On Thursday night, the BIG EAST Conference announced the All-BIG EAST First, Second, Third and Honorable Mention members for the 2008 season. Seniors Yohance Marshall and Kevon Neaves were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team, while senior Jordan Seabrook and junior Zak Boggs received Third Team Honors. Sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Attinella was Honorable Mention.
Marshall, a defender from Malabar Arima, Trinidad, has scored two goals and has dished out two assists this year. He has garnered two BIG EAST Defender of the Week honors as well as being a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Finalist.
Neaves, a midfielder from Petit Valley, Trinidad has three goals and four assist for the Bulls this year. He currently is on the Hermann Trophy Watch List.
Earning conference honors for the third-straight season, Seabrook was named to the BIG EAST Third Team. He has five goals and five assists on the year.
Boggs, another Third Team member, is also a key contributor to the team with three goals and three assists.
Attinella, who was named to the Honorable Mention team, currently has a 0.39 goals against average, which ranks second nationally. His .891 saves percentage average also ranks sixth nationally. Attinella currently has nine shutouts, which is a USF single-season record.
Despite its fourth-place finish in the league standings a year ago, USF made a surge late in the season and advanced to the NCAA Championship third round, before falling to Connecticut in a rare interconference postseason matchup. In the 2008 season, the Bulls finished in second place in the Red Division, falling behind St. John’s by four points. USF is currently 12-4-2 and has advanced to the BIG EAST Semifinals, where they will face Notre Dame, the No. 1 seed in the Blue Division, Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. USF is hosting the BIG EAST Championships at the USF Soccer Stadium.
Below is the complete list of BIG EAST Honors.
2008 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Awards
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
O’Brian White, Connecticut, Sr., F
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Nelson Becerra, St. John’s, Jr., MF
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Jr., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Zack Johnson, West Virginia, So., GK
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
Colin Rolfe, Louisville, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
St. John’s – head coach Dave Masur; associate head coach Marc Reeves; assistant coach Jeff Matteo
All-BIG EAST First Team
Yohance Marshall, USF, Sr., D
Kevon Neaves, USF, Sr., MF
Nelson Becerra, St. John’s, Jr., MF
Matt Besler, Notre Dame, Sr., D
Aaron Clapham, Louisville, Sr., MF
Bright Dike, Notre Dame, Sr., F
Joel Gustafsson, St. John’s, Jr., D
Zack Johnson, West Virginia, So., GK
Brayan Martinez, Seton Hall, So., MF
*Toni Stahl, Connecticut, Jr., MF
*O’Brian White, Connecticut, Sr., F
* - unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Austin Berry, Louisville, So., D
Dilly Duka, Rutgers, So., MF
Kyle Hall, Syracuse, Sr., F
Ryan Maduro, Providence, Sr., MF
Akeem Priestley, Connecticut, Sr., MF
Jerry Saintil, Seton Hall, So., MF
Michael Thomas, Notre Dame, Jr., MF
Jack Traynor, Notre Dame, Sr., D
Brian Visser, DePaul, Sr., GK
Steffen Vroon, DePaul, Jr., F
Hansen Woodruff, Syracuse, Jr., MF
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Zak Boggs, USF, Jr., F
Jordan Seabrook, USF, Sr., F
Jeb Brovsky, Notre Dame, So., F
Oscar Castillo, Connecticut, Sr., D
Tafadzwa Chiduku, St. John’s, So.,F
Len Coleman, Georgetown, Jr., D
Neal Kitson, St. John’s, R-Sr., GK
Tim Ritter, Providence, Jr., F
Michael Seamon, Villanova, Jr., F
Brad Simpson, Cincinnati, R-Sr., D
Ryan Soroka, St. John’s, Jr., MF
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Jeff Attinella, USF, So., GK
Peter Grasso, Georgetown, Sr., F
Gift Maworere, West Virginia, Jr., D
Michael Pezza, Connecticut, Jr., MF
Tadeu Terra, St. John’s, R-So., MF
Karol Wasielewski, Syracuse, Sr., D