Nov. 2, 2006
PENSACOLA, Fla. - After claiming their first Gulf South Conference title since 2003, third-ranked West Florida is set to return to the NCAA Division II National Tournament this weekend. West Florida will host the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament at the UWF Soccer Complex for the first time. Top seed West Florida (18-1-1) will face fourth-seed Montevallo (14-5-0) on Friday at 4 p.m. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship final against the winner of Friday's other semifinal match featuring 12th ranked Lynn (14-1-0) and 23rd ranked Rollins (13-5-0).
West Florida's previous appearance in the national tournament was in 1998. West Florida dropped a 3-1 decision to the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg. West Florida and Montevallo are the only two current GSC schools with more than one national tournament appearance.
West Florida is currently on a school record 13-match winning streak. It is also one win shy of tying Central Arkansas's conference record 14-match winning streak in 2002. West Florida's 18-match unbeaten streak is also a school record. It is also tied with the 2002 Central Arkansas squad for the longest unbeaten streak in conference history. The Argonauts 18 wins are also a school record.
Two Argonauts have totaled at least 30 points this season. Senior Felipe Lawall (Sorocaba, Brazil/South Georgia) leads the team with 32 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. Junior Jimmy McHenry (Tallahassee, Fla./Darton College), the GSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is second on the team with 31 points on 10 goals and 11 assists. Junior Keith Savage (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze HS), who tallied two goals and two assists in West Florida's GSC tournament-clinching 3-1 win over Montevallo on Sunday, has tallied 22 points on nine goals and four assists. Lawall, McHenry and Savage were three of the seven Argonauts named to the All-GSC Team.
West Florida has posted six shutouts, including a shutout in three of their last four matches. The Argonauts have not allowed any of their 20 opponents to score more than one goal this season. Sophomore All-GSC selection Juan Carlos Garcia (Bogotá, Colombia/Gimnasio Britanico) has posted a 0.72 goals against average in 1,122 minutes, while junior Matt Gascoigne (Pensacola, Fla./Lynn Univ.) has a 0.62 goals against average in 720 minutes.