UNCW'S CARROLL HEADLINES 2008 ALL-CAA MEN'S SOCCER TEAM
WILMINGTON, N.C. (November 13, 2008) ? UNC Wilmington junior forward Devan Carroll, who led the Colonial Athletic Association in goals and points this season, was selected as the 2008 CAA Men’s Soccer Player of the Year in voting by the league’s head coaches.
Other top individual awards went to UNCW sophomore back Indy Smith, who was chosen as the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Old Dominion sophomore forward Steffen Rabben, who was named CAA Rookie of the Year, and UNCW head coach Aidan Heaney, who was selected as CAA Coach of the Year. The awards were presented Thursday night on the eve of the semifinals and finals of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship in Wilmington, N.C.
Carroll topped the CAA with nine goals and 20 points this season. The junior forward recorded seven of those goals and a pair of assists during conference play, including a hat trick in a key victory at William & Mary. The performance at W&M along with a game-winning goal at Delaware earned him National Player of the Week honors on Oct. 27 from Top Drawer Soccer. Carroll, who was involved in more than 40% of the Seahawks’ 26 goals this season, is UNCW’s first CAA men’s soccer Player of the Year in 24 years as a conference member.
Smith is the first Seahawk to receive CAA Defensive Player of the Year accolades. The sophomore center back helped anchor a UNCW defense that allowed only 11goals in league play, including three goals in their final seven conference contests. Smith also contributed offensively with a goal and two assists. UNCW finished the regular season with six shutouts and a 1.24 goals against average, which is the fifth-lowest in school history.
Rabben joined the ODU squad in mid-September and led the Monarchs with seven goals and 16 points despite playing only 13 games. The sophomore forward recorded a hat trick in his collegiate debut against Bryant, and scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in an important CAA road victory at Drexel. Rabben, who ranked second in the CAA in goals and sixth in points, is the fourth ODU player to be selected as the conference’s Rookie of the Year.
Heaney earned CAA Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his eight seasons at UNCW. He guided the Seahawks to their first-ever CAA regular-season title with a 7-4 mark, one year after finishing 11th in conference race. UNCW also improved to 10-9 overall this season after going 4-13-1 in 2007. The Seahawks reeled off five consecutive conference victories in October, which was the team’s longest winning streak since 2006. Heaney was also CAA Coach of the Year in 2004.
Following one of the most competitive regular-season races in league history, the All-CAA squad was also balanced with nine schools placing at least one player on the first team. Carroll and Smith gave UNCW a pair of players on the first team, and Northeastern and James Madison also had two honorees. Representing the Huskies were junior midfielder Lars Okland (1g, 3a) and sophomore back Petur Vidarsson (1g, 1a), while the Dukes placed sophomore forward CJ Sapong (5g, 3a) and senior midfielder Nick Zimmerman (6g, 5a) on the squad.
Other first-team honorees include George Mason senior forward Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe (6g, 6a), William and Mary sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Baako (5g, 5a), Old Dominion senior midfielder Trevor Banks (4g, 3a), VCU senior defender Dirk Dittrich (0g, 1a), Hofstra junior defender Richard Martinez (1g, 1a) and Georgia State senior goalkeeper Filipe Carvalho (1.58 GAA, 79 saves, 4 shutouts).
2008 All-CAA Men’s Soccer Team
First Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/Last School
Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, George Mason Sr. F Bowie, Md./St. Francis (Pa.)
Devan Carroll, UNC Wilmington Jr. F Jacksonville, N.C./White Oak
CJ Sapong, James Madison* So. F Manassas, Va./Forest Park
Nathaniel Baako, William & Mary So. MF Accra, Ghana/Winneba
Trevor Banks, Old Dominion* Sr. MF Madison, Wisc./Madison Memorial
Lars Okland, Northeastern* Jr. MF Asker Norway/Norwegian Top Athletes
Nick Zimmerman, James Madison# Sr. MF Tampa Bay, Fla./Wharton
Dirk Dittrich, VCU# Sr. D Stuttgart, Germany/Quenstedt-Gymnasium
Richard Martinez, Hofstra# Jr. D Highland, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes
Indy Smith, UNC Wilmington So. D Black Mountain, N.C./Asheville
Petur Vidarsson, Northeastern So. D Hafnarfjordur, Iceland/Hafnarfjordur
Filipe Carvalho, Georgia State Sr. GK Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Zico Academy
Second Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/Last School
Andrew Hoxie, William & Mary Jr. F Newport News, Va./Denbigh Baptist
Liam Maloney, Towson Fr. F Liverpool, England/West Derby Comprehensive
Steffen Rabben, Old Dominion So. F Fagernes, Valdres, Norway
Anthony Bafile, Drexel% Jr. MF West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Richard Edgar, George Mason% Jr. MF Mechanicsville, Md./Edison Academic Center
Nane Joseph, Old Dominion Jr. MF Yaounde, Cameroon/Catholic U. of Cameroon
Rob Youhill, Hofstra# Jr. MF Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England/Harrogate
Jonathan Borrajo, George Mason Sr. D Clifton, N.J./Clifton
Joe DeVito, Georgia State Sr. D Marietta, Ga./Kell
Bryan Ruff, Drexel* Sr. D Enfield, Conn./Enrico Fermi
Andrew Dykstra, VCU Sr. GK Woodbridge, Va./Osbourn Park
Third Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/Last School
Brett Carrington, Hofstra Fr. F St. George, Barbados/Harrison College
Mike Kennedy, Northeastern Fr. F Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield
Price Thomas, William & Mary* Jr. F Charlottesville, Va./Albemarle
Darren Christie, Delaware Jr. MF Huntsville, Ala./Baring HS (Swaziland)
Jorit Loehr, VCU# Jr. MF Bremen, Germany
Doug McBride, William & Mary Sr. MF Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee
Alexander Volk, Northeastern% Jr. MF Nordrach, Germany/Wirtschaftsgymnasium OG
Roger Bothe, William & Mary Jr. D Chester, Va./Thomas Dale
Greg Ermold, Drexel Jr. D Shillington, Pa./Governor Mifflin
Scott Horta, Towson% So. D Lawrenceville, N.J./Notre Dame
Sean Kelley, George Mason Jr. GK Lexington, Ky./Paul Laurence Dunbar
2008 CAA Player of the Year: Devan Carroll, UNC Wilmington
2008 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Indy Smith, UNC Wilmington
2008 CAA Rookie of the Year: Steffen Rabben, Old Dominion
2008 CAA Coach of the Year: Aidan Heaney, UNC Wilmington
* - All-CAA First Team in 2007 # - All-CAA Second Team in 2007 % - All-CAA Third Team in 2007
2008 CAA Men’s Soccer All-Rookie Team
Player, School Cl. Pos. Hometown/Last School
Brett Carrington, Hofstra Fr. F St. George, Barbados/Harrison College
Ryan Gracia, George Mason Fr. MF Rockville, Md./Thomas Wootton
Brian Harrison, UNC Wilmington So. MF Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield
Thomas Huepper, VCU So. MF Olpe, Germany
Mike Kennedy, Northeastern Fr. F Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield
Axel Levry, George Mason Fr. F Ft. Washington, Md./Oxon Hill
Liam Maloney, Towson Fr. F Liverpool, England/West Derby Comprehensive
Ryan O’Neil, James Madison Fr. D Arima, Trinidad/St. Augustine
Steffen Rabben, Old Dominion So. F Fagernes, Valdres, Norway
John Steele, Towson Fr. GK Dorset, England/The Blandford School
Tommy Webb, Old Dominion Fr. D Auckland, New Zealand/Westlake