SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College men’s soccer team earned six all-conference selections in balloting conducted by the league’s head coaches. In addition, head coach Ralph Polson was named the league’s Coach of the Year.

The Terriers, who earned the first regular-season title in school history with a 5-1-1 record, placed senior Nick Schuermann (defense) and junior Kentrel Owens (forward) on the first team. Junior midfielders Paulo Bonfim and Andrew Eppelsheimer along with seniors Branson Hyatt (defense) and Thomas Hunter (goalkeeper) earned second-team honors.

Schuermann, a senior from Fort Mill, S.C., has started all 15 games and has scored five goals to tie for the team lead. He had a hat-trick at Furman on November 3, the ninth in school history. He has started all 62 games in his career and has seven goals with one assist.

Owens, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., leads the team with eleven points on five goals and one assist. He has started all 15 games and has two game-winning goals. For his career he has eleven goals and five assists in 54 games played.

A junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Bonfim started twelve games before his season ended with a knee injury. He has two assists on the year. Eppelsheimer is a junior from Mount Pleasant, S.C. who has started all 15 games and has one goal on the season. Hyatt, a senior from Aiken, S.C. also started all 15 games and is third on the team with nine points on two goals and four assists. The four assists lead the team. Hunter, a senior from Belmont, N.C., has started all 15 games in goal for the Terriers. He is tied for the school season record with six shutouts and his goals against average of 0.88 is in the top five all-time.

Polson was named Coach of the Year after guiding the team to the regular-season championship in just his second year at Wofford. He joins Terrier football coach Mike Ayers as the only Wofford coaches to earn honors from the Southern Conference. Polson also was named South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1992 and 1996 while head coach at Presbyterian College.

The Terriers have set the school NCAA Division I records for wins in a season (10), Southern Conference wins in a season and have the first winning record since 1994. Prior to this season, only three players had earned All-Southern Conference honors for Wofford: Daniel Wilson (1998, 1999), Michael Kozak (2001) and Jesus Arroyo-Peco (2005). Schuermann and Owens are the only players in school history to earn first-team honors.

The Terriers (10-2-3, 5-1-1 SoCon) will serve as host of the 2009 Southern Conference Men’s Soccer Championship. The top-seeded Terriers will face UNC Greensboro Friday at 7:30 p.m. Second-seeded College of Charleston will face No. 3 Elon in the opening semifinal at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are available at the gate.

All-Conference
First Team
F Matt Morris, College of Charleston
F Kentrel Owens, Wofford
F Charlie Reiter, Davidson
F Justin Wyatt, Elon
M Alex Caskey, Davidson
M Erfan Imeni, Elon
M Arie Muniz, Appalachian State
D Sean Flatley, College of Charleston
D Steven Kinney, Elon
D Nick Schuermann, Wofford
GK Clint Irwin, Elon

Second Team
F Thomas Campbell, UNC Greensboro
F Zach Prince, College of Charleston
F Chris Thomas, Elon
M Paulo Bonfim, Wofford
M Warren Creavalle, Furman
M Andrew Eppelsheimer, Wofford
M Brad Franks, Elon
D Jonathan Collier, Furman
D Matt Elliott, UNC Greensboro
D Branson Hyatt, Wofford
GK Thomas Hunter, Wofford

Player of the Year: Charlie Reiter, Davidson
Freshman of the Year: Chris Thomas, Elon
Coach of the Year: Ralph Polson, Wofford