Five Pacers Named to Peach Belt Conference Men’s Soccer All-Academic Team

2009 PBC Men's Soccer All-Academic Team

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Five USC Aiken men's soccer student-athletes were selected to the Peach Belt Conference Men's Soccer All-Academic team. The league office announced the team on Monday, Nov. 23.

The Pacers had four student-athletes chosen to the first team, while one Pacer was tabbed to the second team.

The first team featured USC Aiken's Chijioke Agbasi, Fernando Gamez-Noriega, Amr Hailat and Svetlin Penchev. A PBC All-Academic choice in 2008 as well, James Chidsey was chosen to the 2009 second team.

This honor is the second postseason academic honor for Agbasi, who also selected to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District III Men's Soccer Second Team. A sophomore defender, Agbasi (Lagos, Nigeria/St. Gregory's College) currently owns a 3.93 grade point average as a Math and Computer Sciences major.

Agbasi played in 15 matches for the Pacers in 2009. He had one goal on the season as he netted the final tally of USC Aiken's 4-0 win over St. Andrews. The goal was the first of his career.

Gamez-Noriega (Sinaloa, Mexico/Erskine) concluded his senior campaign with the Pacers with a team second-best six goals and six assists for 18 total points. He presently owns a 3.45 GPA as a Business Administration major with a concentration in Finance.

This past season, Gamez-Noriega, a midfielder, notched the match-winner in USC Aiken's 1-0 win over PBC rival North Georgia. In 2008, Gamez-Noriega had a team second-best four goals. He was dubbed the PBC Player of the Week on Oct. 7, 2008.

A sophomore forward/midfielder, Hailat (Aiken, S.C./South Aiken) ended his second season in a Pacer uniform with five goals and two assists. In the classroom, Hailat is a Math and Computer Sciences major with a 4.0 GPA.

Hailat netted a Peach Belt Conference and team season-high four goals in USC Aiken's 4-1 win over Georgia Southwestern on Saturday, Oct. 24. On Oct. 26, Hailat was chosen as the USC Aiken Athletic Department Student-Athlete of the Week for his efforts in the win over the Hurricanes.

A senior defender/midfielder, Penchev (Sopot, Bulgaria/PGM Vladiuk Zalinov) also owns a 3.93 grade point average as a Business Administration major with a concentration in Accounting.

Penchev appeared in eight matches for the Pacers in 2009. He had one assist.

Chidsey is a senior Fine Arts major who presently owns a 3.51 GPA. A defender, Chidsey finished his final season in a Pacer uniform in 2009 with two goals and one assist.

Chidsey played in all 19 Pacer games in 2009, starting 18.

The PBC Men's Soccer All-Academic team is part of a season-long program recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of PBC student-athletes in the classroom as well as on the field. To be eligible for the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must 1) participate in at least half of his/her team's events and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and 3) completed at least one full academic year at his or her current institution. The Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Directors oversee and select the teams.

Founded in 1991, the Peach Belt Conference is home to 26 NCAA Division II National Championships. 13 member institutions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama compete in 13 championship sports. 2009-10 members are Augusta State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Clayton State University, Columbus State University, Flagler College, Francis Marion University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Lander University, University of Montevallo, North Georgia College & State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the University of South Carolina Aiken.