BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Regular season champion Campbell University placed seven players on the Atlantic Sun all-conference men’s soccer teams, while also sweeping Coach of the Year, Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
For the second time in four seasons, Doug Hess was named A-Sun Coach of the Year after guiding his team to its first national ranking in two decades, a perfect 9-0-0 regular season and the top seed in this week’s A-Sun Championship, which will be played on the Campbell campus at the Eakes Athletic Complex.
Richard Jata was selected by league coaches and media relations personnel as the A-Sun player of the year after leading the conference in game-winning goals (6). Keeper Aaron Johnson received the league’s top defensive player honor after tying a league mark with nine shutouts and posting the lowest goals-against average (0.83) in the conference this year.
Jata and Johnson were joined by teammates Stephen Oyuga, Vince Petrasso and Josue Soto on the all-conference first team. Jason Keever was a second-team all-league choice, while Kevin Orozco was named to the A-Sun all-freshman unit.
“We are obviously honored to have so many represented on the all-conference teams, as well as to have both Aaron and Richard honored for their performances this season,” said Hess, who has guided the Camels to a 65-59-8 record in seven seasons, including a 49-24-6 mark (.658) over the past four campaigns. “These are great accomplishments for all of the guys and ones that would not be possible without the collective efforts of the entire team and staff.”
Campbell followed its 2007 Atlantic Sun tournament championship by posting the first unbeaten and untied season in league play since 1995 and gaining the program’s first national ranking since 1988. The Camels enter this week’s A-Sun semifinal with a 13-5-0 overall record and a number-22 national ranking in the latest Soccer America poll.
This year marks the second time in four seasons that the Camels have won three of the league’s top individual awards. In 2005, Hess was named coach of the year honor and Johnson shared defensive player of the year honors. Willy Guadarrama was tabbed player of the year after leading the nation in scoring.
A senior midfielder, Jata has scored in his last seven matches. In the first six of those games, Jata’s goal was the game-winner. The product of Port Richey, Fla., moved into 20th place on Campbell’s all-time scoring list with 62 points (24 goals, 14 assists) in only 55 games. He ranks third in league record books for career winners (11).
In addition to topping the A-Sun this season in game-winning goals, Jata stands third among league leaders in points (19) and 2nd in goals (8). He has earned first-team all-conference honors in each of his three seasons after transferring to CU from Furman.
Furthermore, Campbell owns a 19-0-1 record (7-0-0 this year) in games when Jata scores since he joined the program.
Johnson enters the A-Sun Championship with six-straight shutouts and a scoreless streak of 570 minutes, 14 seconds. The senior from St. Charles, Mo., owns the lowest career goals-against average in school history (1.05) and has played more minutes (6625) than any keeper in CU history.
He ranks second on CU charts for keeper matches played (72), started (72), saves (323) and shutouts (21). A three-time A-Sun all-conference and all-tournament choice, Johnson has been named Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive player of the week three times this season (Sept. 15, Oct. 13 and 27) The honors marked the 5th, 6th and 7th times in his career that Johnson has earned league defender of the week recognition.
In A-Sun record books, Johnson stands second in career GAA and shutouts, sixth in saves and fifth in starts. On the season, Johnson has tied the school and A-Sun record with nine shutouts and owns the league’s best goals-against average (0.83) and save percentage (.808). He ranks 38th in the nation in GAA and 45th in save percentage.
Hess joined eight other A-Sun coaches including former Camel mentor Derrick Leeson (1995, 1997) to win multiple coach of the year awards. Over the last four years, Hess has led the Camels to a 25-4-4 record in A-Sun regular season action, plus four victories over nationally-ranked teams. This year, he guided Campbell to the first undefeated season in A-Sun play since Florida International went 6-0-0 in 1995.
Campbell also became the first A-Sun school with five first-team all-conference selections since FIU in 1996. That year, the Golden Panthers advanced to the title game of the College Cup.
Oyuga earned all-league honors for the third-straight year, including first-team recognition in the last two campaigns. The senior central defender from Nairobi, Kenya joined Johnson as the lone Camels to played all 1632 minutes during the regular season.
He has helped guide CU to the best team GAA (0.83) and most shutouts (9) in the A-Sun. Oyuga owns 58 career appearances with 55 starts in three seasons. He was named A-Sun defensive player of the week and to the Soccer America national team of the week (Nov. 3) after leading CU to shutout wins over number-7 North Carolina (2-0) and Mercer (3-0).
Petrasso stands third on the team in scoring with 14 points (6 goals, 2 assists), and produced four of those goals and 2 assists during eight conference games. The junior forward from Woodbridge, Ontario provided game-winning goals vs. Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast and at High Point. He also scored an insurance goal in the 2-0 victory over North Carolina.
Tied for third place in the league in game-winning goals (3), Petrasso also ranks fifth among league leaders in points (1.08) per game and fourth in goals (0.46) per outing. His career totals stand at 12 goals, eight assists and 32 points in 47 matches. Petrasso was named MVP of the 2007 A-Sun tournament.
The 2007 A-Sun Freshman of the Year, Soto ranks second in the A-Sun in assists (7) and eighth in scoring with 15 points (4 goals, 7 assists) while playing 16 games (14 starts) in 2008. He has totaled 37 points on 12 goals and 13 assists in 38 career matches.
A sophomore from Monterrey, Mexico, Soto set up the game-winner at High Point and dealt the first assists hat trick by a CU player in a dozen years with three assists in 4-3 win over Lipscomb. He scored the game-winning goal vs. Georgia Southern and tallied the game-tying strike in 2-1 win at Jacksonville.
Keever earned second-team all-league honors after appearing in 18 games (17 starts) with career-high 6 goals and 0 assists (12 points) to tie for 7th among A-Sun leaders in goals. He has two game-winning goals, vs. UNC Wilmington and at North Florida.
The junior forward from Trinity, N.C., tallied the first multi-goal game of his career with two strikes (within 2:52) in last month’s 4-3 comeback win over Lipscomb.
Orozco started 16 of CU’s 18 matches in the central defense, missing one due to injury and another due to double-yellow card accumulation. CU stands 13-3-0 in games he has played.
The central back from LaCrescenta, Calif, has helped guide CU to the best team GAA (0.83) and the most shutouts in the A-Sun. On Nov. 1, he was presented the team's Jim McVeigh Award for 2008 as the squad's most promising freshman.
While Campbell garnered almost half of the 11 first-team all-conference spots, regular-season runner-up Jacksonville landed five on the second team. Joey Sanchez, second to Johnson in GAA and shutouts, made the team as did three Dolphin defenders – Nurdin Hrustic (one of two freshmen also named to an all-conference team) Philipp Meyner and Eddie Munnelly. Tony Taylor, despite being limited to nine games, totaled 10 points to make the second unit.
Two Dolphins earned first-team honors in midfielder Stefan Runeman and forward Ramak Niakan Safi. Runeman made the second team in 2007. Niakan Safi scored seven goals, five of which ended up being game winners.
A pair of sophomore forwards joined Niakan Safi and Petrasso on the first team in North Florida's Akil DeFreitas and Lipscomb's Miguel DaSilva. DeFreitas represents the first UNF player to make the first team since the Ospreys joined the league in 2005. DaSilva led the conference in assists (100, points (26) and shots (58).
DaSilva's teammate and fellow forward Garret Pettis won the school's first A-Sun men’s soccer individual accolade in capturing the Freshman of the Year award after finishing the regular season atop the A-Sun leader board in goals with 11.
The 2008 Atlantic Sun Championship tournament begins Wednesday when third-seeded Lipscomb (9-8-2) faces sixth-seeded Mercer (2-10-5) in a 4:00 p.m. kick-off. Fourth-seeded Stetson (8-6-2) squares off against fifth seed Belmont (9-7-2) at 7:00 p.m.
Thursday’s first semifinal matches second seed Jacksonville (10-8-0) against either Lipscomb or Mercer at 4:00 p.m. Campbell (13-5-0) faces either Stetson or Belmont at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s final kicks off at 3:00 p.m.
Campbell rides the school’s longest winning streak (11) in its 46-year history into Thursday’s semifinal. The Camels are unbeaten in their last 15 games against A-Sun men’s soccer opponents (13-0-2) dating to a 3-2 setback at Lipscomb on Oct. 13, 2007. The Camels also own the best A-Sun regular season record (25-4-4) of all league members since the start of the 2005 season.
CU also enters Thursday’s action on a string of six-straight shutout victories. Campbell has not allowed a goal since Oct. 16 in a 4-3 victory over Lipscomb. CU opponents have not scored in the team’s last 570 minutes.
Campbell has won 26 of 31 home games since the start of the 2005 season, and is 8-0-0 (with a 20-6 goal differential) in 2008 at the Eakes Complex.
2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Awards
Player of the Year: Richard Jata (Campbell)
Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Johnson (Campbell)
Freshman of the Year: Garret Pettis (Lipscomb)
Coach of the Year: Doug Hess (Campbell)
First Team All-Atlantic Sun
Pos. Name School Class Hometown
GK Aaron Johnson Campbell Sr. St. Charles, Mo.
D Robert Hodge Stetson Jr. Devon, England
D Bolade Ogunmade Mercer Sr. Glasgow, Scotland
D Stephen Oyuga Campbell Sr. Nairobi, Kenya
MF Richard Jata Campbell Sr. Port Richey, Fla.
MF Stefan Runeman Jacksonville Jr. Jonsered, Sweden
MF Josue Soto Campbell So. Monterrey, Mexico
F Miguel DaSilva Lipscomb So. Lauderhill, Fla.
F Akil DeFreitas North Florida So. Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
F Vince Petrasso Campbell Jr. Woodbridge, Ontario, Canada
F Ramak Niakan Safi Jacksonville Sr. Jacksonville, Fla.
Second Team All-Atlantic Sun
Pos. Name School CL Hometown
GK Joey Sanchez Jacksonville Jr. Houston, Texas
D Nurdin Hrustic Jacksonville Fr. Jacksonville, Fla.
D Kezi Lara Lipscomb Jr. Palo Seco, Trinidad & Tobago
D Philipp Meyner Jacksonville Sr. Ulm, Germany
D Eddie Munnelly Jacksonville Jr. London, England
MF Kirk Labusch Stetson Sr. Brandon, Fla.
MF Adam O’Neill North Florida So. London, England
MF T.J. Williams Lipscomb Sr. Arouca, Trinidad & Tobago
F Jason Keever Campbell Jr. Trinity, N.C.
F Garret Pettis Lipscomb Fr. Elizabethtown, Pa.
F Tony Taylor Jacksonville So. Jacksonville, Fla.
Atlantic Sun All-Freshman Team
Pos. Name School Hometown
MF Fredrik Brustad Stetson Oslo, Norway
MF Gonzalo de Mujica Stetson Weston, Fla.
MF Francesco DiStefano Florida Gulf Coast Kissimmee, Fla.
MF Scott Harrison Florida Gulf Coast Cocoa, Fla.
MF Sean Hoek East Tennessee State Newburgh, Ind.
GK James Holt East Tennessee State Murfreesboro, Tenn.
D Nurdin Hrustic Jacksonville Jacksonville, Fla.
MF/F Kristian Lassen Jacksonville Arhus, Denmark
F Dan Meacock Belmont Sarasota, Fla.
F Will Moorad Belmont Brentwood, Tenn.
D Kevin Orozco Campbell La Crescenta, Calif.
F Garret Pettis Lipscomb Elizabethtown, Pa.
Courtesy: GoCamels.com