University of Connecticut Athletics
Six Huskies Earn All-Conference Awards
11/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
STORRS, Conn. - Six players on the UConn men's soccer team have earned American Athletic Conference awards for their performances in the regular season, as announced by the league on Wednesday morning.
Junior captains Abdou Mbacke Thiam and Jacob Hauser-Ramsey each were selected First Team All-Conference, while redshirt senior Scott Levene and redshirt junior Dylan Greenberg played their way onto the All-Conference Second Team.
Freshmen Josh Burnett and Blaise N'Gague both achieved All-Rookie Team status, leading the way for UConn's talented class of first-year players. The Huskies (8-7-2, 4-3-0 American) had the second-most players selected of any AAC team - tied with No. 13 SMU.
The announcement comes two days prior to the AAC Tournament semifinals at Westcott Field in Dallas, Texas. Third-seeded UConn will play two-seed UCF on Friday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT on the American Digital Network.
For the third-straight season, Thiam recorded double-digit goals for the Huskies - leading the team with 10 goals, four assists and 24 points. He has 31 career tallies heading into Friday, with six of his 10 this season coming as game-winners.
It is the second-consecutive nod to the All-Conference First Team for UConn's top scorer. Thiam was named to the First Team as a sophomore, one year after being selected to the All-Conference Second Team and Rookie Team as a freshman in 2015.
Congrats to @Mbacke122 on his second-straight selection to the All-Conference First Team! #LeaveYourMark pic.twitter.com/R5SUT1W2Dr
- UConn Men's Soccer (@UConnMSOC) November 8, 2017
Hauser-Ramsey, one of UConn's most solid defenders, earned his first-career selection to an All-Conference Team after helping the Huskies post eight shutouts this season. He was twice named AAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 9 and 16.
Special season for @JACOBHAUSER lands him on the @American_MSoc First Team for the first time in his career. #LeaveYourMark pic.twitter.com/ze7P37K2Dm
- UConn Men's Soccer (@UConnMSOC) November 8, 2017
Levene (Stamford, Conn.) continues to be the iron man between the posts for UConn, with his number of consecutive starts now up to 69 - the second-longest streak in program history. He earned four nods as Goalkeeper of the Week throughout the season.
The Husky goalkeeper ranked second in the American in shutouts (8), second in saves (62) and fourth in goals against average (0.95).
Greenberg, who started 16 games for UConn at left back, earned his first All-Conference selection after a solid defensive season. He helped the Huskies hold opponents to 1.00 goals per game, while scoring one of his own on a highlight-reel free kick against UCF on Oct. 21.
Burnett exploded onto the scene for UConn, making 16 starts in 17 appearances - logging a pair of goals and assists for six points in his rookie campaign. The freshman midfielder scored in conference matchups with USF (Oct. 13) and UCF (Oct. 21).
N'Gague, another first-year talent, started in all 17 games for UConn - proving versatile as an attacking and defensive midfielder. He recorded one goal and assist throughout the season, including his penalty kick goal against No. 1/3 Maryland on Oct. 2 at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.
UConn prepares for its AAC semifinals match with the Knights on Friday, as it looks to advance to the AAC championship game on Sunday afternoon (2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT) at Westcott Field. ESPNU will broadcast the title game.
Offensive Player of the Year
Matias Pyysalo, UCF
Defensive Player of the Year
Jordan Cano, SMU
Midfielder of the Year
Mauro Cichero, SMU
Goalkeeper of the Year
Michael Nelson, SMU
Rookie of the Year
Adrian Billhardt, USF
Coaching Staff of the Year
SMU
Team Academic Excellence Award
Memphis
Team Fair Play Award
UCF
First Team All-Conference
Cal Jennings, F, So., UCF
Matias Pyysalo, M/F, UCF *
Yoni Sorokin, M, Fr., UCF
Jacob Hauser-Ramsey, B, Jr., UConn *
Abdou Mbacke Thiam, F, Jr., UConn *
Adrian Billhardt, F, Fr., USF
Ricardo Gomez, M, Sr., USF
Jordan Cano, B, Sr., SMU *
Mauro Cichero, M, Sr., SMU *
Garrett McLaughlin, F, So., SMU *
Michael Nelson, GK, R-Sr., SMU
Divin Fula Luzolo, B, Sr., Temple
Second Team All-Conference
Hattabiou Barry, M, Fr., UCF
Louis Perez, M, Fr., UCF
Andreas Steineger, B, Jr., UCF
David Sanz, M, So., Cincinnati
Dylan Greenberg, B, R-Sr., UConn
Scott Levene, GK, R-Sr., UConn
Ben Roberts, B, So., Memphis
David Zalzman, M, Jr., Memphis
Jared Rice, B/M, Sr., SMU
Alan Camacho Soto, F, Fr., Temple
Thibault Candia, F, So., Temple
Rollie Rocha, M, Sr., Tulsa
All-Rookie Team
Hattabiou Barry, M, UCF
Louis Perez, M, UCF
Yoni Sorokin, M, UCF *
Josh Burnett, M, UConn
Blaise N'Gague, M, UConn *
Adrian Billhardt, F, USF *
Josue Monge, M, USF
Talen Maples, B, SMU
Alan Camacho Soto, F, Temple *
Darri Sigthorsson, B, Temple
Joe Ruiz, M, Tulsa
[*] denotes unanimous selection
