First-place finisher North Carolina captured three major individual awards, and Duke’s Andrew Wenger earned Offensive Player of the Year honors to highlight the 2011 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Team announced today by Commissioner John Swofford.
The Tar Heels play Virginia at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the ACC semi-finals at the Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary while Duke faces Boston College at 7:30 p.m.
Wenger, a junior forward who previously played the back line, earned the conference’s top offensive honor one year after being named the 2010 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The Lititz, Pa., native became the first player to capture both the ACC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
The Tar Heels’ Matt Hedges was named the 2011 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, while UNC coach Carlos Somoano received Coach of the Year honors, and Mikey Lopez was voted Freshman of the Year in balloting among the league’s nine head coaches.
Hedges, a senior who transferred to UNC from Butler prior to this season, earned the distinction of being named Defensive Player of the Year in two Division I conferences. The Carmel, Ind., defender was voted the 2010 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year. This season, Hedges has spearheaded a UNC defense that has allowed an ACC-low 13 goals in 19 matches (0.66 per game) and has posted an ACC-leading eight shutouts.
Somoano, in his first year as a head coach, has led the Tar Heels to a 15-2-2 overall record and a No. 3 national ranking heading into Friday night’s ACC Championship semifinal game against Virginia. In addition to its defensive prowess, Somoano’s UNC team leads the conference in goals scored (45). Lopez, a midfielder from Mission, Texas, has contributed both defensively and at the offensive end, tallying nine points on three assists and three goals, including one game-winner.
Duke’s Wenger enters the ACC Championship semifinals leading the ACC in goals scored (17), points (42) and shots taken (105). He ranks third nationally in points per game (2.21). Wenger has tallied more than one goal in six matches, including a pair of hat tricks, and has delivered eight multiple-point performances.