Montali, Roach Earn United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America First Team Honors
December 15, 2023 | Men's Soccer, Student-Athlete Academic Support Service
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the first time in program history, the Boston University men's soccer team landed a pair of Scholar All-America First Team honors with both seniors Francesco Montali and Griffin Roach earning the recognition, as announced by the United Soccer Coaches organization Friday afternoon.
Coming off a successful Patriot League tournament run and 12-4-4 record, BU was just one of three programs to have multiple players recognized for success on the field and in the classroom. Montali collected his first career honor, while Roach earned his second after being placed on the third team a year prior.
A native of Davie, Florida, Montali made program history as the first Terrier to repeat as a conference's Goalkeeper of the Year, as he started all 18 contests played to help BU claim its first-PL regular season title since 2014. He totaled eight shutouts with a clean sheet against Saint Joseph's, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate (2x), Bucknell, Army and Lafayette to earn his first All-Region (first team) honor. He finished with a .737 save percentage and 0.83 goals against average while boasting a 3.54 GPA as a film & television major.
Recently tabbed the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, Roach made history of his own as the first Terrier to earn two Defensive Player of the Year honors from a conference. The Canton, Massachusetts, native anchored a backline that held opponents to just 9.3 shots per game, the program's lowest average since joining the PL in the summer of 2013. The 2023 All-Region First Team member headed in his first career game-winning goal in a 4-1 victory vs. Navy and keyed the 3-1 second-half come-from-behind win over Loyola Maryland with a 73rd minute header.
Coming off a successful Patriot League tournament run and 12-4-4 record, BU was just one of three programs to have multiple players recognized for success on the field and in the classroom. Montali collected his first career honor, while Roach earned his second after being placed on the third team a year prior.
A native of Davie, Florida, Montali made program history as the first Terrier to repeat as a conference's Goalkeeper of the Year, as he started all 18 contests played to help BU claim its first-PL regular season title since 2014. He totaled eight shutouts with a clean sheet against Saint Joseph's, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Colgate (2x), Bucknell, Army and Lafayette to earn his first All-Region (first team) honor. He finished with a .737 save percentage and 0.83 goals against average while boasting a 3.54 GPA as a film & television major.
Recently tabbed the ECAC Defensive Player of the Year, Roach made history of his own as the first Terrier to earn two Defensive Player of the Year honors from a conference. The Canton, Massachusetts, native anchored a backline that held opponents to just 9.3 shots per game, the program's lowest average since joining the PL in the summer of 2013. The 2023 All-Region First Team member headed in his first career game-winning goal in a 4-1 victory vs. Navy and keyed the 3-1 second-half come-from-behind win over Loyola Maryland with a 73rd minute header.
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's Soccer
B
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