Nov. 10, 2011
SHORT HILLS, N.J. – Three University of Notre Dame student-athletes on Thursday evening received all-conference recognition at the annual BIG EAST men’s soccer awards banquet. Senior defender Aaron Maund copped first-team honors, while juniors Ryan Finley, a forward, and Dillon Powers, a midfielder, were named to the all-league second team.
The Fighting Irish also received the Team Fair Play Award after totaling only 81 fouls and five yellow cards during league play. The award is given to the team with the lowest total: foul (one point), yellow card (five points) and red card (10 points).
Maund (Dorchester, Mass.) has played every minute this season and has helped the Irish post six shutouts. He also has notched two assists. This is the third all-BIG EAST citation for Maund, who is a team captain. He was named to the all-conference second team last season and was a third-team selection in 2009.
Finley (Lumberton, N.J.) has team-high totals in goals (7) and points (12) in his first season with the Irish after transferring from Duke, where he earned all-ACC honors in 2010. The junior has two multiple-goal matches this season and was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll twice.
Powers (Plano, Texas), a team captain, has six points this season on one goal and four assists. He has started all 18 matches and has anchored the central midfield for the Fighting Irish. This is the third all-BIG EAST honor for Powers. He was voted to the second team last year and the all-rookie squad in 2009.
USF junior forward Dom Dwyer was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while West Virginia forward Andrew Bevin was selected as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. Sophomore Andrew Jean-Baptiste of Connecticut was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate Andre Blake, a freshman, earned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. Marquette senior Calum Mallace and St. John’s junior Pablo Punyed shared honors as the BIG EAST Midfielders of the Year.
Marquette’s coaching staff was chosen as BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Awards are voted on by the league head coaches, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
The Fighting Irish finished fourth in the BIG EAST Blue Division with a 5-3-1 conference record. Marquette was the Blue Division champion, while USF claimed the Red Division crown. Notre Dame fell to Villanova, 1-0, in the first round of the BIG EAST Championship.
No. 19 Notre Dame (9-5-4) will find out its NCAA Tournament fate when pairings for the 48-team field are announced on Monday. The selection show can be seen live on NCAA.com at 4:30 p.m. (ET).
BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Awards
Offensive Player of the Year
Dom Dwyer, USF, F
Defensive Player of the Year
Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Connecticut, B
Midfielder of the Year
Calum Mallace, Marquette, MF
Pablo Punyed, St. John’s, MF
Goalkeeper of the Year
Andre Blake, Connecticut, GK
Rookie of the Year
Andrew Bevin, West Virginia, F
Coaching Staff of the Year
Marquette
Team Fair Play Award
Notre Dame
All-BIG EAST First Team
Andre Blake, Connecticut, GK
Mamadou Doudou Diouf, Connecticut, F
Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Connecticut, B
Antonio Aguilar, DePaul, F
Steve Neumann, Georgetown, F
Austin Berry, Louisville, B
Nick DeLeon, Louisville, MF
Calum Mallace, Marquette, MF
Aaron Maund, Notre Dame, B
Pablo Punyed, St. John’s, MF
*Dom Dwyer, USF, F
*unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Carlos Alvarez, Connecticut, MF
Tony Cascio, Connecticut, F
Ian Christianson, Georgetown, MF
Andre Boudreaux, Louisville, GK
Colin Rolfe, Louisville, F
Kenney Walker, Louisville, MF
Ryan Finley, Notre Dame, F
Dillon Powers, Notre Dame, MF
Connor Lade, St. John’s, B
Eric Shoenle, West Virginia, B
Raymon Gaddis, West Virginia, B
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Jossimar Sanchez, Connecticut, MF
Jimmy Nealis, Georgetown, B
Marc Cintron, Providence, MF
Nate Bourdeau, Rutgers, MF
Ibrahim Kamara, Rutgers, F
Walter Hines, St. John’s, F
Brenton Griffiths, USF, B
Leston Paul, USF, MF
Aubrey Perry, USF, B
Andrew Bevin, West Virginia, F
Shadow Sebele, West Virginia, MF
All-BIG EAST Rookie Team
Cole DeNormandie, Cincinnati, F
Andre Blake, Connecticut, GK
David Selvaggi, DePaul, F
Tomas Gomez, Georgetown, GK
*C. Nortey, Marquette, F
Marcos Ugarte, Providence, MF
Juan Pablo Correa, Rutgers, F
Tim Parker, St. John’s, B
Wesley Charpie, USF, MF
Oscar Umar, Villanova, MF
Andrew Bevin, West Virginia, F
*unanimous selection
–ND–