Men's Soccer: WVU Cleans Up at BIG EAST Banquet
November 02, 2006 10:09 PM | General
November 2, 2006
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The West Virginia University men’s soccer team cleaned up at the BIG EAST postseason awards banquet in Piscataway, N.J., on Thursday, Nov. 2, as the Mountaineers won the BIG EAST coaching staff of the year, Nick Noble was named the conference goalkeeper of the year and three other players were named to all-conference teams.
Noble, midfielder Andy Wright and forward Jarrod Smith became the first WVU players to earn first-team all-BIG EAST honors since 1999 when Craig Patton was the only previous Mountaineer player to do so. Junior defender Andrew Halsell earned a spot on the all-BIG EAST third team.
Noble is the first West Virginia men’s soccer player to earn a major award since WVU joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995. Holding a league-best 0.59 goals against average in both overall and conference games, Noble has kept the Mountaineers in the national rankings for the past eight weeks.
Named BIG EAST Goalie of the Week twice this season, the Damascus, Md., native has allowed 11 goals in 18 games and has posted 10 shutouts. In 10 league games, he has allowed only six goals, made 46 saves and held the opposition scoreless in six outings. Noble’s consistent play through the BIG EAST regular season helped the Mountaineers capture the program’s first BIG EAST regular season divisional title.
The coaching trio of Marlon LeBlanc, Bryan Green and Keith Wiggans has led West Virginia to new heights so far this season. The Mountaineer coaching staff earns the honor for the second time in school history after leading their program to a record of 15-1-2 overall, 9-0-1 in the BIG EAST. The staff has guided their team to its first BIG EAST regular season divisional title and the No. 1 seed out of the Blue Division in the 2006 BIG EAST Championship.
The Mountaineers have spent eight consecutive weeks ranked in the national polls and earned a ranking as high as No. 2 nationally, also a first for the program. West Virginia is currently on a nine-game winning streak and is three wins shy of the school record of 12 set in 1966.
Smith leads the BIG EAST in conference goals with 12. The Havelock North, New Zealand, native’s conference goal total is enough for the BIG EAST single season record and his 28 points in BIG EAST games is also a single season conference record.
Wright is currently third on the team with 16 points (5 G, 6 A). The Liverpool, England, native was the only West Virginia player selected to the preseason all-BIG EAST team.
Halsell has been an integral reason for WVU’s 10 shutouts and 0.64 GAA so far this season. The Quentin, Pa., native has started all 17 matches this season and played at least 90 minutes in 11.
Junior defender Paul Cunningham was also named to the COSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic all-District team today. The New Plymouth, New Zealand, native has score two goals on the season to go along with being one of the Mountaineers top defenders in 2006.
WVU plays Rutgers tomorrow in the BIG EAST semifinals at 5:30 p.m. at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. The game can be seen live on CSTV as well as on MSNsportsNET.com.
