Big South Announces Men's Soccer Players of the Week - Sept. 30
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Longwood forward
Simao Coelho (Cascais, Portugal) has been named the Big South Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while High Point defender
Beau Yantz (Redondo Beach, Calif.) is the Defensive Player of the Week for matches played Sept. 23-29, it was announced today. In addition, Longwood forward
Brando Bedolla (Greenville, S.C.) and High Point forward
Frankie DeFrancesco (Wayne, N.J.) have been selected as the Co-Freshmen of the Week.
Coelho scored four goals in a 22-minute span of the first half during Longwood’s 8-2 home victory over USC Upstate. The junior forward is the only NCAA Division I player to score four goals in a game this season. Coelho found the back of the net in the 14th, 16th, 31st, and 36th minutes before sitting out the entire second half with the Lancers ahead 5-0 by halftime. His four goals came on only four shots and were his first four goals of the season. Longwood’s eight goals also set a program record for the team's Division I era.
Yantz scored the game-winner in High Point’s 3-1 win against Radford. He also helped anchor a Panthers defense that allowed only four shots in total and one shot on goal. The junior broke through for his first goal of the season with an unassisted score in the 20th minute, putting HPU ahead at the time, 2-0. Defensively, Yantz and High Point held the Highlanders scoreless through 88 minutes before an own goal with less than two minutes remaining.
Bedolla netted the first two goals of his collegiate career against USC Upstate. The Greenville, S.C. native struck twice in the second half in the 59th and 65th minutes to help Longwood set a new Division I program record with eight goals scored in a single match. He saw 45 minutes of action and beat the Spartan goalkeeper on both his shot attempts. The Lancers are now 2-0 in Big South play for the first time as league members.
DeFrancesco tallied one goal and one assist to help power the Panthers past Radford. The freshman forward scored the game’s first goal less than six minutes in to give High Point a lead it would ultimately never surrender. He later added an assist on a goal scored by Brendan Krueger in the 63rd minute to stretch HPU's advantage to 3-0.