MAC Announce Men's Soccer All-MAC Award Winners
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Thursday, on the eve of the 2014 MAC Men’s Soccer Championship, the final regular season award winners which included the 22-member All-MAC First and Second Teams, as well as the 2014 Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year as voted by the head coaches of the Mid-American Conference.
In their third season in the conference, West Virginia swept the individual specialty awards for the first time as Andy Bevin, Joey Piatczyc and Marlon LeBlanc were recognized. These were each awards honored to Mountaineers for the first time since joining the MAC in 2012.
Senior CLASS and Academic All-America finalist Andy Bevin was named the 2014 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. A forward, Bevin was an offensive force for the Mountaineers in 2014, leading the MAC in points and points per game with 32 points in 18 games this season. Additionally, Bevin ranked second in the MAC overall with 12 goals, eight assists and four game-winning goals. In his five MAC games, scored a league leading six goals in five games and added a single assist to earn him 13 points. Aside form a hat trick against Buffalo, Bevin’s most impressive game may have come October 22, when Bevin scored both second half goals in a 2-1 win over then #12 Penn State in University Park, Pa.
2014 marks the first year of the renamed Freshman of the Year award, previously the Newcomer of the Year. WVU Midfielder, Joey Piatczyc, was named the inaugural Freshman of the Year winner. Piatczyc played in sixteen games in his first season with the Mountaineers, recording seven assists, which ranked him fourth in the conference overall.
In his ninth season at the helm of the Mountaineer, Marlon LeBlanc received the distinguished honor of being named the “Gary V. Palmisano” Coach of the Year as voted on by his peers. LeBlanc led WVU to their best season since joining the Mid-American Conference in 2012, recording an 11-6-1 overall record, and going 3-1-1 in the MAC to earn the #2 seed in the upcoming MAC Men’s Soccer Championship.
In addition to the 2014 individual awards, the conference office also announced the men’s soccer first and second teams.
Joining the Player of the Year, Andy Bevin, on the first team was teammate Jamie Merriam. Merriam ranked second on the Mountaineers with eight goals and five assists. Akron led the way with four members of the Zips being recognized as first teamers. Goalkeeper Jake Fenlason received the nod in the net as he turned in seven shutouts and a 0.76 GGA. Joining Fenlason from the Zips were defenders Saad Abdul-Salaam and Andrew Souders, as well as midfielder Adam Najem who finished as the Zips leading scorer with 11 goals. Western Michigan had the second-most individuals on the first team as the trio of Sean Conerty, Connor Furgason and Nick Wysong were honored. Conerty led the MAC with 10 assists in 2014, while his midfielding counterpart Wysong, and defender Furgason led the Broncos with four goals apiece. 2013 Newcomer of the Year, Russell Cicerone of Buffalo, rounds out the first team as the lone representative of the Bulls this season, while two time All-MAC second team selection Isaac Kannah of Northern Illinois received first team honors in his final season.
Bowling Green State University landed five Falcons on the All-MAC Second Team, as Danny Baraldi, Jake Genrich, Jacob Roth, Ryan James and Pat Flynn were honored. Flynn led the MAC with 13 goals in 2014 and turned in a record-setting performance against Findlay when he recorded five first half goals in a game. WVU saw Freshman of the Year Joey Piatczyc joined on the second team by Ryan Cain, Jack Elliot and goalkeeper Lee Johnston. Three Zips rounded out the second team as Richie Laryea, Stuart Holthusen and Victor Souto.
The 2014 Mid-American Conference Championship begins Friday at 4 PM when #2 West Virginia takes on #3 Bowling Green on the campus of the University of Akron. The second match will begin at approximately 7 PM when #1 Akron hosts #4 Western Michigan. The winners of the two games will meet Sunday, November 16th at 1 PM to play for the MAC Championship.
2014 Men's Soccer Player of the Year
Andy Bevin, West Virginia, F
2014 Men's Soccer Freshman of the Year
Joey Piatczyc, West Virginia, M
2014 "Gary V. Palmisano" Coach of the Year
Marlon LeBlanc, West Virginia
2014 Men's Soccer All-MAC First Team
Saad Abdul-Salaam, Akron, D/F
Jake Fenlason, Akron, GK
Adam Najem, Akron, M
Andrew Souders, Akron, D
Russell Cicerone, Buffalo, M
Isaac Kannah, Northern Illinois, M/F
Andy Bevin, West Virginia, F
Jamie Merriam, West Virginia, F
Sean Conerty, Western Michigan, M
Connor Furgason, Western Michigan, D
Nick Wysong, Western Michigan, M
2014 Men's Soccer All-MAC Second Team
Richie Laryea, Akron, M
Stuart Holthusen, Akron, F
Victor Souto, Akron, M
Danny Baraldi, Bowling Green, M
Pat Flynn, Bowling Green, F
Jake Genrich, Bowling Green, D
Ryan James, Bowling Green, M
Jacob Roth, Bowling Green, D/M
Ryan Cain, West Virginia, F
Jack Elliot, West Virginia, D
Joey Piatczyc, West Virginia, M
Lee Johnston, West Virginia, GK
