ROCHESTER, NY – Stevens placed seven players on the first team and took home the Player of the Year award for the fifth consecutive year as part of the 2012 Empire 8 All Conference Soccer Teams. Ducks’ forward Victor Daza earned the Player of the Year award, while Elmira College midfielder Wendell 'Tre' Ming was named the Rookie of the Year. St. John Fisher head coach Rob Searl earned the league’s top coaching prize.
Daza, a senior from North Plainfield, NJ, helped lead the Ducks to the #1 seed in the Empire 8 Tournament; culminating in the programs sixth straight conference crown. Daza is now a three-time All-Conference First Team honoree as a forward, helping the Ducks to a 12th straight NCAA appearance. He currently leads Stevens with a conference-high 31 points this season on 12 goals and seven assists. Daza has registered at least one point in 12-of-19 games played including a hat trick in the win over Wilkes. The Ducks are on a 15-match unbeaten streak and will play Methodist in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Ming, a freshman from Devonshire, Bermuda, stepped in and became a playmaker for the Soaring Eagles with a team leading six assists. Ming also notched three goals as he started all 18 games played. Elmira was the fourth seed in the conference tournament and most recently earned the second-seed in the ECAC UpState tournament. Ming is the second straight Elmira player to earn Rookie of the Year accolades.
Searl enjoys his first Doug May Memorial Coach of the Year award. The Cardinals made the postseason as the No. 2 seed in the Empire 8 Conference Championship, after being picked to finish last in the Conference's preseason poll. Fisher earned the seed after garnering a 4-1-1 record in conference play, and finished with a 10-5-3 overall mark. It was the sixth time in Searl’s 16-year Fisher career that he led his team to double-digit wins.
The coaching award is named after May, who coached RIT from 1980 to 1996 and Nazareth from 1997 to 2003 before passing away in April 2004.
One member of each team was named that institution’s representative on the 2012 Men’s Soccer Sportsman of the Year Team. Empire 8 emphasizes that "Competing with Honor and Integrity" is an essential component of a student-athlete’s experience in conjunction with an institution’s educational mission. These honorees have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
Listed below are the complete 2012 Empire 8 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Teams.
Empire 8 2012 Men’s Soccer All-Conference Awards
Player of the Year: Victor Daza, Stevens Institute of Technology
Rookie of the Year: Wendell Ming, Elmira College
Coaching Staff of the Year: Head Coach Rob Searl and staff, St. John Fisher College
|
FIRST TEAM |
|
|
|
Backs |
Yr |
School |
|
Ryan Norland |
Sr |
Ithaca |
|
Leonardo Casas |
Jr |
Stevens |
|
Zeke Hemme |
Jr |
Stevens |
|
Midfielders |
|
|
|
Jared Toth |
Jr |
Houghton |
|
James Wheeler |
Jr |
Nazareth |
|
Zach Adler |
Sr |
Stevens |
|
Curtis Stecyk |
Jr |
Stevens |
|
Forwards |
|
|
|
Ernesto Valverde |
Jr |
Elmira |
|
Tim Goldman |
So |
Ithaca |
|
Victor Daza |
Sr |
Stevens |
|
Stephen Dunbar |
Jr |
Stevens |
|
Goalkeeper |
|
|
|
Paul Killian |
Jr |
Stevens |
|
|
|
|
|
SECOND TEAM |
|
|
|
Backs |
Yr |
School |
|
Michael Dix |
Sr |
Houghton |
|
Sean Fishel |
Sr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Harrison Kane |
Fr |
Stevens |
|
Dj Ilebani |
Sr |
Utica |
|
Midfielders |
|
|
|
Jeffery Thomas |
Jr |
Alfred |
|
Wendell 'Tre' Ming |
Fr |
Elmira |
|
Jack Shirley |
Sr |
Ithaca |
|
Ryan Foley |
Jr |
Nazareth |
|
Forwards |
|
|
|
Andre Germano |
So |
Elmira |
|
Luke Elston |
Jr |
Nazareth |
|
Jake Quattrini |
Jr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Kevin McAllister |
Jr |
Utica |
|
Goalkeeper |
|
|
|
Kyle Metcalfe |
Jr |
St. John Fisher |
|
|
|
|
|
HONORABLE MENTION |
|
|
|
Backs |
Yr |
School |
|
Matthew Feldman |
Jr |
Elmira |
|
John Carpenter |
Jr |
Houghton |
|
Dan Shirley |
Sr |
Ithaca |
|
Jimmy Gaffney |
Sr |
Nazareth |
|
Austin Buckley |
Sr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Matthew Riley |
Sr |
Stevens |
|
Midfielders |
|
|
|
Michael Amico |
Sr |
Houghton |
|
John Tomko |
Jr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Kevin Calloway |
So |
Stevens |
|
Daniel Garcia |
Sr |
Utica |
|
Forwards |
|
|
|
Frankie Mannino |
Sr |
Alfred |
|
Paul Seddon |
Jr |
Houghton |
|
Garhett Varin |
Sr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Goalkeeper |
|
|
|
Kenny Chapman |
Fr |
Ithaca |
|
|
|
|
|
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR |
|
|
|
Rigel Johnson |
Sr |
Alfred |
|
Cameron Ware |
Sr |
Elmira |
|
Michael Dix |
Sr |
Houghton |
|
Dan Shirley |
Sr |
Ithaca |
|
Brendan Miles |
Fr |
Nazareth |
|
Josh Tomko |
Jr |
St. John Fisher |
|
Kevin Calloway |
So |
Stevens |
|
Daniel Garcia |
Sr |
Utica |