University of Connecticut Athletics
Six Huskies Take Home BIG EAST Honors
11/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, Conn. (November 10, 2005) - Six members of the No. 6-ranked University of Connecticut men’s soccer team were honored Thursday as part of the BIG EAST Championship weekend. Senior midfielder Mpho Moloi (Soweto, South Africa) has been named the 2005 BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, while sophomore back Julius James (Maloney Gardens, Trinidad) and freshman forward O’Brian White (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) were named Defensive Player and Rookie of the Year, respectively. In addition, Chukwudi Chijindu (Fontana, Calif.), Willis Forko (Houston, Texas) and Ryan Cordeiro (Highland Mills, N.Y.) were placed on the first or second All-BIG EAST teams. The last time UConn earned these three awards in one season, the team went on to win the 2000 national championship.
Seton Hall junior forward Sacha Kljestan was selected as Offensive Player of the Year. Coaching Staff of the Year honors went to Seton Hall’s Manny Schellscheidt and his staff. Goalkeeper of the Year was given to St. John’s sophomore Jason Landers. Voting was conducted among the league’s 16 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
The awards were presented tonight at the conference’s annual men’s soccer awards banquet in Vernon, Conn. on the eve of the 24th annual BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship. The event will continue on Friday with semifinal action at 3:30 and 6:00 p.m. at Morrone Stadium on the University of Connecticut campus, live on College Sports Television (CSTV). Top-seeded in the Red Division, new BIG EAST member USF will take on Blue Division sixth-seed Providence in the day’s first game, while the Blue Division’s No. 1, seed Connecticut, will be staged against Red Division No. 2 St. John’s in the second game. The winners advance to Sunday’s championship final at noon, which will be televised by several regional cable outlets.
A 2005 MAC Hermann Trophy Candidate, Moloi has captained the Huskies each of the last three seasons. The senior midfielder brings home UConn’s third BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honor under Head Coach Ray Ried, following the likes of Brent Rahim (2000) and Anthony Curtis (2002). He is a three-time All-BIG EAST selection and All-New England honoree and has led the defensive midfield since entering the starting line-up prior to the NCAA Tournament his freshman year. Now 69 games after becoming a starter, Moloi averages 89 minutes per game with two assists to his credit. He has been honored as the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week once in 2005, while helping lead the Husky defense to a 0.52 goals against average and 11 shutouts this season.
The Husky defense has worked its way into the national spotlight behind the strength of James, rising to a fifth-place ranking in the nation in both goals against average and shutout percentage. Anchored in the middle by the Hermann Trophy candidate, UConn has allowed an average of just 0.52 goals per game, the lowest average in the BIG EAST, while securing 11 shutouts for a 0.65 shutout percentage. Their nine goals allowed also places the team at No. 1, as it is the lowest season total in the conference. James is one of two athletes to be named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week twice in the 2005 season, leading up to becoming the second Defensive Player of the Year for the Huskies of the last nine years. Chris Gbandi was a three-time honoree, taking home the trophy every year from 1999-2001.
A former member of the Jamaican National team and resident of Canada, White has used his worldly experience since arriving in Storrs to help the Huskies to the semifinals. He currently leads the team in scoring with eight goals and five assists after playing and starting in 16 games in 2005. The freshman forward has notched the game-winning tally on four occasions this season, against Sacred Heart, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Sunday versus Georgetown. White is the third BIG EAST Rookie of the Year honoree for UConn, following in the footsteps of Gbandi (1998) and Cesar Cueller (2000).
Offensive Player of the Year: Sacha Kljestan, Seton Hall, Jr., F
Midfielder of the Year: Mpho Moloi, Connecticut, Sr., M
Defensive Player of the Year: Julius James, Connecticut, So., D
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jason Landers, St. John’s, So., GK
Rookie of the Year: O’Brian White, Connecticut, Fr., F
Coaching Staff of the Year: Seton Hall – Manny Schellscheidt (head coach), Gerson Echeverry and Kazbek Tambi (assistant coaches)
All-BIG EAST First Team
Jason Landers, St. John's, So., GK
Omar Cummings, Cincinnati, Jr., F*
Greg Dalby, Notre Dame, Jr., D*
Ian Etherington, Notre Dame, Jr., M
Matt Groenwald, St. John's, Sr., F
David Guzman, Louisville, So., M
Rodrigo Hidalgo, USF, So., M
Julius James, Connecticut, So., D*
Sacha Kljestan, Seton Hall, Jr., F*
Mpho Moloi, Connecticut, Sr., M
Steven Old, St. John's, So., D
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Nick Noble, West Virginia, Jr., GK
Jeff Carroll, St. John's, Sr., D
Chukwudi Chijindu, Connecticut, So., F
Jeff Curtin, Georgetown, Sr., D
Eliseo Giusfredi, Seton Hall, Fr., F
Garry Lewis, St. John's, Fr., M
Teddy Niziolek, Seton Hall, Jr., M
Ezra Prendergast, Syracuse, Sr., D
Jordan Seabrook, USF, Fr., F
Jarrod Smith, West Virginia, Jr., F
O'Brian White, Connecticut, Fr., F
Andy Wright, West Virginia, So., M
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Kenny Anaba, Cincinnati, So., F
Ryan Cordeiro, Connecticut, So., M
Tom Dziamba, Seton Hall, Sr., D
Willis Forko, Connecticut, Sr., D
Nick LaBrocca, Rutgers, Jr., M
Joe Lapira, Notre Dame, So., F
Yohance Marshall, USF, Fr., D
Devon McTavish, West Virginia, Sr., D
Ryan Maduro, Providence, Fr., M
Ricky Schramm, Georgetown, Jr., F
Adam Sternberger, Rutgers, So., M
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Benjamin Jefferson-Dow, Georgetown, Sr., M
Gordon Kljestan, Seton Hall, Jr., D
Brett Stassfurth, Villanova, Sr., M
Eoin Lynch, Providence, Sr., F
* - unanimous selection
^ - Due to a tie in voting an extra member has been added to the second team
