 Ibisevic is C-USA Freshman of the Year
Nov. 12, 2003 St. Louis - Saint Louis Billikens leading scorer Vedad Ibisevic (St. Louis, Mo. / Roosevelt) was named Conference USA's Freshman of the Year today in the annual voting by the league's coaches. Ibisevic is the third Billiken to receive the award, and he also earned a spot on the first-team All-Conference squad. Senior defender Nick Gannon (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) joined Ibisevic on the first-team All-Conference squad. Gannon is a repeat selection from 2002 and also was a 2003 preseason choice. "When you consider what our team has accomplished this year with so many freshmen in the line-up, it's a tribute not only to the skill of our freshman class, but also the leadership of our small core of upperclassmen," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. Ibisevic ranks fifth in C-USA and leads the Bills in scoring with 21 points (9G, 3A). He is C-USA's fourth-leading goal scorer. At sweeper, Gannon is the Billikens' top defender. When he missed three matches with a nagging leg injury, the Bills went 1-1-1 while allowing seven goals. When he returned to the lineup, the Bills shut out three of their next five foes. The Billikens placed five players on C-USA's second team: freshman forward Will John (Kansas City, Mo. / Rockhurst), freshman midfielder John DiRaimondo (St. Louis, Mo. / SLUH), freshman midfielder Brian Grazier (Edwardsville, Ill. / Edwardsville), senior defender Andy Pusateri (St. Louis, Mo. / Parkway South) and junior goalkeeper Martin Hutton (Spring, Texas / Klein). John, DiRaimondo and Grazier all join Ibisevic on the All-Freshman Team. John (8G, 3A) is the Bills' second-leading scorer and is tied for the C-USA lead with five game winners. DiRaimondo is the Bills' third-leading scorer with 17 points (4G, 9A) and ranks second in C-USA in assists. Grazier is a steadying force at defensive midfield. John Pusateri is a four-year starter for the Billikens, one of their defensive stalwarts and their fastest back. Hutton has a 0.95 goals against average with a 10-2-2 won-loss-tied mark. He ranks second in three C-USA categories: shutouts with six, saves with 69 and a .831 save percentage. Sophomore midfielder Cooper McKee (St. Louis, Mo. / Chaminade) is the Billikens' lone representative on the third team and gives SLU tough, hard-working, physical presence in the midfield. The No. 2 seed Billikens play in the semifinals of the C-USA tournament in Memphis on Fri., Nov. 14, at 7:30 p.m. Louisville and UAB square off Thu., Nov. 13, in the quarterfinal round to earn the right to play Saint Louis. 2003 C-USA FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE F - Vedad Ibisevic, Saint Louis F - Simon Bird, Louisville F - Chris Lee, Marquette MF - Tim Brown, Cincinnati MF - Josh Gardner, Cincinnati MF - Leandro de Oliveira, UAB MF - Marin Pusek, UAB B - Adrian Cann, Louisville B - Nick Gannon, Saint Louis B - Steve Lawrence, Marquette B - Tony McManus, UAB GK - Brad Sokolowski, Louisville
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