Big South Announces Men's Soccer Annual Awards - Nov. 11
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina senior forward Ricky Garbanzo has been voted the 2014 Big South Men’s Soccer Attacking Player of the Year, while Chanticleers senior defender Shawn McLaws has been named the Defensive Player of the Year, as voted by the league’s head coaches, the Conference office announced today. In addition, the coaches voted Campbell forward Bradley Farias as Freshman of the Year and Radford head coach Marc Reeves as Coach of the Year. Highlanders’ senior forward/midfielder Stephen Hudgens was voted the Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s sports information directors.
Garbanzo (Rock Hill, S.C.) leads Coastal Carolina with seven goals and co-leads with five assists for 19 points. He tallied three game-winners -- including two in conference play -- and holds the Big South record with 17 career game-winners. Garbanzo ranked among the top six in the conference in goals, assists, points and shots, and tallied six goals and 14 points in nine Big South games. He netted a hat trick against Longwood on his senior day to secure the No. 2 seed in the Big South Championship for the Chanticleers. Garbanzo garnered three first-place votes and finished with 10 points to become Coastal’s fourth consecutive Attacking Player of the Year winner. Radford’s Stephen Hudgens and Max Hasenstab of Winthrop tied for second in the voting, as each received three first-place votes and finished with seven points.
McLaws (Edmond, Okla.) is the Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He played right back, center back and defensive midfield at different times this season, often making transitions in-game. McLaws led Coastal Carolina to a 0.86 goals-against average and seven shutouts this season, including six against league opponents. He helped hold opponents to 8.5 shot attempts, including just 3.55 shots on goal per game. The senior garnered five of the 10 first-place votes and finished with 14 points to become CCU’s fourth straight Defensive Player of the Year winner. Radford’s Jo Vetle Rimstad finished in second place with four first-place votes and 10 points.
Farias (Indiantown, Fla.) led all Big South freshmen in goals (9) and points (22) and finished second among all players in each category. He found the back of the net in four consecutive conference games and tallied the game-winner in each of Campbell’s two conference victories. The freshman scored five goals and added three assists for 13 points in nine league games. Farias became the first CU freshman since 2005 to record 20 or more points in a season. He received four first-place votes for nine points to become Campbell’s first Big South Freshman of the Year honoree since 1993. Ebe Kudolo of High Point finished in second place with one first-place vote and eight points.
Reeves led Radford to an 11-4-2 overall record and a Big South Conference regular-season championship with an 8-1-0 mark. It was their first regular-season title since 1998. The Highlanders won their first eight conference games and posted four shutouts during the stretch. Reeves received eight of a possible nine first-place votes and finished with 17 points to become Radford’s first Coach of the Year winner since 1998. Matt Kern of UNC Asheville finished second with one first-place vote and seven points.
Hudgens is a 4.00 finance and accounting double major from Alpharetta, Ga. He is a two-time CoSIDA Academic All-America All-District III selection. He leads Radford in goals with five and led the Big South in game-winning goals with three. Hudgens is the first Highlander to be voted Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year since 2005.
2014 Big South Conference Men’s Soccer Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
F: Max Hasenstab, Soph., Winthrop
F: Mamadee Nyepon, Sr., High Point
F: Ricky Garbanzo, Sr., Coastal Carolina
MF: Magnus Thorsson, Jr., Winthrop
MF: Krzysztof Nalborski, Gr., Radford
MF: Pol Sole, Sr., Winthrop
MF: Ebe Kudolo, Fr., High Point
D: Shawn McLaws, Sr., Coastal Carolina
D: Jo Vetle Rimstad, Soph., Radford
D: Tim Harbison, Jr., Liberty
D: Uchenna Uzo, Sr., Coastal Carolina
GK: Aitor Pouseu Blanco, R-Fr., Radford
AL: Jordi Lluch, Jr., Winthrop (D)
Second-Team All-Conference
F: Stephen Hudgens, Sr., Radford
F: Ali Al-Gashamy, Jr., Gardner-Webb
F: Bradley Farias, Fr., Campbell
MF: Dario Redondo, Sr., Radford
MF: Chel Ho Park Kim, Sr., Radford
MF: Ollivier Gueguen, Sr., Coastal Carolina
MF: Daniel Campos, R-Fr., Longwood
D: Austin Yearwood, Jr., High Point
D: Tommy Gudmundsson, Fr., Coastal Carolina
D: Paul Egle, Sr., UNC Asheville
D: Fraser Colmer, Fr., Radford
GK: Dan Jackson, Sr., UNC Asheville
AL: Scott Sutarik, Sr., Liberty (GK)
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Sachem Wilson, F, Jr., Liberty
Renato Punyed, MF, Soph., High Point
Devin Cook-Perales, GK, Jr., Coastal Carolina
Sergio Camargo, F, Soph., Coastal Carolina
Blessing Tahuona, MF, Jr., Liberty
All-Freshman Team
Victor Aguiar, MF, UNC Asheville
Daniel Campos, MF, Longwood
Jovanni Chavez, MF, Liberty
Fraser Colmer, D, Radford
Charles Coulson, F, Winthrop
Louis Dargent, MF, Coastal Carolina
Bradley Farias, F, Campbell
Tommy Gudmundsson, D, Coastal Carolina
Ebe Kudolo, MF, High Point
Aitor Pouseu Blanco, GK, Radford
Felix Steinhauser, MF, Radford
All-Academic Team
Matthew Oliver, MF, Sr., Campbell
Ridge Robinson, D, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Patrick Gurser, MF, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Austin Yearwood, D, Jr., High Point
Sachem Wilson, F, Jr., Liberty
Vaughn Fowler, D, Soph., Longwood
Ignacio Monchetti, MF, Sr., Presbyterian College
Stephen Hudgens, F/M, Sr. Radford
Quentin Reynolds, D, Sr., UNC Asheville
Jordi Lluch, D, Jr., Winthrop
Attacking Player of the Year
Ricky Garbanzo, F, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year
Shawn McLaws, D, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Freshman of the Year
Bradley Farias, F, Campbell
Coach of the Year
Marc Reeves, Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Stephen Hudgens, F/M, Sr. Radford