Nov. 19, 2008
Complete All-WCC Release in PDF Format
(San Francisco) - After a record setting year in leading San Francisco to the 2008 West Coast Conference Championship, junior forward Conor Chinn (San Diego) captured 2008 WCC Player of the Year honors as announced today by the league office. Chinn, who shattered the conference record with 14 goals in WCC matches and 17 overall scoring strikes, headlined seven Dons earning all-league honors. "It's really rewarding after being picked fourth to finish first," USF head coach Erik Visser said. "It's a real tribute to our team that they stayed the course. I think it's a great tribute to our coaching staff that as a group we have stayed the course even after a slow start. I think the group and the coaching staff have a lot of faith that we would continue to improve and progress and I think in conference we were the most consistent team and that is why we enjoyed success. We played hard for 12 games and the results came." Chinn becomes the third USF player to capture league MVP honors, joining Aaron Chandler (2004) and Rob Valentino (2006). Chinn finished the 2008 regular season tied for second place on the Dons single-season goals list with 17, including six game-winners. Chinn shattered the single-season WCC record for goals and points (29) in league matches with 14, easily passing the previous standard of eight goals by San Diego's Guillermo Jara in 1995 and 19 points turned in by Portland's Jim Clarke in 1993. In his 31st season associated with USF soccer, Visser won WCC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in five seasons after guiding the Dons, who were picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, to their third league championship in five years and fourth NCAA Tournament berth in five seasons. Senior defender Jeff Russell (Novato, CA) earned first team selection after turning in a career year in the back for the Dons. The MVP of the 2008 BMW/Nike Soccer Challenge, Russell stabilized the top defensive unit in the WCC. "Individual accolades come with team success and the players that were picked for the first team, including player of the year Conor Chinn are well-deserving," Visser said. "Conor averaged better than a goal per game in conference. It is an incredible achievement in a tough conference with so many good defenders. I think Jeff Russell has been the anchor of the team on the back line. He solidified the position and stepped up and played a huge role for us as a leader." Sophomore forward Bryan Burke (Corona del Mar, CA), junior midfielders Jonathan Levi (Varberg, Sweden) and Leon Williams (Manchester, Jamaica) were tabbed as second team selections. Burke scored a goal and added three assists for USF in his second year on the Hilltop and was relentless on the attack. Levi made a big impact for the Dons in his first season in the Green and Gold and ranked second on the team with nine points on the year. Levi scored three goals with a game-winner against Portland (10/31) to go along with three assists. Williams also made a big impact for San Francisco. The 2007 NJCAA All-American scored a pair of game-winning goals against Loyola Marymount (10/19) and Santa Clara (10/26). "Jonathan Levi and Leon Williams did a great job in solidifying us in the midfield. It was also nice to see Bryan Burke be rewarded. He really emerged as a dangerous threat day in and day out during conference," Visser said. Senior goalkeeper Jeremy Coupe (Livermore, CA) enjoyed a career year between the pipes for the Dons and tied the WCC record for most shutouts (6) during league contests. Coupe finished the regular season with a 8-5-2 record and a sparkling 0.81 GAA and earned honorable mention selection. Freshman defender Omar Elmasri (Arcadia, CA) collected honorable mention and all-freshman team selection and was the only USF freshman to start every match. "We had a very strong freshman class, but I think Omar played every minute of every game and very well deserved to be selected. Jeremy Coupe had six shutouts during conference play and it is gratifying for Jeremy, who transferred from Cal Poly as a senior, to emerge as one of the top goalkeepers in the conference," Visser said. USF soccer makes its 31st NCAA Tournament appearance Friday, November 21 when they take on Bay Area rival No. 9 Cal in opening round action in Berkeley. Game time against the Bears is set for 1:30 PM at Edwards Stadium. 2008 All-West Coast Conference Team ALL-WCC FIRST TEAM ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM HONORABLE MENTION ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
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