LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- Led by senior goalkeeper Taariq Ganga (Cape Town, South Africa) and head coach Mark Heath-Preston, the Bellevue University men's soccer team had eight selections to the 2024 Continental Athletic Conference all-CAC teams, as announced by the CAC office on Tuesday.
Ganga, who also earned first team all-CAC honors, has started all 18 games in goal for the Bruins and posted five shutouts while combining on another. He has totaled 49 saves and a .778 save percentage to go along with a 0.80 goals against average.
Heath-Preston, in his ninth season leading the Bruins, has guided Bellevue to four-straight CAC Championships and seven-straight appearances in the title game overall. This year he's led Bellevue to a 14-2-2 mark, a No. 7 national ranking, and back to the CAC Championship. He has compiled a 113-52-21 record and five NAIA National Tournament Appearances in charge of the Bruins.
Joining Ganga on the all-CAC first team were seniors forward Matias Daniel-Doren (Chicureo, Chile), midfielder Jose-Miguel Boggio (Lecheria, Venezuela), and midfielder Giovani Lima Soares (Sao Paulo, Brazil) along with junior defender Edwin Cisneros (Omaha, Neb.).
Daniel-Doren led Bellevue in scoring with six goals, including four game-winners, and six assists as he started 15 of 18 games on the year. Boggio started all 15 games in which he appeared, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist. Lima Soares totaled two goals and three assists as the lone Bruins' outfield player to start all 18 games. Cisneros scored six goals and three assists providing great attacking versatility out of the back and drew numerous penalty kick chances for BU.
Junior defender Fletcher Hedge (Herfordshire, England) took home second team honors for the Bruins. He has anchored a back line that yielded just 15 goals in 18 games for a 0.83 goals against average, posted six shutouts, and is allowing just 3.7 shots on goal per game.
Senior forward Ombeni Mubake (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and sophomore defender Buster Honeywood (Kessingland, England) each took home honorable mention all-CAC recognition. Mubake totaled five goals and five assists after appearing in all 18 games with four starts. Honeywood came back from injury to help anchor a back line which has registered four shutouts in 12 games since his return.
Diego Gavia was named as Bellevue's Champion of Character representative after appearing in 12 games as a reserve.
The seventh-ranked Bruins advanced to the CAC Championship Match following Monday's 4-0 win over Talladega College. Tomorrow's match against Georgia Gwinnett College will kick off at 3 p.m. from the Grizzly Soccer Complex.
