University of Delaware Athletics
UD on All-CAA Teams; Frimpong, Gimenez Earn Top Honors (Nov. 9, 2011)
11/9/2011 12:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Full CAA Release
HARRISONBURG, Va. -- A season of firsts continued for the University of Delaware men's soccer team as senior Evans Frimpong and sophomore Roberto Gimenez headlined the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association all-league honors announced at the pre-championship banquet Wednesday night on the campus of James Madison.
On the eve of the quarterfinals of the Virginia 529 CAA Men' Soccer Championship, Frimpong (right) was selected as the Player of the Year and Gimenez (below right) was named the Rookie of the Year. The voting was conducted by the league head coaches.
Delaware (11-5-2, 6-4-1 CAA), led by head coach Ian Hennessy, has advanced to the CAA Tournament for the second straight year and is the tournament No. 4 seed.
The Blue Hens will take on No. 5 seed Northeastern Thursday, Nov. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at the James Madison Lacrosse/Soccer Complex with the winner advancing to take on top-seed JMU Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. The Hens are looking to capture their first league title since winning the 1983 East Coast Conference Western Section title.
Frimpong and Gimenez were also named to the All-CAA first team while senior back Darren O'Conner earned a spot on the third team. Newcomers Yoan Fontaine and Prince Nartey, in addition to Gimenez, were also named to the All-Rookie team.
Frimpong becomes just the fifth player in Delaware men's soccer history to earn conference Player of the Year honors, joining Dave Ferrell (1976 and 1977), Scott Thompson (1979), John Petito (1982), and Dave Whitcraft (1983). He becomes the first to earn the honor since Delaware joined the CAA in 2002.
The Acca, Ghana native has scored 11 goals and five assists for 27 points in 2011. The forward had five games with multiple goals as three of them came against conference opponents Northeastern, James Madison and William & Mary. His 27 points are the most by a Blue Hen since Petito compiled 35 points in 1982 and he is the school's first double-digit scorer since 2004. This is Frimpong's second career All-CAA honor as he also was named to the second team as a junior.
Gimenez, a native of Calle Calatrava, Spain, followed right on the heels of Frimpong, also tying for second in the CAA with 27 points. The forward was fifth in the conference with 10 goals and tied for third in assists with seven.
He contributed a goal or an assist in 10 of his 13 matches played and had two game-winning scores. Gimenez is the first Blue Hen to earn CAA Rookie of the Year laurels since Sobhan Tadjalli was honored in 2004. Although he has sophomore eligibility, Gimenez was considered a rookie because he is playing his first season of collegiate soccer.
O'Connor, a native of Cork, Ireland, anchored a defense that recorded five shutouts this season while also contributing two assists to the offense in 13 games. It is the second time O'Connor has been named to the All-CAA third team as he earned the honor last season as well.
Sophomores Fontaine (Ruelle Russienne, France) and Nartey (Accra, Ghana) were also a part of the defense that led the Blue Hens to back-to-back CAA Tournaments for the first time in program history.
The two defensemen helped the Blue Hens blank Massachusetts to open the season, as well as posting shutouts over Canisius, Columbia, Georgia State, and William & Mary. Fontaine played in 16 games with 15 starts this season while Nartey appeared in 15 games, including 13 as a starter.
Delaware and Old Dominion were the only teams to receive two players on the All-CAA first team team and the Blue Hens led all schools with six players named to the four teams.
Hofstra's Shaun Foster earned his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award while James Madison's Tom Martin, who led the Dukes to the regular season title, was named the Coach of the Year during the banquet.
AGATE:
2011 All-Colonial Athletic Association Men's Soccer Team
First Team: F – Evans Frimpong, Delaware; F – Roberto Gimenez, Delaware; F – Yannick Smith, Old Dominion; MF – Nicolas Abrigo, William & Mary; MF – Gideo Asante, Old Dominion; MF – Dante Marini, Northeastern; MF – Paul Wyatt, James Madison; D – Shaun Foster, Hofstra; D – Chris Locandro, Georgia State; D – Juan Monge Solano, VCU; GK – Brandon Miller, UNCW.
Second Team: F – Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion; F – Patrick Innes, James Madison; F – Jason Johnson, VCU; MF – Stephen McGill, Georgia State; MF – Daniel Roberts, UNCW; MF – Leo Stolz, George Mason; MF – Ken Tribbett, Drexel; D – Will Smith, William & Mary; Tommy Webb, Old Dominion; D – Eric Zueshow, George Mason; GK – Victor Francoz, Old Dominion.
Third Team: F – Olakunle Banjo, Towson; F – Mile Kennedy, Northeastern; F – Taylor Morgan, George Mason; MF – Ryan Gracia, George Mason; Chris Griebsch, Hofstra; MF – Jamal Keene, Georgia State; MF – Christian McLaughlin, James Madison; D – Ryan Burnham, Northeastern; D – Jason Gannon, James Madison; D – Darren O'Connor, Delaware; GK – Pentti Pussinen, Drexel.
All-Rookie Team: Jonathan Barden, James Madison; Yoan Fontaine, Delaware; Roberto Gimenez, Delaware; Marcus Luster, William & Mary; Juan Monge Solano, VCU; Ambry Moss, Northeastern; Prince Nartey, Delaware; Leo Stolz, George Mason; Michael Teiman, William & Mary; Verneri Valimaa, George Mason.
Player of the Year: Evans Frimpong, Delaware
Defensive Player of the Year: Shaun Foster, Hofstra
Rookie of the Year: Roberto Gimenez,Delaware
Coach of the Year: Tom Martin, James Madison
