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Several
members of FIU’s 2003 football team and two members
of the 2003 men’s soccer team were honored with post-season
accolades. Nine football players received NCAA I-AA Independent
All-Star honors while the soccer players earned all-region honors
by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America and adidas.
In football, running back Adam Gorman,
defensive lineman Mike Sherill and defensive back John Haritan
earned first-team recognition.
Wide receivers Harold Leath, Cory McKinney, linebacker Lance
Preston,
defensive back Nick Turnbull and place kicker Adam Moss received
second-team honors, and kick return specialist Greg Moss was
an honorable mention selection.
The schools within the I-AA Independent
ranks are Cal Poly, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Northern Colorado,
Saint Mary’s, Savannah
State, Southeastern Louisiana, Southern Utah and UC Davis.
The football team, which concluded
last season with a 2-10 mark, announced recently its intentions
to begin the transition from
I-AA to I-A membership in the Sun Belt Conference by the 2006
season.
In a different kind of football,
men’s soccer team members
John Pulido and Lucas Scudeler earned all-region honors by the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America and adidas.
Pulido, the 2003 Atlantic Soccer
Conference Player of the year, was named to the All-South Region
first team after the Golden
Panthers advanced to the third round of their third straight
NCAA Tournament.
This season, the midfielder led the nation’s 10th-ranked
scoring offense in points (21), shots (59) and goals (9), scoring
in eight games—including a two-goal match in a 6-1 rout
of conference opponent Philadelphia. As an all-region first-team
pick,
he is now eligible for All America honors.
Pulido looks to continue his soccer
career as one of 54 college athletes invited to participate in
the 2004 adidas Major League
Soccer Player Combine Jan. 11-13 in Carson, CA.
Scudeler, all All-South Region third
team selection, was one of six Golden Panthers to start all 22
games in 2003. He was
third
in assists on FIU’s squad, with four on the season. The
sophomore was on the all-conference first team this season, after
earning
Atlantic Soccer Conference Rookie of the Year and second-team
honors as a freshman.
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