Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams Announced
Middlebury's Watkins Earns Player of the Year
HADLEY, Mass. – Middlebury senior defender Harrison Watkins (San Francisco, Calif.) has been chosen as the NESCAC Player of the Year. A 2009 NESCAC All-Academic and All-America selection, Watkins helped the Panthers earn their third conference crown this past weekend at Bowdoin. It is the second-straight year that a defender has won Player of the Year, and Watkins joins 2008 honoree Brian Bush as the only Panthers to receive the conference’s top award.
In addition to being named Player of the Year, Watkins was recognized on the All-NESCAC First Team for the second consecutive fall. The dynamic back is part of a defense that has allowed a league-low seven goals while also tallying five times, tying him for the team lead. Watkins’ five goals matches his career-high which he achieved a year ago. The Panther defense has stymied opponents all season long and Watkins has been a key component to their success. Through 17 games, Middlebury has posted 13 shutouts and has allowed on average roughly 2.9 shots on goal per game. When his time with the Panthers finally draws to a close, Watkins will have been a part of one of the most successful periods in program history. The Panthers head into this weekend’s NCAA Tournament 56-12-9 over his four years with a school-record 18 wins and a first-ever NCAA title in his rookie season, two NESCAC crowns, and four consecutive trips to the conference title game.
Up front on the All-Conference First Team were a pair of Williams forwards, Gaston Kelly (Hingham, Mass.) and Charles Romero (Mansfield, Mass.). The senior combo has provided the offensive punch for the Ephs for the second-straight season, as Romero leads the charge with 19 points on six goals and seven assists while Kelly is second with 16 points on a career-high seven goals and two helpers. Both were honored as All-NESCAC in 2009, Romero on the First Team and Kelly on the Second Team. Joining the Ephs’ duo at forward were Connecticut College senior Trevor Prophet (Nashua, N.H.) and Middlebury junior Tyler Macnee (Williston, Vt.). A First Team member in 2008 and again in 2009, Prophet played well on the pitch for the Camels in 2010, pacing his team in scoring for the third time in the last four years with a career-high 10 goals and 24 points. Both figures rank among the league leaders. Macnee, the 2008 Rookie of the Year and a Second Team honoree, heads up the scoring committee for the Panthers with five goals and two assists.
Midfielders Jake Edwards (Easton, Conn.) of Middlebury and Call Nichols (Mill Valley, Calif.) of Bowdoin were both promoted from last year’s Second Team to this year’s First Team. The senior Edwards is tied with Macnee for the Panthers’ points lead, registering three goals and a team-best six assists (5th NESCAC). Although limited by injuries to just 14 games, Nichols, a junior, has still managed to nearly double his production from the previous two seasons combined with 11 points on three goals and five assists heading into the Polar Bears’ second round NCAA Tournament game on Sunday. Also at midfield on the All-NESCAC First Team was Amherst senior Ian Rothkopf (Harvard, Mass.). The first time honoree is in the midst of a stellar final season with the Lord Jeffs, as his personal-best six goals and league-leading eight assists are good enough for 20 points, second among his teammates.
Along with Watkins in the back were Williams senior Joe Vella (Manlius, N.Y.) and Bowdoin junior Sean Bishop (Danvers, Mass.). Vella, who was a Second Team member a year ago, has scored twice and assisted on a third goal while anchoring an Eph defense with a 0.81 goals against average. Posting a goal and three assists, Bishop is part of a Polar Bear defensive unit which owns a league-leading 0.39 goals against average and 13 shutouts.
Also honored from the Bowdoin defense was freshman Ben Brewster (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. Brewster has started every game at center back for the Polar Bears, scoring one goal - a game-winner - and an assist.
Junior netminder Tim Cahill (Glastonbury, Conn.) of Middlebury rounds out the 2010 NESCAC All-Conference First Team selections. Ranking among the national leaders in goals against average this season, Cahill is second overall in the conference with a 0.42 GAA while playing nearly every minute of every game. Cahill owns a .854 save percentage, a 13-3-1 record, and 11 shutouts heading into NCAA Tournament action, as he did not allow a goal over the Panthers’ first seven games of the season.
For the first time in his six seasons with the Polar Bears, Bowdoin head coach Fran O’Leary was chosen by his counterparts as NESCAC Coach of the Year. O’Leary has guided his team to a 13-1-3 record, one victory shy of matching the program record set in 2000. The Polar Bears finished atop the conference standings this season for the first time since 2002 and reached the title match of the NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time since 2003.
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2010 NESCAC Men's Soccer All-Conference
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First Team |
Institution |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Gaston Kelly |
Williams |
Sr. |
Hingham, Mass. |
| F |
Tyler Macnee |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Williston, Vt. |
| F |
Trevor Prophet |
Connecticut College
|
Sr. |
Nashua, N.H. |
| F |
Charles Romero |
Williams |
Sr. |
Mansfield, Mass. |
| M |
Jake Edwards |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Easton, Conn. |
| M |
Call Nichols |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Mill Valley, Calif. |
| M |
Ian Rothkopf |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Harvard, Mass. |
| D |
Sean Bishop |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Danvers, Mass. |
| D |
Joe Vella |
Williams |
Sr. |
Manlius, N.Y. |
| D |
Harrison Watkins |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
San Francisco, Calif. |
| GK |
Tim Cahill |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Glastonbury, Conn. |
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Second Team |
Institution |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Spencer Noon |
Amherst |
So. |
Farmington, Conn. |
| F |
Robbie Redmond |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Morristown, N.J. |
| F |
Walter Rodriguez |
Wesleyan |
So. |
North Plainfield, N.J. |
| M |
Carson Cornbrooks |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Williston, Vt. |
| M |
Ben Denton-Schneider
|
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
San Rafael, Calif. |
| M |
James Mooney |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Princeton, N.J. |
| M |
Tim Prior |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Georgetown, Mass. |
| D |
Ben Desmond |
Colby |
Sr. |
Ann Arbor, Mich. |
| D |
Matt Ratajczak |
Williams |
So. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| D |
Chris Skayne |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Boxborough, Mass. |
| GK |
Grant Schonberg |
Trinity |
Jr. |
Mendham, N.J. |
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Player of the Year |
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| D |
Harrison Watkins
|
Middlebury |
Sr. |
San Francisco, Calif.
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Rookie of the Year |
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| D |
Ben Brewster
|
Bowdoin |
Fr. |
Cape Elizabeth, Maine
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Coach of the Year |
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Fran O'Leary
|
Bowdoin |
