Thomas, Irwin Honored on NSCAA All-South Region Teams
ELON, N.C. - Elon's Chris Thomas, the Southern Conference Player of the Year, added to a lengthy list of accolades today when he was recognized on the 2010 NSCAA/Performance Subaru Men's All-South Region First Team. Thomas was the lone SoCon player to earn first-team honors, being named among players from North Carolina, Duke, South Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast and Central Florida. Senior goalie Clint Irwin was selected to the all-region team for the second consecutive year, earning a spot on the second team.
Thomas had a stellar second year in the maroon and gold, scoring a team-best 10 goals and ranking second in the league. The native of Snellville, Ga. garnered first-team all-conference honors and earned a major SoCon award for the second straight year after being selected freshman of the year in 2009. Thomas netted three game-winners and was honored as SoCon Player of the Month in September after scoring in five consecutive games for the Phoenix. With 20 goals and 43 career points, the striker is just one goal and six points shy of moving into Elon's top 10 in career goals and points. Thomas is only the second-ever Phoenix player to earn first-team all-region recognition.
Irwin is one of the most storied goalkeepers in Elon history, finishing his tenure as the school shutout leader with 22 career clean slates. Although an injury sidelined him for a portion of his final season, Irwin became only the 11th player in league history to be an all-conference performer for four consecutive seasons. Irwin leaves Elon as the single-season (10) and career record-holder in shutouts and ranks third all-time in goals allowed average (0.89). The Charlotte, N.C. native was selected as one of the 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America serves as the recognized leader in naming All-America soccer players. The NSCAA selects All-America teams at every level of play.
Ilhan named to NSCAA All-South Region Second Team
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - UNCG sophomore forward Hakan Ilhan has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru All-South Region Second Team, the NSCAA announced Wednesday.
Ilhan led the Southern Conference by a wide margin with 31 points, eight more than College of Charleston's Sean De Silva, who also landed on the all-region second team. Ilhan's 12 goals also led the league, while his seven assists were second in the SoCon. He was 10th in NCAA Division I in points and 12th in goals.
In his first year on the squad, the Stuttgart, Germany, native helped UNCG to a 12-6-4 overall record and a 4-1-2 mark in leauge play as the Spartans shared the regular-season league crown and took the top seed at the SoCon Championship. Ilhan scored all four of UNCG's goals in the SoCon Championship, leading the Spartans to their fifth SoCon tournament title and an NCAA tournament berth.
Entering the NCAA tournament, Ilhan had a streak of eight straight games with at least one point. UNCG rode an 11-match unbeaten streak into the tournament, finishing the regular season and SoCon tournament 8-0-3 after a 4-5-1 start.
Ilhan was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection and was the SoCon Player of the Month for October. He also earned a spot on the SoCon All-Tournament Team.
Ilhan is UNCG's first NSCAA all-region performer since Jokill Elisabetarson in 2008 (second team).
Furman's Fabien Vorbe Named To NSCAA All-South Region Team
Greenville, S.C. - Furman junior Fabien Vorbe has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-South Region third team, it was announced this week.
The Port-au-Prince, Haiti native led Furman to a 10-7-4 overall record, 4-1-2 Southern Conference mark and SoCon regular season title during the 2010 season. Despite missing several matches while playing for the Haitian National Team at the Caribbean Cup, Vorbe managed to lead the Paladins with four goals and eight total points. He notched match-winners against East Tennessee State, Detroit and Appalachian State.
An All-SoCon selection, Vorbe saw playing time in both the midfield and as a forward while helping Furman claim a share of its 19th SoCon title and first since 2007. He has tallied 14 goals and two assists in 49 career matches for head coach Doug Allison's Paladins.
Two Men's Soccer Players Named to All-Region Team
Flatley and de Silva earn NSCAA / Performance Subaru All-South Region honors
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - College of Charleston men's soccer standouts Sean Flatley and Sean de Silva have been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru All-South Region Second Team, the NSCAA announced Wednesday.
"I'm so pleased that our program had two nominations for this prestigious list of players," said head coach Ralph Lundy. "Both of these young men deserved to be recognized on this level. Sean Flatley was rock solid for our program and also scored big goals at crucial moments this year, while Sean de Silva was constantly a threat to opponents and was our points leader with seven goals and nine assists."
Flatley, a senior defender from Virginia Beach, Va., started in all 19 matches the Cougars played and was a rock at central defense for CofC. Flatley also got involved in the Cougars' offense on set-piece opportunities and netted four goals including game winners against Davidson and Wofford in CofC's first Southern Conference matches of the season. Flatley also had an assist on the year.
De Silva, a sophomore midfielder from Port of Spain, Trinidad, was a consistent figure in the Cougars' scoring attack. He started in all 19 matches as well and was the Cougars' most consistent offensive figure, posting team highs in goals and assists with seven and nine, respectively.
The NSCAA is the largest coaches' organization in the United States. Since its founding in 1941, it has grown to include more than 28,000 members who coach both genders at all levels of the sport. In addition to a national rankings program for colleges and high schools, NSCAA offers an extensive recognition program that presents nearly 10,000 individual awards every year. It fulfills its mission of coaching education through a nationwide program of clinics and week-long courses, teaching more than 4,000 soccer coaches each year.
Davidson's Alex Caskey Named to Men's Soccer All-South Region Team
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Senior midfielder Alex Caskey earned his second-consecutive selection to the NSCAA/Performance All-South Region second team, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced Tuesday.
Caskey, a two-yearteam captain who played in and started all 76 Davidson matches the past four years, led the Wildcats in scoring with a career-best 18 points on seven goals and four assists in 2010, and was named to the Southern Conference All-Conference first team for the third-consecutive season by the league's coaches.
Four of his seven goals were game-winners, including the decisive goal in the 'Cats win over eventual NCAA Tournament at-large selection College of Charleston in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament. During the regular season, he scored the Wildcats' lone goal in 1-0 wins over Campbell, Gardner-Webb (OT) and Virginia Tech. Caskey also tallied an assist in Davidson's draw with No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and a goal against No. 10 Duke.
The Dunwoody, Ga. native earned the same honor following the 2009 season after anchoring the midfield and tallying seven goals and two assists.
Caskey was one of seven SoCon representatives across the three All-South Region teams.
NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-South Region
First Team
Pos Name Class College
K James Michael Belshaw So. Duke
D Eddie Ababio Sr. North Carolina
D Jalil Anibaba Sr. North Carolina
D James Andrew Wenger So. Duke
M Warren Creavalle Jr. UCF
M Michael Farfan Sr. North Carolina
M Enzo Martinez So. North Carolina
M Josey Portillo Jr. Florida Gulf Coast
F Blake Brettschneider Sr. South Carolina
F Ryan Patrick Finley So. Duke
F Chris Thomas So. Elon
Second Team
K Clint Irwin Sr. Elon
D Sean Flatley Sr. College of Charleston
D Deion Jones So. Florida Gulf Coast
D Guilherme Reis Sr. East Tennessee State
M Fredrik Brustad Jr. Stetson
M Alex Caskey Sr. Davidson
M Sean De Silva So. College of Charleston
M Nicholas Holland Grossman Sr. Duke
F Miguel DaSilva Sr. Lipscomb
F Hakan Ilhan So. UNCG
F Aaron Schoenfeld Jr. East Tennessee State
Third Team
K Jimmy Maurer Sr. South Carolina
D Anthony Arena So. Wake Forest
D Ryan Corning Jr. Stetson
D Sebastien Uchechukwu Ibeagha Fr. Duke
D Will Traynor Sr. South Carolina
M Kevan George Jr. UCF
M Stephen McCarthy Sr. North Carolina
M Jonathan Mendoza So. Stetson
F Andy Lubahn So. Wake Forest
F Nicholas Robson So. UCF
F Fabien Vorbe Jr. Furman