Men's Soccer Earns Three America East Year-End Awards
November 3, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 3, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Already winner of its third regular-season title in four years, the Boston University men's soccer team added some more hardware Thursday, as it received three annual America East awards in a vote by the league's head coaches. The Terriers led the league in all-conference honorees with eight total, including the four all-rookie team members.
Sophomore Kelvin Madzongwe earned Defender of the Year honors, while forward Dominique Badji took home the program's fourth Rookie of the Year award in the last five seasons. The Terrier coaching staff, led by 27th-year head coach Neil Roberts, garnered Coaching Staff of the Year accolades for the fifth time since 2001 and seventh overall.
Madzongwe, also a First Team All-Conference defender after earning second-team honors as a freshman, is just the second underclassman to win the award since it was instituted in 2002. The center back leads a defensive unit that is tied for the league lead with just 17 goals allowed in as many games (1.00 gapg). Madzongwe, who has started the last 14 games, also scored a goal against Binghamton on Oct. 30.
Replacing Madzgonwe as the Rookie of the Year, Badji also earned Second Team All-Conference recognition after racking up five goals and 13 points during the regular season. Those totals are not only a team best, they also are tied for third and seventh among league leaders, respectively. Badji found the back of the net when his team needed it most, scoring a league-high four game-winning goals, all of which came during conference play.
Roberts, who is in his 27th season at BU, led his team to a 9-8-0 record and a 5-2-0 mark in America East play to earn the program's 11th regular-season title during his tenure. Roberts, who is trying to lead BU to its eighth conference crown, is a seven-time America East Coach of the Year and has mentored 14 major award winners during his tenure. Back in September with a 2-1 win at UMass, he became the 34th-ever coach with at least 10 years at the NCAA Division I level to reach the 300-win milestone and just the 11th to have earned his first 300 victories at one program. He is assisted by Scott Black, Francis Okaroh and Dan Colwell.
Other All-Conference honorees included senior captain Stephen Knox (first), Ben Berube (second) and Derek McCaffrey (second). Knox is a repeat selection after tallying five goals on the season. Berube dealt with nagging injuries all season but remained an offensive threat throughout. Earning a key 2-1 win at Albany, he scored the first goal and assisted on the game winner. McCaffrey served as the center midfielder all season and earns his second All-Conference award after being placed on the rookie team last year.
Coach Roberts and his staff once again showed off their recruiting talents this year, as four members of the 22nd-best class according to College Soccer News were placed on the All-Rookie squad. Freshmen Cameron Souri (midfielder), Sanford Spivey (defender) and Nick Thomson (goalkeeper) joined Badji on the list.
As the No. 1 seed for the league tournament, the Terriers received a first round bye and will host the semifinal contest against either UMBC or Hartford next Wednesday (Nov. 9) at 7 p.m.
