Central Islip, N.Y. - After being honored with
East Coast Conference men’s soccer major awards in 2011,
Cemil Turan (Staten Island, N.Y.) and Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen,
Denmark) of LIU Post, and Clayton Ulmer (Hamden, Conn.) of
Bridgeport, earned the conference’s highest honors for the
second consecutive year. In a vote on by the league’s
coaches, junior forward Turan was named the Offensive Player of the
Year, Jorgensen earned the Goalkeeper of the Year, and Ulmer
garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors. Andreas Lindberg was
also a repeat winner, with his peers honoring him with the Coach of
the Year selection. LIU Post’s Per Forgaard (Stavanger,
Norway) rounds out the top award winners as the Rookie of the Year.
Cemil Turan was the main cog in the lethal LIU Post offensive
attack that currently ranks fifth in the nation. The two-time ECC
Offensive Player of the Week, Turan led the conference in goals
(15), points (34), and game-winning goals (5). He also ranked
second in the conference with 1.79 points per game and added four
assists as well.
Turan wasn’t the only reason LIU Post’s offense
clicked on all cylinders for the majority of the season. ECC Rookie
of the Year, Per Forgaard was also a huge part of the Pioneers
offense. Forgaard ranked seventh in the conference with six assists
and also added six goals to finish just outside the top-ten in the
conference with 18 points. Like Turan, Forgaard also was a two-time
ECC weekly honoree as Rookie of the Week.
LIU Post’s defense was as much a part of the Pioneers
success in 2012, with ECC Goalkeeper of the Year Marco Jorgensen
playing a big role. Jorgensen led the ECC in almost every
statistical category including goals against (17), goals against
average (0.99), and save percentage (.795). He also led the way in
wins with a 17-1-0 record and posted four shutouts.
Clayton Ulmer from the University of Bridgeport is the ECC
Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row despite a
position change to the midfield. Ulmer was a crucial part of the
Purple Knights’ defense that allowed only 23 goals on the
year, good for second in the conference. He also helped Bridgeport
shut out five opponents on the year.
Leading his team to an ECC Regular Season title for the second
straight year, Andreas Lindberg has been voted the ECC Men’s
Soccer Coach of the Year by his peers. Lindberg guided the
Pioneers to a 16-1-0 regular season record, spending two weeks as
the No. 1 ranked team in the country along the way.
Turan, Ulmer, and Jorgensen are joined on the All-Conference
First Team by: Matthew DiDonna (F, NYIT), William Koki (F, Mercy),
Vinny Caccavale (M, NYIT), Daniel Davren (M, St. Thomas Aquinas),
Jonathan Watkin (M, LIU Post), Eirik Bjoernoe (B, LIU Post), Lee
Middleton (B, Bridgeport) and Danny Stoker (B, Queens).
Joining Forgaard as All-Conference Second Team recipients include
forwards: Andreas Blanke (Bridgeport), Michael Cunningham (Roberts
Wesleyan) and Andreas Olsen (LIU Post); midfielders: Ernest
Afful (Mercy), Dan Brown (Molloy), and Sean Reilly (St. Thomas
Aquinas); defenders: Laurie Child (St. Thomas Aquinas), Javier
Gallardo (NYIT), and Leron Haywood (LIU Post) along with goalkeeper
Nick Papas (Mercy).
The ECC’s men’s soccer coaches also unanimously agreed
to award LIU Post’s Eivind Austboe as an Honorary
All-Conference member. Austboe was leading the conference in
scoring by a wide margin through seven games (eight goals, three
assists) before suffering a severe concussion. Despite missing more
than half of the season, Austboe still ranks tenth in the
conference in points.
2012 ECC Men's Soccer All-Conference
First Team
F - Matthew DiDonna, NYIT
F - William Koki, Mercy
F - Cemil Turan, LIU Post
M - Vinny Caccavale, NYIT
M - Daniel Davren, St. Thomas Aquinas
M - Clayton Ulmer, Bridgeport
M - Jonathan Watkin, LIU Post
B - Eirik Bjoernoe, LIU Post
B - Lee Middleton, Bridgeport
B - Danny Stoker, Queens
GK - Marco Jorgensen, LIU Post
Second Team
F - Andreas Blanke, Bridgeport
F - Michael Cunnigham, Roberts Wesleyan
F - Andreas Olsen, LIU Post
M - Ernest Afful, Mercy
M - Dan Brown, Molloy
M - Per Forgaard, LIU Post
M - Sean Reilly, St. Thomas Aquinas
B - Laurie Child, St. Thomas Aquinas
B - Javier Gallardo, NYIT
B - Leron Haywood, LIU Post
GK - Nick Papas, Mercy
Honorary All-Conference - Eivind Austboe, LIU Post
Offensive Player of the Year: Cemil Turan, Jr.,
F, LIU Post
Defensive Player of the Year: Clayton Ulmer, Jr.,
M, Bridgeport
Goalkeeper of the Year: Marco Jorgensen, Sr., LIU
Post
Rookie of the Year: Per Forgaard, Fr., M, LIU
Post
Coach of the Year: Andreas Lindberg, LIU Post
