Pictured: Andre Akpan (left) and Brian Rogers were named the
Ivy League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year,
respectively.
Photo courtesy: David Silverman Photography
Complete Ivy League
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of Harvard Winning Ivy Championship
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. –Senior forward Andre
Akpan of the Harvard men’s soccer team has been tabbed the
Ivy League Player of the Year, while freshman forward Brian Rogers
has garnered Rookie of the Year honors, the conference announced
Tuesday afternoon. Senior defender Kwaku Nyamekye joins Akpan as
the only two unanimous selections to the All-Ivy League first
team.
Harvard also earned three selections to the all-conference second
team: Rogers, senior midfielder Brian Grimm and freshman defender
Richard Smith. Junior midfielder Alex Chi received All-Ivy League
honorable mention status.
Harvard’s sweep of the top two conference honors marks the
first time the Crimson has earned Player and Rookie of the Year
selections since 2006, when Akpan was tabbed as the Ivy’s top
rookie and Charles Altcheck ’07 earned his second straight
nod as Player of the Year. “It’s great that Andre has
set the standard for our program, and we are in good hands for the
upcoming four years as well,” said Jamie Clark, The Virginia
B. and James O. Welch, Jr. ’52 Head Coach for Harvard
Men’s Soccer.
Akpan, Harvard’s all-time leading scorer with 123 points on
45 goals and 33 assists, earns his fourth nod to the All-Ivy League
first team. A native of Grand Prairie, Texas, Akpan, a co-captain
of the Crimson this fall, is a two-time semifinalist for the
Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy, presented to the
nation’s top soccer player, and has garnered two NSCAA
All-America selections. Akpan led Harvard with 28 points this fall,
ranking 14th in the nation with 1.65 points per contest. He also
tallied a Harvard-best 11 goals, including four that counted for
game-winners, and tied for the team lead with six assists. Akpan
scored two goals three times this season and was tabbed the Ivy
League Player of the Week on two occasions.
Rogers ranked second on the Crimson with 17 points, netting six
goals and handing out five assists. A native of Bronxville, N.Y.,
Rogers, who also tallied three game-winning goals, was honored as
the conference Rookie of the Week three times this fall. He enjoyed
a six-game point streak to start his career (Sept. 4-23) and scored
a goal in three straight contests against Army, Fairfield and New
Hampshire (Sept. 14-23).
A four-time All-Ivy League honoree, Nyamekye was named to the
All-Ivy first team for the second straight season after once again
anchoring the Crimson defense. He started all 17 games for Harvard
this fall, helping the Crimson hold opponents to only 13 goals.
Nyamekye, who hails from Geneva, Switzerland, also had the scoring
touch, notching a key goal in Harvard’s 2-1 win over
Dartmouth Oct. 31.
Grimm, a co-captain of the Crimson, earned his first nod to the
All-Ivy League team after starting all 17 games at midfield. A
native of Manalapan, N.J., he assisted on three tallies this
season, two of which were game-winners. In the last two seasons,
Grimm has played in all 35 games, starting 34 of those
contests.
Smith, who tallied the game-winning goal in the 68th
Harvard’s 1-0 win over Penn Nov. 15, which clinched the
Crimson’s Ivy League title, started eight games in his rookie
season at defense. For his effort against the Quakers, Smith, a
product of Durham, England, was honored as the Ancient Eight Rookie
of the Week Nov. 16.
A native of Plano, Texas, Chi started all 17 games at midfield for
the Crimson, scoring two goals. Chi, who is making his first
appearance on the All-Ivy League team, netted the game-winner in
overtime at Columbia Nov. 7, and also tallied a late goal at
Cornell Oct. 11, helping the Crimson earn a 1-1 tie on the
road.
Harvard completed the regular season as the Ivy League champion,
going 5-1-1 in the Ancient Eight and 13-3-1 overall. The Crimson
earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA
tournament and will host the winner of Monmouth and Connecticut in
the second round Sunday, Nov. 22. The game will be played at Ohiri
Field at 1 p.m.
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