So Proud!:)

The end of the college soccer season is young, but there’s still time to celebrate a fantastic year for players and coaches around the nation. Here’s a look at some of the individuals who stood out this year.

Coach of the Year

UNC Athletic Communications

It’s easy to hand this award to Akron’s Caleb Porter for his NCAA championship-winning year or to Louisville’s Ken Lolla for a fantastic, unbeaten regular season. However, it’s North Carolina coach Elmar Bolowich who gets the nod. The German-born gaffer may have come up short at the College Cup, but considering the injuries endured by Bolowich’s players before and during the season, to make it that far was a testament to an excellent job throughout the season.

Freshman of the Year
A whole host of first-year players stood out this year as young talent blossomed. UCLA had two of them in Kelyn Rowe and Victor Chavez. Dylan Mares emerged for Louisville and Darren Mattocks led the national champion Akron in goals scored.
None of them, however, could quite match the production level of Soony Saad, who starred for Michigan while linking up with his brother, Hamoody, in attack. Nineteen goals for any player is an impressive total, and it’s even more impressive considering it was his first season of college soccer.

Courtesy of University of California

 
Defender of the Year
Players who stay all four years of college generally produce their best body of work in their senior season. That is the case for Cal defender A.J. Soares.
Not only was the center back the heart of the Golden Bears defense, his veteran presence provided someone who could be relied on. Most importantly, Soares set the tone for the rest of his team from the back, leading by example as Cal just missed out on the College Cup.

Goalkeeper of the Year
Several capable candidates served time between the posts, but only Cal’s David Bingham made more than 100 saves on the year and finished in the top three in save percentage.
Statistically, he logged all 1,977 minutes the Golden Bears played, stopping 88 percent of 146 shots he faced and posting a goals-against average of 0.85.

Player of the Year

University of Louisville

There have been a slew of fantastic players who have stepped up this year, but with players like Connecticut’s Tony Cascio, Indiana’s Will Bruin and Akron’s Darlington Nagbe, the forwards who stole the show. But out of the crop of talented strikers out there, it’s impossible to overlook Louisville’s Colin Rolfe as the best player in the country.
Rolfe wasn’t exactly a world-beater in the goal-scoring department, but his nine goals and seven assists were indicative of his all-around skills. However, it was his ability to play as a lone striker – working tirelessly to get in scoring positions and chasing the ball to help regain possession – that helped the Cardinals employ their style en route to an unbeaten regular season, coming up just short in the national championship.