University of North Carolina Athletics
Men's Soccer Hosts Annual Banquet
March 6, 2014 | Men's Soccer
The North Carolina men's soccer team held its annual banquet last week to celebrate the 2013 season. Attendees included players, parents, UNC administrators, alumni and others close to the program that have been vital to the success of the Tar Heels over the years.
2013 marked Carolina's 21st NCAA postseason appearance in program history, including 14 of the last 15 seasons.
Featured speakers during the banquet included Carolina's national-championship winning head coach Carlos Somoano, senior forward Rob Lovejoy and Roy Baroff, who received both his undergraduate degree and went to Law School at the University of North Carolina.
A handful of awards were given out during the event, including the Most Valuable Player Award that went to to sophomore defender Jonathan Campbell. The Greensboro native excelled on the playing field as an all-region and All-ACC selection, but was also awarded for his outstanding work in the classroom. He landed on the All-ACC Academic Team for a second-straight season and also earned Capital One Academic All-District honors back in the fall.
Other award winners on the evening included Alex Walters, who received the Mercer Reynolds "Tar Heel" Award - given to a player who exemplifies characteristics of what it means to be a Tar Heel student-athlete on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
Boyd Okwuono was given the Nicholas Douglass Potter Coaches Award - given to a player who comes to practice and games everyday seeking to get better and is also a coachable player that helps to improve others around him. The junior captain was the ACC's Defender of the Year and an All-America selection by both Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News.
The Tom Evins Jr. Most Improved Player Award went to goalkeeper Brendan Moore. Stepping in as the starting keeper for the first time in his career, Moore ranked among the national and ACC leaders in goals-against-average and shutouts.
The Kirk Urso Heart Award went to midfielder Verneri Valimaa. The award is given in to a student athlete that brings a daily competitive spirit to the team and demonstrates a relentless will to win.
Urso helped lead UNC to four straight final fours from 2008-2011 culminating with a National Championship in 2011. After being drafted by the Columbus Crew and earning a starting spot, Kirk passed away of a congenital heart defect.
Carolina's student-athletes once again went above and beyond during the 2013 fall semester. The team posted a combined 3.0 grade-point-average with 17 students having a better than a 3.0 GPA: (Cole Brooks, Jonathan Campbell, Andy Craven, Tyler Engel, Sam Euler, Raby George, Glen Long, Rob Lovejoy, Ryan McAnallen, Jordan McCrary, C.J. Odenigwe, Boyd Okwuono, Alex Olofson, Colton Storm, Verneri Valimaa, Alex Walters and Nick Williams.
Of that large group, 10 boast a cumulative GPA above 3.0: (Brooks, Campbell, Engel, Lovejoy, McAnallen, Olofson, Valimaa, Walden, Walters, Williams).
Cambell, McAnallen and Williams are Dean's List members and both Campbell and Valimaa were named to the All-ACC Academic Team.
On the field accolades for the Tar Heels in 2013 included five All-ACC selections. Okwuonu was a first team selection, while Campbell and Moore landed on the second team. Jordan McCrary earned third team honors and Omar Holness was not only an All-Freshman team selection but also garnered national attention by landing on Soccer America's All-Freshman Team.
The Tar Heels performed as one of the finest defensive teams in the nation this past season, ranking sixth nationally in goals-against-average (0.61) and by shutting out half of its opponents, Carolina ranked 11th in that category in the country.
