CCU

Bennett and Garbanzo Honored; Chants Climb to 10th

           

Ricky Garbanzo

Ricky Garbanzo

Oct. 15, 2012

CONWAY - Coastal Carolina men's soccer phenom Ashton Bennett has been named to the Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News National Teams of the Week, while sophomore forward Ricky Garbanzo was named one of three Players of the Week by NCAA.com for games played Oct. 8-14, the online publications announced on Monday. In addition, the Top Drawer Soccer pollsters have ranked the 11-1-2 Chanticleers as the 10th-best team in the country.

Bennett recorded four goals on the week to lead the Chants to a pair of wins at Campbell and VMI. Bennett's season goal tally now stands at a Big South-best 11 with seven goals coming in Coastal's last four outings. Moreover, the lethal striker has scored two goals in each of Coastal's last three matches, bringing his season multi-goal game total to four - all against conference competition. With his four-goal output, Bennett tied Claude Huggins (1985-88) for eighth all-time in CCU's record book with 34 career goals.

Bennett, a native of Clarendon, Jamaica, slotted the keeper from close range in the 11th minute and headed home the game-winner in the 74th minute at Campbell. He followed that performance with two more goals at VMI as the Chants easily routed the Keydets, 8-0.

Garbanzo had a hand in each of Coastal's first three goals on Saturday at VMI, scoring two goals and assisting on another for the Chanticleers. The multi-goal game was the second of the season for the Rock Hill, S.C., native who matched his goal output from a year ago at six with five regular season games to play.

With the pair of wins, Coastal extended its Big South Conference unbeaten streak to 16 games (15-0-1). The Chants have won each of their last eight games and are unbeaten in their last 12. In addition, Coastal has outscored conference opponents by a wide 24-1 margin this season and leads the Big South with 38 goals and 112 points (38g/36a).

Coastal looks to continue its winning ways on Wednesday night when Winthrop comes to the CCU Soccer Field. The Chanticleers and Eagles will kick off at 7 p.m.