Lakers place three on preseason
All-Peach Belt Conference team for men’s soccer
Habtom, Madegwa, English honored by conference

MORROW, Ga. – August 13, 2007 – For the first time in its history, the Peach Belt Conference is producing preseason All-Conference teams, and the Clayton State Lakers placed three on the preseason 2007 All-Peach Belt team for men’s soccer on Monday.

Representing Clayton State on the preseason All-Peach Belt squad is forward Tonny Madegwa, midfielder Hailab Habtom and defender Danny English. The team consisted of 11 players (four forwards, three midfielders, three defenders and a goalkeeper). Clayton State and Lander each had three selections, while UNC-Pembroke and USC-Aiken both had two and Francis Marion had one selection.

“These are our three senior leaders,” said Clayton State head coach Pete Petersen about Madegwa, Habtom and English. “The challenge for them now is to meet those expectations, not just for themselves, but also their team.

“I’m happy for all the players selected. It’s a tremendous honor. The pressure is on for them to live up to their billing, because there will be more players that will surprise a few people.”

Madegwa, a 5-11, 165-pound senior from Nairobi, Kenya, is in his third season starting up front for the Lakers. Last season, he was off to a torrid start to the season when he suffered a season-ending injury in the ninth game. At the time, Madegwa was leading the Peach Belt in scoring with five goals and two assists for 12 points.

During his sophomore season, Madegwa scored five goals with six assists for 16 points.

A 6-foot, 150-pound senior from Spanga, Sweden, Habtom is back after a tremendous breakthrough season in which he was the Lakers’ leading scorer. He scored 10 goals with 11 assists for 31 points. In addition, he led the Peach Belt in assists and was ranked 10^th in the nation in assists.

Habtom garnered both All-Peach Belt and All-Southeast Region honors last season.

A 5-10, 165-pound senior from Hampton, Ga., English is in his third season as a starter on the strong Clayton State defensive backline. He’s played in 55 games with 44 starts for his career in a Laker uniform.

Clayton State, which finished 10-9 last season and won its second straight Peach Belt regular season championship, opens the 2007 season on Aug. 24 at home against Tampa.