Salcido and Desko Win ACC Postseason Awards

For the third-consecutive year, Syracuse head coach John Desko has been voted ACC Coach of the Year, while standout midfielder Sergio Salcido was voted ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

A Tewaaraton Award Semifinalist and All-ACC Team selection, Salcido is one of the most prolific passers from the midfield in Syracuse history, already with the third-most assists in a season by an Orange midfielder (30). The Winter Park, Florida native currently ranks second in points, one behind fellow midfielder and leading goal scorer Nick Mariano, with 45 points on the season. An ACC All-Tournament Team selection, Salcido has tallied 98 points in the last-two seasons after starting his career as a walk-on.

Elected as a team captain by his teammates this season, Salcido has a pair of game-winning goals on the year, while also assisting on two others and also has 15 ground balls and four caused turnovers to go with his strong offensive output. Salcido is majoring in child and family studies at the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics.

He's the second player in program history to earn ACC Offensive Player of the Year honors, joining Kevin Rice in 2015, who'd later go on to win the Turnbull Award as the nation's top attackman and be a Tewaaraton Award finalist.

Desko has led the Orange to either a regular season or tournament championship in each of the last-three seasons in the ACC. This season, he took a team that was projected to finish third in the conference and led the Orange to a 4-0 record in regular season ACC play and 'Cuse to serving as the longest-standing No. 1 team in the nation this season, a spot they occupied for four-straight weeks.

Desko enters Saturday's game vs. Colgate with the best winning percentage of any active NCAA Division I coach, with his .762 winning percentage ranked seventh all-time among NCAA Division I head coaches.

As 'Cuse heads into the NCAA Tournament, Desko will be one win shy of tying his mentor, former Syracuse head coach Roy Simmons Jr., for the third-most wins by a head coach in NCAA Tournament history, with his .733 winning percentage in NCAA Tournament games ranked second all-time.

A win against Colgate on Saturday would be Desko's 499th at Syracuse, including his time as player and assistant coach in the program. The Orange will take on Colgate at Noon on Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Nick Mariano

Sergio Salcido

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