Postseason Awards Abound For Akron Men's Soccer
Story courtesy of Akron Sports Information
AKRON, Ohio - Postseason accolades continued to roll in over the holidays for the University of Akron men's soccer team following the greatest season in school history.
Headlining the list were a host of awards from Soccer America, including the publication's MVP Teams. Teal Bunbury and Anthony Ampaipitakwong were named First Team MVPs, while Darlington Nagbe and Kofi Sarkodie were tabbed for the Second Team. Akron was one of just two schools (Wake Forest) with multiple first-team honorees.
Bunbury was the publication's Player of the Year for 2009 after leading the nation in goals scored (17) and is one of three finalists for the Hermann Trophy, considered the highest individual honor in college soccer. The winner of the Hermann Trophy will be announced this Friday night at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo.
Ampaipitakwong, who was a semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy last season, helped engineer the nation's top-ranked attack. The midfielder became just the 10th player in program history to earn All-American status in multiple years after capturing first-team honors in 2009. Ampaipitakwong enjoyed a career season last fall, setting personal highs for goals (8) and points (21).
Nagbe, a second-team All-American in 2009, also enjoyed a breakthrough season last fall with a career-high 10 goals and three assists. Moreover, of his 10 goals, five were game-winners. He and Bunbury teamed up to form the most dangerous attacking combination up top in the nation.
Sarkodie was a key component in a defendive unit that broke numerous school records while also posting one of the greatest seasons in NCAA history. UA posted the second-highest shutout total in single-season Division I history with 19 while it's goals-against-average (0.27) and shutout percentage (.760) are third best all-time. On top of that, Sarkodie's three goals and seven assists were personal highs.
Soccer America's MVPs were introduced in 1976 and honor the players who have had the biggest impact on their team's success regardless of position. Beginning in 2007, Soccer America selected first and second teams.
UA also landed three first-year players on Soccer America's All-Freshman Team. Goalkeeper David Meves and defender Zarek Valentin were named to the First Team while defender Chad Barson garnered Second Team honors.
The talented trio hit the ground running last fall with all three starting every game of the season.
Meves set school records for wins (23), shutouts (17) and goals-against-average (0.28) in his first year. Although he did not face a lot of shots during the regular season, the Illinois-native made the plays when they mattered. This was no more true than in the NCAA postseason as Meves did not allow a single goal in five games, spanning 490 minutes, while making 16 saves.
The exceptional play of Valentin and Barson was the reason, in large part, Meves faced limited shots during the year. For his efforts, Valentin was named Mid-American Conference Newcomer of the Year while Barson also contributed to the attack with a game-winning goal against Bowling Green (Sept. 26) and an assist against Hartwick (Nov. 29).
Led by its pair of Acadmic All-Americans, Sarkodie and Ben Zemanski; the Zips also received a Team Academic Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America after posting a 3.27 cumulative grade point average for the 2008-09 academic year.
Moreover, six UA players earned All-Great Lakes Region honors while head coach Caleb Porter was named Coach of the Year in the powerhouse region that also includes, Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Louisville and UIC among others.
This is a significant number of honorees as the Zips landed five on the 11-man first team and six overall among the 33-man field. Earning all-region, first-team status were Ampaipitakwong, Bunbury, Blair Gavin, Nagbe and Sarkodie. Meves was named to the third team.
Gavin, who served as a team captain in 2009, was a crucial component to the Zips' success in nearly every aspect. The defensive midfielder finished with five goals - including three game-winners - and three assists while earning First Team All-MAC status for the second straight year.
The Zips matched the longest, single-season win streak in NCAA history in 2009 after running off 23 consecutive victories and advanced to the national championship game for the second time in school history.
SOCCER AMERICA MVPS FIRST TEAM
G Diego Restrepo, Virginia, Jr.
F Andre Akpan, Harvard, Sr.
M Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Akron, Jr.
M Corben Bone, Wake Forest, Jr.
F Teal Bunbury, Akron, Soph.
M Irving Garcia, UC Irvine, Sr.
D Zach Loyd, North Carolina, Sr.
M Ashley McInnes, Tulsa, Jr.
F Danny Mwanga, Oregon State, Soph.
M Kyle Nakazawa, UCLA, Sr.
D Ike Opara, Wake Forest, Jr.
MVPS SECOND TEAM
G Zac MacMath, Maryland, Soph.
D Phil Edginton, Louisville, Sr.
M Michael Farfan, North Carolina, Jr.
M Two-Boys Gumede, UAB, Sr.
F Ryan Kinne, Monmouth, Jr.
F Darlington Nagbe, Akron, Soph.
D Kofi Sarkodie, Akron, Soph.
M Tony Tchani, Virginia, Soph.
D Bobby Warshaw, Stanford, Jr.
F Garrett Webb, Drake, Sr.
F Jason Yeisley, Penn State, Sr.
SOCCER AMERICA ALL-FRESHMAN FIRST TEAM
G David Meves, Akron
F Carlos Alvarez, Connecticut
D Anthony Arena, Wake Forest
F Will Bates, Virginia
D Taylor Kemp, Maryland
F Andy Lubahn, Wake Forest
F Enzo Martinez, North Carolina
M Amobi Okugo, UCLA
F Issa Tall, Adelphi
D Zarek Valentin, Akron
D Andrew Wenger, Duke
ALL-FRESHMAN SECOND TEAM
G Matt Lampson, Ohio State
G Justin Luthy, Boston College
F Max Alvarez, Sacramento State
D Chad Barson, Akron
F Julian Cardona, Butler
M Machael David, UC Santa Barbara
M Paolo Del Piccolo, Louisville
M Matt Lodge, Kentucky
F Brian Rogers, Harvard
F Hasani Sinclair, South Florida
F Patrick Wallen, San Diego
