Big South Announces Men's Soccer Players of the Week - Oct. 21
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point forward
Frankie DeFrancesco (Wayne, N.J.) has been named the Big South Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while Panthers defender
Mohammed Seidu (Accra, Ghana) is the Defensive Player of the Week for matches played Oct. 14-20, it was announced today. In addition, USC Upstate forward
Shayne Abrams (Brampton, Ontario) has been selected as the Freshman of the Week.
DeFrancesco scored the only goal in High Point’s historic 1-0 upset of No. 1 Pittsburgh on Monday night. The freshman broke the scoreless tie in the 23rd minute when he put home the game-winner off assists by Beau Yantz and Brendan Krueger. This victory marked the first time a Big South men’s soccer team has defeated a top-ranked opponent in conference history. DeFrancesco had three shots in total against Pitt, with two of those going on goal.
Seidu scored a goal against Winthrop while anchoring consecutive clean sheets, including a shutout against No. 1 Pittsburgh. On Monday, he helped limit the nation’s top-ranked team to just two shots on target on eight total attempts. On Friday, he scored his first goal as a Panther, finding the net in the 58th minute to give HPU a 2-0 lead. He was on the pitch for 177 minutes across two matches.
Abrams scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute to lift USC Upstate past Presbyterian. With the match tied 2-2, he netted an unassisted goal—his second of the season—securing a crucial three points for the Spartans in the league standings. Abrams took two shots in 65 minutes of play, with his only shot on target finding the back of the net.
Also nominated for Offensive Player of the Week:
Adrian Panaite (USC Upstate).
Also nominated for Defensive Player of the Week:
Max Fisher (Gardner-Webb),
Benian Yao (UNC Asheville) and
Carson Hickok (USC Upstate).
Also nominated for Freshman of the Week: None.