Loyola Mentor Mark Mettrick Named Spalding/MAAC Coach of the Year
EDISON, NJ - Loyola College defenseman Niall Lepper (Glasgow, Scotland), who led the Greyhounds to an overall mark of 13-1-2, a perfect 9-0 MAAC record and the number one seed at the MAAC Men's Soccer Tournament, has been selected as the 2001 MAAC Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and headlines this season's All-MAAC Team.
Lepper, a 6-1 junior, posted two goals and two assists for six points over 14 games this season for Loyola.
Fellow teammate Reb Beatty (Annapolis, MD) was tabbed as the MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year. Beatty was second in the conference with his 0.61 goals against average and fifth in the league with his .787 save percentage.
Fairfield's Danny Atwell (Christchurch, New Zealand) picked up MAAC Rookie of the Year honors. The freshman midfielder tied for first in freshman scoring and tied for 10th in overall scoring with six goals and four assists for 16 points this season.
Also earning first team selections are Mike Nelson (Marlton, NJ), AJ Ogilvie (Springfield, VA) and Miguel Abreu (Kearny, NJ) from Loyola. Fairfield's Mark Dietz (Louisville, KY), Aaron Kingi (Hamilton, New Zealand) and Rob DeFaveri (Ontario, Canada), Manhattan's Mike Walsh (Chatham, NJ), Marist's Joe Crespo (Bolton, CT) and Rider's Bob Francis (Richboro, PA) round out the selections on the first team.
The second team All-MAAC consists of three student-athletes from Loyola: Bobby von Bremen (Randolph, NJ), Arturo Lopez (Miami, FL) and Graham Marchant (Wakefield, England). They are joined by Atwell, Bryan Harkin (Derry, Northern Ireland) and James Gledhill (Yorkshire, England) of Fairfield, Adam Koster (Scotch Plains, NJ) and Carlos DeBrito (Union, NJ) of Marist, Alex Cuba (Staten Island, NY), Flavio Pinto (Glen Ridge, NJ) and Mario Olante (Queens, NY) of St. Peter's and Pat Wren (Clifton Park, NY) and Kevin Purcell (Albany, NY) of Siena.
Atwell was also named to the All-Rookie Team, joined by teammate Andy Uria (Davidsonville, MD) from Fairfield. Also headlining the squad are Marchant, Jim Gottermyer (Pittsburgh, PA) and Kevin Nash (Bridgewater, NJ) from Loyola, Matt Salotti (Fairfield, NJ) from Manhattan, Rob Depiro (Ramsey, NJ) and Matt Flaherty (Fishkill, NY) from Marist, Dan O'Shea (E. Syracuse, NY) from Niagara, Pablo Orantes (Queens, NY) from St. Peter's, and Joe Vitale (Scotia, NY) from Siena.
Second-year head coach Mark Meltrick of Loyola was named the 2001 Spalding/MAAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. He led the Greyhounds to a record of 13-1-2, including a perfect 9-0 mark in the MAAC, en route to earning the regular season title this season. This year marks Loyola's 12th straight appearance in the MAAC tournament since 1989.
2001 MAAC Men's Soccer Awards
Player of the YearNiall Lepper, Loyola BackRookie of the YearDanny Atwell, Fairfield MidfielderGoalkeeper of the YearReb Beatty, Loyola GoalkeeperSpalding Coach of the YearMark Mettrick, Loyola First Team All-MAACMark Dietz, Fairfield BackAaron Kingi, Fairfield BackNiall Lepper, Loyola BackMike Nelson, Loyola BackAJ Ogilvie, Loyola MidfielderMike Walsh, Manhattan MidfielderBob Francis, Rider MidfielderRob DeFaveri, Fairfield ForwardMiguel Abreu, Loyola ForwardJoe Crespo, Marist ForwardReb Beatty, Loyola GoalkeeperSecond Team All-MAACArt Lopez, Loyola BackBobby von Bremen, Loyola BackAdam Koster, Marist BackPat Wren, Siena BackDanny Atwell, Fairfield MidfielderBryan Harkin, Fairfield MidfielderAlex Cuba, St. Peter's MidfielderFlavio Pinto, St. Peter's MidfielderJames Gledhill, Fairfield ForwardGraham Marchant, Loyola ForwardMario Olantes, St. Peter's ForwardKevin Purcell, Siena ForwardCarlos DeBrito, Marist GoalkeeperMAAC All-RookieAndy Uria, Fairfield BackJim Gottermyer, Loyola BackRob Depiro, Marist BackPablo Orantes, St. Peter's BackDanny Atwell, Fairfield MidfielderMatt Flaherty, Marist MidfielderJoe Vitale, Siena MidfielderGraham Marchant, Loyola ForwardKevin Nash, Loyola ForwardMatt Salotti, Mahattan ForwardDan O'Shea, Niagara Goalkeeper