LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Seven Bruins were among the Continental Athletic Conference's award winners when the CAC league office announced its Men's Soccer All-Conference Teams and Players of the Year yesterday.
Taariq Ganga, a junior, earned CAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. He started all 20 games between the sticks for the Bruins as he helped BU set a program record with 11 shutouts – eight of his own and three shared – while posting a 0.82 goals against average. He stopped 68 of the 84 shots he faced for an .810 save percentage.
Joining Ganga on the first team were sophomore midfielder Álvaro Moros Sanz, sophomore defender Fletcher Hedge, and senior defender Sebastian Zapata. Moros Sanz totaled 15 points to rank third on the team, scoring five goals and five assists which were good for second and third, respectively. Hedge scored a team-high seven goals and shared the team lead with 16 points. Zapata scored a goal and an assist on the year while combining with Hedge to form two-thirds of the center back trio responsible for the program shutout record.
Senior forward Antonio Capra, junior forward Matias Daniel-Doren, and junior midfielder Jose-Miguel Boggio all earned second team recognition. Capra used his incredible work rate to score four goals, including the game-winner at Hannibal-LaGrange and a brace at Judson. Daniel-Doren finished second on the club with five goals and shared the team lead in both assists and points with 16 and six, respectively. Boggio, a defensive-minder midfielder, scored a goal but used his role to primarily to maintain possession, facilitate counter-attacks, and aid the defensive efforts.
In addition to the seven all-conference picks, midfielder Giovani Lima Soares and Buster Honeywood each took home honorable mention accolades. Lima Soares, similar to Boggio, served as a link from the defense to the Bruin attack; he scored two goals and two assists and fueled the counter-attack with his possession and distribution. Honeywood was the third member of Bellevue's center back triumvirate responsible for 11 shutouts. He added three goals and an assist on the year. Lima Soares was also recognized as BU's CAC Champion of Character representative.
Bellevue has posted a 12-5-3 record to this point in the season, winning their fourth-straight CAC Tournament Championship to reach the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth time in six seasons.
The Bruins face Northwestern College this evening at 6 p.m. in the First Round of the NAIA National Tournament with the winner advancing to face #1 Mid-America Christian University at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.
