Men's Soccer All-Conference Selections Released
Purdy Becomes First Cardinal to Earn Player of the Year
Honors
HADLEY, Mass. – Wesleyan goalkeeper
Adam Purdy has been selected as the 2012
NESCAC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. With Purdy
leading the way, the Cardinals posted a 6-2-2 record in league play
and earned their fifth NCAA Tournament berth in the last eight
seasons. The captain has amassed seven shutouts this year, giving
him 31 in his remarkable four-year career at Wesleyan. He became
the first player in program history to garner NESCAC Player of the
Year honors.
No stranger to postseason accolades, Purdy was voted to the
All-NESCAC First Team for the third time (2009, 2010, 2012). Over
the course of his career with the Cardinals, he has started all 68
games, logging 6,357 minutes. He has posted a goals against average
of 0.69 and a save percentage of .846 en route to an overall record
of 40-17-11. Purdy took home NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors in
2009.
This season has been no different for the Montclair, N.J. native.
He is among the league leaders in goals against average (0.54),
save percentage (.857) and saves (54). In addition, he has held
opponents scoreless in seven of Wesleyan’s nine wins. Purdy
enjoyed a shutout streak of 500 consecutive minutes in the middle
of the season.
One year after earning NESCAC Player of the Year honors, Amherst
senior Spencer Noon returned to the First
Team for the second straight season. The forward currently leads
the league with 11 goals and 27 points. With Noon leading the way,
the Lord Jeffs secured their second straight NESCAC title over the
weekend and locked up a First Round bye in the NCAA Tournament. The
2010 Second Teamer has recorded four game-winners thus far this
season.
Joining Noon as First Team forwards are sophomore Maxime
Hoppenot of Tufts and junior Billy
Hawkey of Connecticut College. Hoppenot’s
outstanding production on the offensive end has put the Jumbos back
into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. He is among
the league leaders in both points (17) and goals (7) and has also
dished out three assists. Meanwhile, Hawkey amassed a team-best 15
points on five goals and two assists for the Camels.
Wesleyan senior Rory O’Neill was voted
to the All-NESCAC First Team for the second straight season, while
Colby senior Andrew Meisel and Trinity senior
Anthony El-Hachem were both promoted from
last year’s Second Team. All three midfielders led their
respective teams in scoring during the regular season.
O’Neill has scored five times and assisted on another.
Meanwhile, Meisel and El-Hachem closed out their seasons with
seven and 11 points, respectively. Senior Peter
Christman was also named to the First Team after
collecting five points for Williams, which entered the NESCAC
Championship as the top seed. The Ephs will be looking to bounce
back from their first loss of the season when NCAA Tournament play
begins this weekend.
Defensively, the First Team features three backs who have earned
All-Conference recognition before. Amherst senior Chris
Lerner has started all 17 games and has three assists
to his credit. He was at his best on Sunday, when he set up both
goals in the Lord Jeffs’ 2-0 win over Williams. Lerner was
also a First Team selection last fall. Bowdoin junior Ben
Brewster was on the 2011 Second Team and was the 2010
Rookie of the Year. He was a mainstay for the Polar Bears this
season, starting all 15 games and contributing a goal and three
assists. Senior Matt Ratajczak of Williams
appeared on the 2011 First Team and 2010 Second Team and has two
goals this year.
Mohammed Rashid of Williams was named NESCAC Rookie
of the Year. The forward has made an immediate impact for the Ephs,
recording a team-best 13 points on four goals and five assists. His
five helpers are tied for the second most in the league.
Mike Russo of Williams was named NESCAC Coach of the Year
for the fifth time. Now in his 34thyear guiding the Ephs, he has
posted 29 consecutive winning seasons. He also earned the honor in
2000, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
Men's Soccer All Conference Teams
| First Team
All-NESCAC |
|
Position |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
| F |
Billy Hawkey |
Conn. College |
Jr. |
Pennington, N.J. |
| F |
Maxime Hoppenot |
Tufts |
So. |
Princeton, N.J. |
| F |
Spencer Noon |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Farmington, Conn. |
| M |
Peter Christman |
Williams |
Sr. |
Falmouth, Mass. |
| M |
Anthony El-Hachem |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Vernon, Conn. |
| M |
Andrew Meisel |
Colby |
Sr. |
Newtown, Conn. |
| M |
Rory O’Neill |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Silver Spring, Md. |
| D |
Ben Brewster |
Bowdoin |
Jr. |
Cape Elizabeth, Maine |
| D |
Chris Lerner |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Canton, Mass. |
| D |
Matt Ratajczak |
Williams |
Sr. |
Brooklyn, N.Y. |
| GK |
Adam Purdy |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Montclair, N.J. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Second Team
All-NESCAC |
|
Position |
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Hometown |
| F |
Jae Heo |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Changwon, South Korea |
| F |
Mohammed Rashid |
Williams |
Fy. |
Accra, Ghana |
| F |
Gus Santos |
Tufts |
So. |
Framingham, Mass. |
| M |
Hunter Clark |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Boxford, Mass. |
| M |
Chris Kuehn |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Franklin Lakes, N.J. |
| M |
John Murphy |
Bates |
Sr. |
Yarmouth, Maine |
| M |
Kento Nakamura |
Tufts |
So. |
Tokyo, Japan |
| D |
Julien Aoyama |
Amherst |
Jr. |
Narbeth, Pa. |
| D |
Ben Bratt |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Winchester, Mass. |
| D |
Jack Freeman |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Ridgewood, N.J. |
| GK |
Than Finan |
Williams |
Sr. |
Williamstown, Mass. |
|
|
