Big South Announces 2016 Men's Soccer Annual Awards
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Liberty sophomore forward Tresor Mbuyu (Charlotte, N.C.) and Radford senior defender Jo Vetle Rimstad (Harestua, Norway) have been voted the 2016 Big South Men’s Soccer Attacking Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches, it was announced this morning by the league office. High Point forward Siggi Benonysson (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland) was tabbed Freshman of the Year, while Radford’s Marc Reeves was voted Coach of the Year. In addition, the Big South’s sports information directors voted Highlanders’ junior Fraser Colmer as the men’s soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Mbuyu is the first Liberty player to be voted Big South Attacking Player of the Year and becomes the Flames’ first annual award recipient since 2007. He concluded the regular-season as the conference leader with 28 points and 1.65 points per game, as well as tied as the league’s top goal scorer with 10. Mbuyu was second in the Big South with eight assists and ranks in the Top 20 in the nation in goals, assists and points. In Big South games, Mbuyu was tops with 17 points, five goals and seven assists in eight appearances, and was the only player to average more than 2.00 points per contest in league action (2.12). He had a goal and an assist in the same game three times this year, and assisted on all three Liberty scores in the Flames’ regular-season finale. Mbuyu received four first-places votes and 18 total points in Attacking Player of the Year voting, just ahead of Benonysson (three first-place votes and 17 points).
Rimstad is the second consecutive Highlander to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. The leader of Radford’s defense, he aided nine shutouts this season -- including six in Big South play. A two-time Big South Defensive Player of the Week honoree, Rimstad played 1,519 minutes (675 in Big South games), and against the Top 10-leading goal scorers in the Big South, he allowed only one goal to checked players. He was part of a defensive unit that permitted just two scores in conference games and 10 overall in 17 contests for a 0.57 goals against average. Rimstad received seven first-place votes and 22 total points, ahead of High Point’s Johnny Fenwick (12 points) and Longwood’ Carlos Canas (10 points).
Benonysson is the first Panther to be voted Freshman of the Year since 2012 and the fourth since 2009. He finished the regular-season tied for first in the conference with 10 goals and was second overall with 24 points. A two-time Big South Freshman of the Week selection, his four assists tied for sixth in the league. Benonysson opened his collegiate career with four goals in his first three matches, then had six in a four-game span from Oct. 5-19. He recorded braces against East Tennessee State, N.C. State and UNC Asheville, and had three games with a goal and assist. Benonysson tied for second with four goals in conference play, and finished with 10 points against league foes. He received seven first-place votes and 22 points in the freshman voting, ahead of Presbyterian’s Sergio Pinto (one first-place vote and 13 points).
Reeves earns his second Big South Coach of the Year honor in three years as he led the Highlanders to the outright Big South regular-season title with a 7-1-0 record (21 points) -- Radford’s third consecutive regular-season crown, as well as the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big South Men’s Soccer Championship. His squad went 13-3-1 overall during the year and was ranked in the Top 25 five times, reaching as high as No. 18. Radford led the Big South with nine shutouts, fewest goals allowed (10) and a 0.57 goals against average. In conference games, the Highlanders posted a miniscule 0.25 GAA as the unit permitted just two goals in 723 minutes with six clean sheets. Radford also tied for the top spot with 17 assists and 2.12 assists per game in league competition. Reeves received seven first-place votes and 22 points, ahead of High Point’s EJ O’Keeffe (one first-place votes and 10 points).
Fraser is a 4.00 student in business management, and was also voted to the All-Conference team for his defensive play. He started all 17 games and posted six points (two goals, two assists) for the Highlanders.
The league also announced the 2016 All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Academic teams Friday morning, which are listed below. As selected by the head coaches, the All-Conference team features three forwards, four midfielders, four defenders, one goalkeeper and one at-large selection on each team, plus five honorable mention honorees regardless of position. The All-Freshman team is comprised of 11 players regardless of position, while the All-Academic Team consists of one student-athlete from each institution that meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the Big South’s sports information directors.
2016 Big South Conference Men’s Soccer Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
F: Siggi Benonysson, Fr., High Point
F: Chris Ramsell, Sr., High Point
F: Tresor Mbuyu, Soph., Liberty
MF: Ali Al-Gashamy, Sr., Gardner-Webb
MF: Renato Punyed, Sr., High Point
MF: Kevin Mendoza, Soph., Liberty
MF: Finnlay Wyatt, Sr., Longwood
D: Jo Vetle Rimstad, Sr., Radford
D: Johnny Fenwick, Soph., High Point
D: Fraser Colmer, Jr., Radford
D: Bismark Amofah, Sr., Radford
GK: Aitor Pousea Blanco, R-Jr., Radford
AL: Kyle Carr, D, Sr., Liberty
Second-Team All-Conference
F: Mason Lewis, Sr., Presbyterian
F: Zach Joens, Sr., UNC Asheville
F: Evan Szklennik, Sr., Radford
MF: Bana Ganidekam, Fr., High Point
MF: Dan Campos, Jr., Longwood
MF: Jakob Strandsäter, Soph., Radford
MF: Kieran Roberts, R-Soph., Radford
D: Zack Compton, Jr., UNC Asheville
D: Edward Fulwood, Fr., Campbell
D: Daniel Mukuna, Soph., Campbell
D: Rashid Tetteh, Soph., High Point
GK: Carlos Canas, Sr., Longwood
AL: Cade Crow, MF, Sr., Presbyterian
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Marco Gatzke, MF, Sr., Winthrop
Gideon Betz, MF, Fr., Campbell
Connor Behrend, GK, Jr., Presbyterian
Pepe Rangel, MF, Sr., Campbell
Max Poelker, F, Fr., Longwood
All-Freshman Team
Siggi Benonysson, F, Fr., High Point
Bana Ganidekam, MF, Fr., High Point
Max Poelker, F, Fr., Longwood
Gideon Betz, MF, Fr., Campbell
Edward Fulwood, D, Fr., Campbell
Rigo Rojas, F, Fr., Liberty
Victor Valls, MF, Fr., Radford
Sergio Pinto, MF, Fr., Presbyterian
Severin Soerlie, F, Fr., Gardner-Webb
James Knoebel, GK, R-Fr., Liberty
Francesco Tiozzo, D, Fr., Winthrop
All-Academic Team
Matthew Mozynski, GK, R-Jr., Campbell
Hunter Frey, D, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Chris Ramsell, F, Sr., High Point
Nico Bellarde, D, Soph., Liberty
Zach Corcoran, MF, R-Sr., Longwood
Connor Behrend, GK, Jr., Presbyterian
Fraser Colmer, D, Jr., Radford
Zack Compton, D, Jr., UNC Asheville
Marco Gatzke, MF, Gr., Winthrop
Attacking Player of the Year
Tresor Mbuyu, F, Soph., Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year
Jo Vetle Rimstad, D, Sr., Radford
Freshman of the Year
Siggi Benonysson, F, Fr., High Point
Coach of the Year
Marc Reeves, Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Fraser Colmer, D, Jr., Radford