Dec. 24, 2011
CHAPEL HILL - Junior forward Ben Speas, who scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA men's soccer national championship game, and Carlos Somoano, who led UNC to the national title in his first year as head coach, are Soccer America's National Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.
The awards are the first national player and coach of the year honors presented by Soccer America to the Tar Heels. Speas is the first Tar Heel men's soccer player to earn National Player of the Year honors.
Speas, a native of Stow, Ohio, finished the championship season with seven goals and 10 assists for 24 points. In addition to scoring the only goal in the national championship match against Charlotte, Speas had an assist in the semifinal win over UCLA and scored the deciding penalty kick to send the Tar Heels to the finals. He also had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game.
"I am very happy for Ben," says Somoano. "The award is reflective of the stretch he had late in the year, especially in the NCAA Tournament and the College Cup. His ability to help us win some of the biggest games of the year was invaluable. (As a transfer from Akron) It took him a little while to settle in and get confident but then he took off. I always felt confident in him and I knew he was helping us from the beginning but didn't have the stats for the first six or seven games. Even then I thought he was one of our best players."
Somoano led Carolina to a 21-2-3 record, ACC regular-season and Tournament titles, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the national championship. UNC became just the second school (Virginia) to win the ACC regular-season and Tournament titles and the NCAA championship in the same season. The Tar Heels went 13-0-2 at home and 5-1-2 in ACC regular-season play.
Somoano became the second coach to win the title and third to win at least 20 games in his first season as head coach. He also won ACCCoach of the Year honors.
"I didn't think I would have the opportunity to do any of this at UNC," says Somoano. "I didn't think (former head coach) Elmar (Bolowich) would leave any time soon but he did. Getting the opportunity was the hardest thing. I just never thought it would happen for me because I think North Carolina is the best job in men's college soccer. To grind out for so many years as an assistant was by far the hardest part and then this year we just had to everything just right to win it all. I'm grateful I was able to convince them I could get the job done."
Speas was joined on Soccer America's Most Valuable Players first team by junior forward Billy Schuler (Allentown, N.J.) and senior defender Matt Hedges (Carmel, Ind.). The Tar Heels were the only school with three players on the 11-man Soccer America MVP team.
Schuler led the Tar Heels in scoring with 16 goals and 37 points. Hedges headlined a defense that allowed just 18 goals in 26 games and posted shutouts in five of eight postseason games (ACC and NCAA Tournaments), including the national final.
Soccer America also named midfielder Mikey Lopez (Mission, Texas), and defenders Jordan McCrary (Marietta, Ga.) and Boyd Okwounu (Edmond, Okla.) to the Freshman All-America team. Carolina was also the only school with three selections on the freshman team.
"I'm very proud of the awards our players received," says Somoano. "We played well as a team and when you do that the individual recognition comes with it."
2011 Soccer America MVPs First Team
GK Brian Holt (Creighton), Jr.
F Dom Dwyer (USF), Jr.
F Ethan Finlay (Creighton), Sr.
D Matt Hedges (North Carolina), Sr.
F Chandler Hoffman (UCLA), Jr.
F Darren Mattocks (Akron), Soph.
D Charles Rodriguez (Charlotte), Sr.
M Ben Speas (North Carolina), Jr.
F Billy Schuler (North Carolina), Jr.
M Luis Silva (UC Santa Barbara), Sr.
F Andrew Wenger (Duke), Jr.
2011 Soccer America MVPs Second Team
GK Brian Rowe (UCLA), Sr.
F Ashton Bennett (Coastal Carolina), Jr.
D Austin Berry (Louisville), Sr.
F Evans Frimpong (Delaware), Sr.
F Miguel Ibarra (UC Irvine), Sr.
F Arthur Ivo (SMU), Sr.
D Andrew Jean-Baptiste (Connecticut), Soph.
M Enzo Martinez (North Carolina), Jr.
M Kelyn Rowe (UCLA), Soph.
D Kyle Venter (New Mexico), Jr.
M Paul Wyatt (James Madison), Jr.
F Gyasi Zardes (CSU Bakersfield), Soph.
2011 Soccer America All-Freshman First Team
GK Andre Blake (Connecticut)
F Andrew Bevin (West Virginia)
D Nikko Boxall (Northwestern)
F Giuseppe Gentile (Charlotte)
D Walker Zimmerman (Furman)
M Mikey Lopez (North Carolina)
D Jordan McCrary (North Carolina)
D Boyd Okwuonu (North Carolina)
F Nick Palodichuk (Duke)
M Wil Trapp (Akron)
F Eriq Zavaleta (Indiana)
2011 Soccer America All-Freshman Second Team
GK Tyler Miller (Northwestern)
F Brynjar Benediktsson (Clemson)
M Seth Casiple (California)
D Darion Copeland (UAB)
F Juan Pablo Correa (Rutgers)
M Jimmy McLaughlin (Colgate)
M Diego Medina-Mendez (Boston College)
D Juan Monge Solano (VCU)
F C. Nortey (Marquette)
F Matt Wiesenfarth (UC Davis)
D DeAndre Yedlin (Akron)
