Lybert, Shaw Earn Conference Major Awards; Nine Captains Earn All-Conference Honors
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The USA South Athletic Conference announced its men's soccer All-Conference honors today, listing Christopher Newport senior Brian Lybert as the league's Player of the Year for the second straight season. Head coach Steve Shaw also collected Coach of the Year honors for the seventh time in his career and CNU matched a program-high with nine players on the All-Conference team.
Lybert, a senior forward from Honolulu, Hawaii, is following up his 2010 Player of the Year and All-American season with a fine swan song in his final campaign. Lybert leads the league with 32 points on ten goals and a league-high 12 assists. He ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game (0.86) and 12th in the nation in points per game (2.29). The Captain earned First Team All-Conference honors for the second time as he helped the juggernaut offense score 3.50 goals per game, good for the sixth best offense in the nation.
Shaw earns his seventh USA South Coach of the Year honor, leading the Captains to their seventh regular season title in the last 11 seasons. CNU wrapped up the regular season with an unbeaten 15-0-1 overall record including a perfect 6-0 mark in USA South action. He has guided the Captains to a number one national ranking in each of the last three seasons and is currently ranked No. 2 in the D3soccer.com National Rankings and No. 3 by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
CNU collected nine All-Conference honors on the First, Second and Honorable Mention teams. Joining Lybert on the First Team was freshman midfielder Jalon Brown, junior defender Sean Moriarty and senior netminder Justin Wolfe. Wolfe is just two shutouts shy of the career-record with 28, and also one shy of the season-best mark of 10 which he tied last season. He has posted a remarkable 0.49 goals against average, good for ninth in the nation. Moriarty has helped lock down the defense, posting ten shutouts in 16 games while holding opponents to just 8.2 shots per game. Brown stepped into a starting role immediately for the Captains, as one of just three players to start all 16 games this season. He ranked fifth on the team with 10 points on four goals and two assists.
Second Team honors were garnered by senior forward Winston Mattheisen, senior midfielder Steven Farmer, senior defender David Haas and sophomore middie Caleb Lewis. Mattheisen is tied for the all-time program leader in points scored, with 113, and leads the team in goals scored this season with 11. The two-time All-American ranks fourth in the conference in points scored (23) and third in goals (11). Farmer broke out in his final season, scoring a career-high six goals including three game-winners. Haas has been the ever-steady presence on the back line as part of the dominant defense that ranks ninth in the nation with a 0.48 goals against average. Lewis has scored two goals and two assists this year.
Rounding out the Captains All-Conference honors was junior midfielder Denny Arinello on the Honorable Mention All-Conference squad. Arinello scored one goal and had three assists in the regular season while making six starts for the Captains in the midfield.
Michael Zimmerman earned All-Sportsmanship honors for the second straight season. The junior midfielder was hampered by an early season injury but has played in nine games as a reserve, putting three of his five shots on frame.
Methodist striker Eirik Nordseth earned the USA South Rookie of the Year honor. For the complete release of the 2011 Men's Soccer All-Conference Team, click here.
