/19 against Newberry.
Avgousti's inclusion on the second team comes following an honorable mention All-SAC season in 2015. He played in 19 games with eight starts and scored twice with four assists.
The Wingate Bulldogs led the conference with six first team selections, followed by Carson-Newman's two.
The men's team begins their 2016 campaign on Saturday, September 3rd at McCown Field against Lees McRae.
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