University of North Carolina Athletics
Jackson Named a Soccer America MVP
January 10, 2002 | Men's Soccer
Jan. 10, 2002
BERKELEY, Calif. -- University of North Carolina sweeper Danny Jackson a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection who earned his UNC degree in political science in December, was named one of 11 College Men's MVPs by Soccer America, the magazine announced this week.
Jackson led Carolina to the NCAA championship last month. He led the Tar Heel defense all season and scored a crucial goal on a penalty kick late in the title-game victory over Indiana.
Striker Luchi Gonzalez, who carried Southern Methodist through difficult times early in the season and led the Mustangs through a perfect regular season, has been selected the College Men's Player of the Year. Gonzalez, a senior from Miami who scored 21 goals and 12 assists to lead SMU to the NCAA quarterfinals, last month was awarded the Hermann Trophy and Missouri Athletic Club Award as the nation's top player.
Dave Masur, who guided St. John's to the Big East Conference championship and into the NCAA College Cup semifinals with a final-eight win over SMU, is Soccer America's choice as Coach of the Year.
St. John's defender Shalrie Joseph joins Gonzalez among the 11 players Soccer America has selected as College Men's MVPs.
Connecticut defender Chris Gbandi, last year's Soccer America Player of the Year, is the only holdover from the 2000 MVPs.
Other MVPs are goalkeeper Brian Steckroth of Navy, defender Oguchi Onyewu of Clemson, midfielders Kyle Martino of Virginia and Ricardo Villar of Penn State, and forwards Roger Levesque of Stanford, Pat Noonan of Indiana and Dipsy Selolwane of Saint Louis.
Soccer America's 2001 College Men's MVPs:
CHRIS GBANDI (CONNECTICUT)
Senior defender
Suspension and injury limited last year's Player of the Year to 10
games, but he scored three goals and helped the Huskies earn seven of
their nine shutouts. Connecticut was 9-1 with Gbandi, 6-4-2 without him,
including the Big East final and NCAA second-round losses.
LUCHI GONZALEZ (SMU)
Senior forward
Gonzalez carried the Mustangs through the early part of the season when
other key players were injured. By season's end, he had
notched 21 goals and 12 assists and led his team to a perfect regular
season, a Missouri Valley Athletic Association title and into the
NCAA quarterfinals. Gonzalez garnered both the Hermann and Missouri
Athletic Club awards as the top college player.
DANNY JACKSON (NORTH CAROLINA)
Senior defender
A third-year captain, Jackson used his experience from his time in
English Premier League club Leeds United's system to anchor North
Carolina's defense, which shut out 14 foes. His only goal this season, a
penalty kick, secured the championship in the NCAA College
Cup final against Indiana.
SHALRIE JOSEPH (ST. JOHN'S)
Senior defender
Joseph moved to the backline from forward this season and still chalked
up seven goals and four assists for the Big East champions,
including four playoff gamewinners. As a sweeper, he led the Red Storm
to 12 shutouts and a trip to the College Cup final four.
ROGER LEVESQUE (STANFORD)
Junior forward
Primarily a reserve player in 2000, Levesque responded to new coach Bret
Simon's system by posting 14 goals and nine assists to lead
the Cardinal to the Pacific 10 Conference championship and a berth in
the College Cup semifinals. Levesque, the Pac-10 Player of the
Year, scored the lone goal in Stanford's NCAA quarterfinal victory over
Saint Louis.
KYLE MARTINO (VIRGINIA)
Junior midfielder
Three of the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year's six goals
were gamewinners, and the attacking midfielder -- part of the U.S.
Under-20 team that competed at the World Youth Championship last summer
in Argentina -- added a team-high eight assists. The
Cavaliers went undefeated in ACC play and 17-2-1 overall but were upset
in the NCAA tournament by Seton Hall.
PAT NOONAN (INDIANA)
Junior forward
Despite drawing extra attention from opponents' defenses all season,
Noonan carried the Hoosiers' offense by logging 16 goals and 12
assists en route to his third straight College Cup appearance. He set up
both Indiana goals in their come-from-behind 2-1 victory over
St. John's in the national semifinal.
OGUCHI ONYEWU (CLEMSON)
Sophomore defender
In leading the Tigers to the ACC championship, Onyewu scored seven goals
and added five assists while the team posted 10 shutouts.
The big defender, who garnered international attention with his
performance at the U-20 World Youth Championship last summer in
Argentina, scored the tying and winning goals against Alabama-Birmingham
to send Clemson to the NCAA quarterfinals.
DIPSY SELOLWANE (SAINT LOUIS)
Senior forward
With 25 goals and four assists in 20 games, Selolwane led NCAA Division
I in points per game (2.7) and took the Bilikens to their best
record since 1971 (18-2), their second successive Conference USA title
and the NCAA quarterfinals. The C-USA MVP, a Botswanan
national team player who transfered from Harris-Stowe (NAIA) after
scoring 35 goals in 2000, netted five goals in five postseason
games for St. Louis, including both in the 2-0 win against Marquette for
the Conference USA championship.
BRIAN STECKROTH (NAVY)
Senior goalkeeper
The three-time All-Patriot League selection and 2001 Patriot League
Defensive Player of the Year surrendered just nine goals and posted
nine shutouts -- seven of them in 1-0 victories -- in 17 games, critical
numbers that enabled the low-scoring Midshipmen to finish
11-3-3. His 0.49 goals-against average ranked third-best in the nation.
RICARDO VILLAR (PENN STATE)
Senior midfielder
The Brazilian playmaker, a two-time All-American, ranked fifth in NCAA
Division I in assists per game (0.65) and paced the Nittany
Lions to the third round of the NCAA tournament, leading the squad with
10 goals, 13 assists and four gamewinning goals. He ranks
second all-time at Penn State in assists with 31
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Luchi Gonzalez (SMU)
COACH OF THE YEAR
Dave Masur (St. John's)
