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NEW ORLEANS – Three South Carolina men’s soccer players were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team Wednesday (Aug. 13) the conference announced. Ethan Ballek, Alexander Stjernegaard, and Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez earned the honor for the Gamecocks.
Carolina tied for the conference lead with three players being named to the 11-man All-Sun Belt Team. Ballek and Velazquez-Lopez both earned All-Conference Second Team honors a season ago.
A senior forward, Ballek is coming off a remarkable season where he was drafted by the Nashville Soccer Club No. 66 overall in the MLS SuperDraft. He was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team and earned Academic All-America Second Team honors. He started and played in all 17 matches. He finished the regular season with nine goals and five assists for 23 points. His nine goals and 23 points were the most by a player since 2016, while his five assists were the most since 2018. He ranked third in the conference in points, fifth in goals and sixth in assists.
Stjernegaard, a senior midfielder, joined the Gamecocks this fall as a transfer from Marshall. Last season with the Thundering Herd, he played in 20 matches and started 17 of them. He registered two goals and four assists for eight points. He was second on the team in assists and fifth in points. He noted a game-winning and game-tying goal for the season. He played a career-high 100 minutes against West Virginia in the Sun Belt Conference Championship match and played all 90 minutes in four regular season matches.
A freshman midfielder, Velazquez-Lopez is coming off a remarkable first collegiate season where he earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors. He started all 17 matches for the Gamecocks, logging 1,200 minutes on the pitch. He has tallied four goals and five assists on the year. His five assists tied for the team lead and were tied for seventh most in program history by a freshman and were the most since 2013. He registered a pair of game-winning goals on the season. He had a standout match against USC Upstate where he tallied a goal and an assist. In league play, his three assists were tied for sixth among all players.
For the latest on men’s soccer, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockMSoccer, Facebook /GamecockMSoccer, and Instagram @GamecockMSoccer.
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