Asante Earns All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention

SOMERSET, N.J. – Orange senior midfielder Richard Asante (North York, Ontario) was one of four players to earn All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention laurels in a vote of the league’s 16 head coaches released on Thursday, Nov. 2. Asante’s selection came on the eve of the BIG EAST Tournament semifinals which pits Providence against St. John’s in one match and host school Rutgers versus West Virginia in the other semifinal.

Asante played 63 matches during his four-year career. A 2006 captain, Asante started SU’s last 35 games, including all 16 contests in 2006. He equaled his career highs in points (5), goals (2) and assists (1) from his midfield spot this year. Asante notched 14 career points and totaled five goals in his SU tenure.

In addition to Asante, Connecticut’s Ryan Cordeiro, St. John’s Georgios Spanos and Notre Dame’s Jack Traynor also earned honorable mention accolades.

Connecticut, Notre Dame and West Virginia each took home two of the league’s six major awards. The Huskies’ Julius James was tabbed the BIG EAST’s Defensive Player of the Year and Toni Stahl was named Rookie of Year. Notre Dame forward Joseph Lapira was picked as the Offensive Player of the Year and Fighting Irish midfielder Greg Dalby was named Midfielder of the Year. Mountaineer goalie Nick Noble was voted Goalkeeper of the Year and West Virginia also boasted the conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year led by head coach Marlon LeBlanc.

The Orange finished the 2006 season with a 7-8-1 overall record.

Offensive Player of the Year
Joseph Lapira, F, Jr., Notre Dame

Defensive Player of the Year
Julius James, D, Jr., Connecticut

Midfielder of the Year
Greg Dalby, M, Sr., Notre Dame

Goalkeeper of the Year
Nick Noble, GK, Sr., West Virginia

Rookie of the Year
Toni Stahl, M, Fr., Connecticut

Coaching Staff of the Year
Marlon LeBlanc, West Virginia

All-BIG EAST First Team
*Omar Cummings, F, Sr., Cincinnati
*Greg Dalby, M, Sr., Notre Dame
Eliseo Giusfredi, F, So., Seton Hall
David Guzman, M, Jr., Louisville
*Julius James, D, Jr., Connecticut
*Joseph Lapira, F, Jr., Notre Dame
Ryan Maduro, M, Jr., Providence
Nick Noble, GK, Sr., West Virginia
*Jarrod Smith, F, Sr., West Virginia
O'Brian White, F, So., Connecticut
Andrew Wright, M, Jr., West Virginia

All-BIG EAST Second Team
Kenny Anaba, F, Jr., Cincinnati
Matt Besler, D, So., Notre Dame
Amir Ikner, D, Jr., Cincinnati
Frank Jonke, F, Jr., Louisville
Bart Koffeman, D, Sr., Rutgers
Chris Konopka, GK, Sr., Providence
Nick LaBrocca, M, Sr., Rutgers
Teddy Niziolek, M, Sr., Seton Hall
Akeem Priestley, M, So., Connecticut
Ricky Schramm, F, Sr., Georgetown
Kareem Smith, D, Sr., USF

All-BIG EAST Third Team
Chris Cahill, GK, Sr., Notre Dame
Patrik Engstrom, D, Sr., St. John's
Andrew Halsell, D, Jr., West Virginia
Rodrigo Hidalgo, M, Jr., USF
Gordon Kljestan, D, Sr., Seton Hall |
Kevon Neaves, M, So., USF
John Raus, F, Sr., Seton Hall
Timothy Ritter, F, So., Providence
Karl Schilling, D, Jr., Connecticut
Jordan Seabrook, F, So., USF
Toni Stahl, M, Fr., Connecticut

All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Rich Asante, M, Sr., Syracuse
Ryan Cordeiro, F, Jr., Connecticut
Georgios Spanos, D, Sr., St. John's
Jack Traynor, D, So., Notre Dame

* - unanimous selection

Syracuse University Athletics

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