MAC Announces Men's Soccer All-MAC Award Winners
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Thursday, November 12, on the eve of the 2015 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 2015 Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year as voted by the head coaches of the Mid-American Conference.
The top conference honors were split between three different teams this season. Buffalo’s Russell Cicerone was voted the 2015 MAC Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, Kevin Rodriguez of Northern Illinois was selected as 2015 MAC Freshman of the Year and Western Michigan’s Chad Wiseman was chosen as the 2015 “Gary V. Palmisano” Coach of the Year.
Russell Cicerone gives the Buffalo Bulls their first MAC Men’s Soccer Player of the Year since Steve Butcher in 1999. The Bloomfield, Mich. native led the conference in goals scored (11), goals per game (.69), total points (30) and points per game (1.88), while also finishing second in the league in assists with eight. Cicerone started all 16 games he appeared in for the Bulls and tallied a team high three game-winning goals. His best match of the year came in a 6-0 victory over St. Bonaventure when he put two scores in the back of the net while also accounting for three assists. In his five matches of MAC play, Cicerone was tied for the league lead in both points (8) and goals scored (3).
2015 marks the second year of the MAC Freshman of the Year award. In his first season with the Huskies, Kevin Rodriguez played in thirteen games with eleven starts. The Pasadena, Texas native recorded a pair of goals on 10 shots for the year.
In only his third season at the helm of the Broncos, Chad Wiseman received the distinguished honor of being named the “Gary V. Palmisano” Coach of the Year as voted on by his peers. Wiseman led WMU to an 11-3-4 record in the regular season and a #2 seed in the upcoming MAC Men’s Soccer Championship. The 11 wins were the most the Broncos have had in a season since the 2003 campaign when they notched 12 victories.
In addition to the 2015 individual awards, the conference office also announced the men’s soccer first and second teams.
Joining the Player of the Year, Russell Cicerone, on the first team were six players from Akron and four from Western Michigan. Representing the Zips on the list were forward Sam Gainford, forward Stuart Holthusen, midfielder Richie Laryea, midfielder Adam Najem, defender Brad Ruhaak and defender Andrew Souders. Gainford, Laryea and Najem were explosive at the offensive end this season as they each tallied 23 points which had them all tied for the second most in the conference. Laryea led the trio with nine scores while Gainford and Najem each had eight. For the Broncos, midfielder Sean Conerty, defender Connor Furgason, goalkeeper Drew Shepherd and and midfielder Nick Wysong were voted as First-Team selections. It was the second year in a row that Wysong was named First-Team All-MAC. The senior led the Broncos in scoring with six goals (including a MAC best four game winners) and was tied for first on the team with six assists. Shepherd was appearing on the team for the first time in his career after a remarkable season in the net. The Ann Arbor, Mich. native led the nation in both save percentage (.931) and goals against average (.179) which was almost half of what the second best goals against average was (.357/ Logan Keys / LIU Brooklyn). He was a crucial factor in the Broncos posting a school record 12 shutouts on the season.
The All-MAC Second Team was split evenly as Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, West Virginia and Western Michigan each had a pair of players selected. Northern Illinois had Luke Read as its second-team honoree to round out the list. Read was tied for the lead in scoring for the Huskies this season and made appearances to multiple National Team of the Week’s. Representing the Zips were forward Sean Sepe and goalkeeper Jake Fanlason. For the Falcons were forward Pat Flynn and midfielder Ryan James. Flynn’s nine goals in 2015 had him tied for the second most scored in the league. The pair of Bulls that made the list were defender Nick Forrester and forward Marcus Hanson. Joey Piatczyc and Ryan Cain then earned All-MAC Second Team honors for the Mountaineers. Piatczyc led the entire nation in assists (13) and assists per game (.72) for the 2015 campaign. Rounding out the list were Broncos defender Zach Bock and forward Brandon Bye.
The 2015 Mid-American Conference Championship begins Friday at 4 PM when #2 Western Michigan takes on #3 Buffalo on the campus of the University of Akron. The second match will begin at approximately 7 PM when #1 Akron hosts #4 West Virginia. The winners of the two games will meet Sunday, November 15th at 1 PM to play for the MAC Championship.
All-MAC First Team (11 Members)
Sam Gainford, Akron, F
Stuart Holthusen, Akron, F
Richie Laryea, Akron, M
Adam Najem, Akron, M
Brad Ruhaak, Akron, D
Andrew Souders, Akron, D
Russell Cicerone, Buffalo, M
Sean Conerty, Western Michigan, M
Connor Furgason, Western Michigan, D
Drew Shepherd, Western Michigan, GK
Nick Wysong, Western Michigan, M
All-MAC Second Team (11 Members)
Jake Fenlason, Akron, GK
Sean Sepe, Akron, F
Pat Flynn, Bowling Green, F
Ryan James, Bowling Green, M
Nick Forrester, Buffalo, D
Marcus Hanson, Buffalo, F
Luke Read, Northern Illinois, D
Ryan Cain, West Virginia, F
Joey Piatczyc, West Virginia, M
Zach Bock, Western Michigan, D
Brandon Bye, Western Michigan, F
Player of the Year
Russell Cicerone, Buffalo, M
Freshman of the Year
Kevin Rodriguez, Northern Illinois, M
Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year
Chad Wiseman, Western Michigan
