2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams Announced
Figueiredo of Bowdoin Scores Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. - Bowdoin senior forward Nick Figueiredo (Wilmington, Mass.) has been named the 2007 NESCAC Player of the Year, as determined by the conference coaches. In addition to breaking multiple Bowdoin career scoring records this season, Figueiredo helped his Polar Bear squad reach the semifinals of the 2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship for the first time since 2004.
Along with being named the NESCAC Player of the Year, Figueiredo also received NESCAC All-Conference First Team honors for the third-consecutive year. Figueiredo paced the Polar Bears in scoring for the second-straight fall, recording 10 goals and 11 assists for a career-high 31 points over 16 games. Leading the league in points and ranking second in the NESCAC in goals scored this season, Figueiredo will leave Brunswick in May owning both the career goals and points records at Bowdoin, as he accumulated 35 goals and 18 assists for 88 points while having played in all 62 of Bowdoin's games over the past four years.
Joining Figueiredo up front on a senior-laden First Team were Casey Ftorek (Wolfeboro, N.H.) of Middlebury and Taylor Downs (Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y.) of Amherst. Ftorek, one of only three returning players from the 2006 First Team, leads the Panthers in scoring again this season with a NESCAC-best 12 goals, of which seven have been game-winners, and heads into this weekend's NCAA Tournament action just one shy of the 13 he scored last fall. Second only to Figueiredo in the conference in points this season with 28, Ftorek scored the only goal of the final game of the 2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship, giving Middlebury its second NESCAC title after the Panthers won the inaugural tournament in 2000. Downs is in the midst of his best season with the Lord Jeffs, tallying a career-high six goals to go along with four assists for a team-leading 16 points that currently places him in fourth in the conference.
Tufts senior midfielder Greg O'Connell (Cohasset, Mass.) earned All-NESCAC accolades for the third-consecutive autumn after being named to the Second Team in each of the previous two years. O'Connell recovered from a turbulent 2006 campaign by leading the Jumbos in scoring, tallying a career-high five goals and adding in an assist for 11 points. Along with O'Connell at midfield on the All-Conference First Team were seniors Alex Elias (Manchester Center, Vt.) of Middlebury, John Kneeland (Holden, Mass.) of Amherst, and Ryan Pelletier (York, Maine) of Williams. Elias, one of four Panthers honored on the First Team, has started all 17 games for Middlebury this season, collecting six points by scoring only his second career goal - the first coming during his rookie season in 2004 - and adding in four assists. Kneeland has had a stellar senior year for the Lord Jeffs, netting a career-high four goals and five assists to rank fourth among his teammates in scoring. Pelletier is currently third in scoring on a balanced Ephs squad with a personal best three goals and three assists through 15 games, needing only one point to match the 10 points he registered in 2005.
On defense, Bowdoin senior Brendan Egan (Westfield, N.J.) returned for a second stint on the First Team and was joined by a pair of newcomers, Middlebury senior Andrew Germansky (New York, N.Y.) and Amherst junior Grayson Holland (Sudbury, Mass.). Egan was fourth among the Polar Bears in points with four goals and two assists over 12 games. Germansky's presence on the field this season may be more visible to his opponents than on the Panther stat sheet, as he is part of a Middlebury defense that ranks first in the conference in most statistical categories with a goals against average at 0.46 and a team-record 12 shutouts. Holland has been a dynamic back for the Lord Jeffs in 2007, tallying the first three goals of his career and recording seven points while supporting a defensive corps that trails only Middlebury statistically in goals against average (0.75) and shutouts (7).
Rounding out the 2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer All-Conference First Team is Middlebury junior goalkeeper Brian Bush (Madison, Wis.). The backbone of the Panthers' defense, Bush boasts a league-leading 0.46 goals against average and a .908 save percentage while owning an 11-1-1 record with eight clean sheets.
Bowdoin freshman midfielder Ben Denton-Schneider (San Rafael, Calif.) earned NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The first year midfielder appeared in 16 games, scoring four goals and three assists, with two of his four goals coming in a 2-0 win over Wesleyan in the first round of the NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship.
Trinity head coach Mike Pilger was the choice among the coaches, garnering Coach of the Year honors for the first time in his career. Pilger guided the Bantams to an 8-7-0 overall record and a sixth place showing in the NESCAC standings, as the Bantams returned to the NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship this year for the first time since 2003.
| |
|
2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer All-Conference
|
| |
First Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Taylor Downs |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y. |
| F |
Nick Figueiredo |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Wilmington, Mass. |
| F |
Casey Ftorek |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Wolfeboro, N.H. |
| M |
Alex Elias |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Manchester Center, Vt. |
| M |
John Kneeland |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Holden, Mass. |
| M |
Greg O'Connell |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Cohasset, Mass. |
| M |
Ryan Pelletier |
Williams |
Sr. |
York, Maine |
| D |
Brendan Egan |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Westfield, N.J. |
| D |
Andrew Germansky |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
New York, N.Y. |
| D |
Grayson Holland |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Sudbury, Mass. |
| GK |
Brian Bush |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Madison, Wis. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Second Team |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Jake Duker |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Newton, Mass. |
| F |
Kit Fuderich |
Williams |
Sr. |
Founex, Switzerland |
| F |
Jonathan Hayes |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Peabody, Mass. |
| F |
Brent Morin |
Bates |
Sr. |
Hanover, N.H. |
| M |
Alan Ashenfelter |
Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Millis, Mass. |
| M |
Sam Empson |
Williams |
Jr. |
Washington, D.C. |
| M |
Greg Genco |
Connecticut College |
So. |
Hauppauge, N.Y. |
| D |
Alex Bedig |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Lafayette, Calif. |
| D |
Nate Elwood |
Williams |
Sr. |
Andover, N.J. |
| D |
Justin Mello |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Rehoboth, Mass. |
| GK |
Jamie Hiteshew |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Montclair, N.J. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Player of the Year |
|
|
|
| F |
Nick Figueiredo |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Wilmington, Mass. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Rookie of the Year |
|
|
|
| M |
Ben Denton-Schneider |
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
San Rafael, Calif. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
Coach of the Year |
|
|
|
| |
Mike Pilger |
Trinity |
