Two Earn League Honors
November 13, 2008 09:56 PM | General
November 13, 2008
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| Zach Johnson |
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A pair of West Virginia University men’s soccer players garnered All-BIG EAST honors at the annual awards banquet on Thursday evening in Tampa, Fla. Sophomore goalkeeper Zach Johnson was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year after completing one of the best seasons in school history between the posts.
Johnson becomes just the second Mountaineer in school history to earn the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year award, joining current Chicago Fire goalkeeper Nick Noble who won the award in 2006.
"We are very happy and proud of Zach for being named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year,” Coach Marlon LeBlanc said. “Zach was tremendous all season long and continues to develop into one of the most dominating keepers in the country. The fact that he is only a sophomore makes it even more impressive. As he continues to develop, I believe his best years are still ahead of him. Zach is well on his way to re-writing the WVU goalkeeping record books."
The Lumberton, N.J., native played in all 19 contests this season, allowing only 13 goals in 1,814 minutes of action. Johnson made 81 saves, the most in the BIG EAST, and recorded eight shutouts, a mark that tied him for seventh in the league. He now owns 21 career shutouts, good enough for third most in program history. His 0.645 goals-against average ranks No. 18 nationally and his 0.862 save percentage puts him at No. 8 in the nation.
To add to his résumé, Johnson was also named to the All-BIG EAST First Team for the first time in his career. He becomes the fifth Mountaineer to be named a first team member, and is the fourth athlete to be selected to the prestigious team under the direction of LeBlanc.
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| Junior Gift Maworere garnered All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention honors. |
Junior defender Gift Maworere was also recognized at the banquet, garnering All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention for the second consecutive year.
"Gift continues to shine for this program and his contributions this year with a freshman dominated team obviously did not go unnoticed,” LeBlanc said. “Our team was decimated by injuries this season and Gift rose to the occasion by moving to the center back position for the good of the team, and in the process, earned the respect of our peers. He was crucial in our team having one of the top defenses in the country and one of the best defensive seasons in the history of WVU soccer."
After starting the year at the midfield position, Maworere was moved to defense where he excelled. The Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, native played in 18 contests and had 1,720 minutes of action. The Mountaineers eight clean sheets included shutouts against No. 4 Connecticut and No. 22 Ohio State. The defense held No. 19 Notre Dame to a season-low four shots on Nov. 1. Maworere and the defense also did not allow more than two goals the entire season.
A complete list of the honors and teams is listed below.
2008 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Postseason Awards
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
O'Brian White, Connecticut, Sr., F
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Jr., D
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Nelson Becerra, St. John’s, Jr., MF
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Zach Johnson, West Virginia, R-So., GK
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
Colin Rolfe, Louisville, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
St. John’s – head coach Dave Masur; associate head coach Marc Reeves; assistant coach Jeff Matteo
All-BIG EAST First Team
Nelson Becerra, St. John’s, Jr., MF
Matt Besler, Notre Dame, Sr., D
Aaron Clapham, Louisville, Sr., MF
Bright Dike, Notre Dame, Sr., F
Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Jr., D
Zach Johnson, West Virginia, R-So., GK
Yohance Marshall, USF, Sr., D
Brayan Martinez, Seton Hall, So., MF
Kevon Neaves, USF, Sr., MF
*Toni Stahl, Connecticut, Jr., MF
*O'Brian White, Connecticut, Sr., F
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Austin Berry, Louisville, So., D
Dilly Duka, Rutgers, So., MF
Kyle Hall, Syracuse, Sr., F
Ryan Maduro, Providence, Sr., MF
Akeem Priestley, Connecticut, Sr., MF
Jerry Saintil, Seton Hall, So., MF
Michael Thomas, Notre Dame, Jr., MF
Jack Traynor, Notre Dame, Sr., D
Brian Visser, DePaul, Sr., GK
Steffen Vroom, DePaul, Jr., F
Hansen Woodruff, Syracuse, Jr., MF
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Zak Boggs, USF, Jr., F
Jeb Brovsky, Notre Dame, So., F
Oscar Castillo, Connecticut, Sr., D
Tafadzwa Chiduku, St. John’s, So., F
Len Coleman, Georgetown, Jr., D
Neal Kitson, St. John’s, R-Sr., GK
Tim Ritter, Providence, Jr., F
Jordan Seabrook, USF, Sr., F
Michael Seamon, Villanova, Jr., F
Brad Simpson, Cincinnati, R-Sr., D
Ryan Soroka, St. John’s, Jr., MF
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Jeff Attinella, USF, So., GK
Peter Grasso, Georgetown, Sr., F
Gift Maworere, West Virginia, Jr., D
Michael Pezza, Connecticut, Jr., MF
Tadeu Terra, St. John’s, R-So., MF
Karol Wasielewski, Syracuse, Sr., D
* – unanimous selection
