University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Dominate ACC Awards
November 10, 2011 | Men's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2011
GREENSBORO, N.C. - On the heels of a third straight ACC regular season title several Tar Heels were honored by the ACC on Thursday as senior Matt Hedges earned ACC Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Mikey Lopez was selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year and Tar Heel head coach Carlos Somoano was named the ACC Coach of the year by a vote of the league coaches. The Tar Heels placed a school record four members on the All-ACC First Team as well.
Hedges earned his third straight league defensive player of the year award after being named the Horizon League Defender of the Year in his final two years at Butler before transferring to North Carolina. Hedges has been a central figure in a Tar Heel defense that leads the ACC in fewest goals allowed at 13 on the year (0.68 GAA), while turning on the offense as of late scoring a goal in three straight matches. The Carmel, Ind., native is the first Tar Heel to be named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year since the inception of the award in 2004.
Lopez has been a dynamo in the midfield for the Tar Heels in his first year on campus having scored three goals and dished out three assists. Lopez has appeared in 18 of 19 matches on the year, while earning the starting nod in 14 of those contests. The Mission, Texas, native becomes the sixth player in school history to be named the ACC Rookie of the Year and the first since Jamie Watson in 2003.
For Somoano it has been a year of firsts as he has led the Tar Heels to their third straight regular season in his first season as the Tar Heel head man. Somoano joins Marvin Allen, Anson Dorrance and Elmar Bolowich as ACC Coach of the Year winners. He is just the second coach in ACC history to be named the Coach of the Year in his first year on the job as he joins Anson Dorrance, who accomplished the feat in 1977. Somoano has led the Tar Heels to a 15-2-2 mark so far in the year, the most first season wins for a Tar Heel head coach.
Joining Hedges on the All-ACC First Team was goalkeeper Scott Goodwin who turned in one of the finest ACC seasons in school history allowing just five goals in eight conference matches (0.58 GAA) to help lead the Tar Heels to the conference crown. Goodwin turned in seven shutouts on the year, including four in conference action.
Junior midfielder Enzo Martinez was named to the All-ACC First Team for his eight goal, 10 assist season. Martinez was named to the All-ACC Second Team a year ago as he led the Tar Heels in scoring and currently ranks second on the squad in 2011 with 26 points in 19 matches.
Carolina's leading scorer, Billy Schuler, was also named to the All-ACC First Team after setting a personal single-season record with 13 goals on the year, while distributing three assists. Schuler is one point shy of becoming the first Tar Heel to reach the 30-point plateau since Brian Shriver in 2008. Schuler is a two-time All-ACC First Team member after being selected in 2009.
Senior midfielder Kirk Urso earned a second consecutive All-ACC Second Team honor for his performance in the Carolina midfield this season as he tallied a pair of goals and dished out six assists in 19 matches.
Lopez was joined on the ACC All-Freshman Team by a pair of defenders in outside back Jordan McCrary and center back Boyd Okwuonu who have formed one of the best backlines in the country. The three ACC All-Freshman Team selections equal the most in school history after the 2003 squad had three picks as well.
Carolina will look for its second straight ACC Final appearance on Friday when it takes on fourth-seeded Virginia at 5:30 p.m. at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The match will be shown live on ESPN3.
2011 All-ACC Men's Soccer Team
First Team
| Name | Class | School | Pos. |
| Kyle Bekker | Jr. | Boston College | M |
| Charlie Rugg | Jr. | Boston College | F |
| James Belshaw | Jr. | Duke | GK |
| Andrew Wegner | Jr. | Duke | F |
| John Stertzer | Jr. | Maryland | M |
| Casey Townsend | Sr. | Maryland | F |
| Scott Goodwin | Jr. | North Carolina | GK |
| Matt Hedges | Sr. | North Carolina | D |
| Enzo Martinez | Jr. | North Carolina | M |
| Billy Schuler | Jr. | North Carolina | F |
| Will Bates | Jr. | Virginia | F |
| Jared Watts | So. | Wake Forest | M |
Second Team
| Name | Class | School | Pos. |
| Chris Ager | So. | Boston College | D |
| Cody Mizell | So. | Clemson | GK |
| Sebastien Ibeagha | So. | Duke | D |
| Nick Palodichuk | Fr. | Duke | F |
| Sunny Jane | So. | Maryland | M |
| Taylor Kemp | Jr. | Maryland | D |
| Patrick Mullins | So. | Maryland | F |
| London Woodberry | Jr. | Maryland | D |
| Kirk Urso | Sr. | North Carolina | M |
| Brian Ownby | Sr. | Virginia | M |
| Brian Span | So. | Virginia | M |
All-Freshman Team
| Name | School | Pos. |
| Diego Medina-Mendez | Boston College | M |
| Brynjar Benediktsson | Clemson | F |
| Amadou Dia | Clemson | F |
| Andrew Morales | Duke | M |
| Nick Palodichuk | Duke | F |
| Mikey Lopez | North Carolina | M |
| Jordan McCrary | North Carolina | D |
| Boyd Okwuonu | North Carolina | D |
| Ryan Zinkhan | Virginia | F |
| Teddy Mullin | Wake Forest | M |
| Sean Okoli | Wake Forest | F |
Offensive Player of the Year - Andrew Wenger, Duke
Defensive Player of the Year - Matt Hedges, North Carolina
Freshman of the Year - Mikey Lopez, North Carolina
Coach of the Year - Carlos Somoano, North Carolina
