IRVING, Texas – Senior
Kurtis Turner of South Carolina was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week after notching a goal and an assist in a winning effort against Furman and Georgia State, respectively. Junior goalie
Stuart Ford of (RV) Kentucky garnered C-USA Defensive Player of the Week laurels after registering consecutive shutout wins against (RV) East Tennessee State and conference-foe No. 21 New Mexico.
C-USA Offensive Player of the Week – Kurtis Turner, South Carolina, Sr., MF, Sheffield, England
Turner registered a goal and an assist last week to earn Offensive Player of the Week honors. He scored a goal on the road at Furman, who was ranked No. 18 in the
Soccer America poll, in a 3-0 win over the Paladins. Turner assisted South Carolina’s first goal at home Saturday night in its 3-1 win over Georgia State. He found fellow senior Koty Millard alone on the left edge of the box where he was able to boot it home from 25-yards out. In the Gamecocks two wins, Turner had six shots and two shots on goal. This is Turner’s first C-USA Player of the Week award of his career.
C-USA Defensive Player of the Week – Stuart Ford, Kentucky, Jr., GK, Shaker Heights, Ohio
Ford put together perhaps his two best performances of his career in keeping clean sheets in Kentucky’s two 1-0 wins last week. On Wednesday he held an ETSU side, that came in red hot with a stretch that included a win at then-No. 1 North Carolina, scoreless through 106 minutes of action, making a key save and coming decisively for multiple contested balls and crosses throughout the match. On Sunday against No. 21 New Mexico, Ford tied a career-high with six saves and protected a 1-0 lead for 86 minutes. Ford has a Conference USA-best 0.48 goals-against average in 756:12 minutes of match action this season. This is Ford’s first C-USA Player of the Week award of his career.
2016 C-USA Offensive Players of the Week
- A29 Niko Klosterhalfen, Old Dominion
- S6 Marco Sunol-Rojas, Charlotte
- S12 Sebastian Hauret, Old Dominion
- S19 Santiago Patino, FIU
- S26 Kurtis Turner, South Carolina
2016 C-USA Defensive Players of the Week
- A29 Aaron Herrera, New Mexico
- S6 Callum Montgomery, Charlotte
- S12 Jimmy Filerman, Old Dominion
- S19 Elliot Panicco, Charlotte
- S26 Stuart Ford, Kentucky
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