8/18/08

 FIU junior forward Juan Guerra has been named the Conference USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Guerra is the first Golden Panther ever to earn that honor. In addition, Guerra was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team.



In 2007, Guerra led the Golden Panthers on offense, scoring eight goals and assisting on two. His eight goals were tied for second most in the conference. Twice Guerra tallied two scores in a game; the first coming against Illinois Chicago at home and then doing it again on the road against UAB to lead FIU to a come-from-behind win. The victory over UAB propelled FIU over the Blazers in the C-USA Championship Tournament seeding.



In the conference tournament, Guerra led the Golden Panthers on an improbable run to the finals. The striker from Caracas, Venezuela scored three goals as FIU upset No.5 SMU, before beating Marshall in the semis to advance to the finals. In the championship match, Guerra scored to give FIU a 2-1 lead over No.9 Tulsa. FIU would eventually lose the match, but Guerra's efforts landed him on the all-tournament team.



2008 C-USA MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON AWARDS



2008 C-USA PRESEASON OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Juan Guerra, Jr., F, Florida International



2008 C-USA PRESEASON DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Barry Rice, Jr., D, Kentucky



2008 PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE USA TEAM
Juan Guerra, Jr., F, Florida International

Barry Rice, Jr., D, Kentucky

Masumi Turnbull, Sr., MF, Kentucky

Michael Coburn, Sr., D, Memphis

Ryan Mirsky, Sr., D, SMU

Jimmy Maurer, So., GK, South Carolina

Jeff Scanella, Jr., MF, South Carolina

Chris Clements, Sr., D, Tulsa

Eric DeFreitas, Sr., MF, Tulsa

Jose Parada, Jr., F, Tulsa

Ryan Roushandel, Sr., F, UCF