UCF Athletics Men's Soccer 11.09.16 Men’s Soccer Regular Season Awards Announced Follow @American_MSoc PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The American Athletic Conference announced the men’s soccer awards for the 2016 season, which were voted on by the league’s eight head coaches. UCF junior Matias Pyysalo was named the American Offensive Player of the Year while USF defensive back Prosper Figbe earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor. Cincinnati sophomore Adam Wilson was tabbed the American Midfielder of the Year. USF senior Spasoje Stefanovic was named the American Goalkeeper of the Year while Rookie of the Year honors went to SMU forward Garrett McLaughlin. The American all-conference and all-rookie teams were also announced. Pyysalo leads the American with 14 points and six goals in league play. He is a two-time American Offensive Player of the Week candidate and ranks 11th the NCAA in points per game. The junior tallied his seventh-career game-winning goal in the 1-0 win over Cincinnati on Nov. 5. It was also his third game-winner in league play this season. Figbe is a four-time American Defensive Player of the Week selection. He anchored a USF backline that notched five shutouts in league play. The sophomore was also named to the All-American Athletic Conference First Team for his efforts this season. Wilson led the Bearcats with five goals this season. He ranked Top 3 in the NCAA in assists per match and total assists, and tied for first in American play in the same categories. The Scotland native was named TopDrawerSoccer’s Men’s Player of the Week on Oct. 18 after scoring one goal and recording four assists over the course of two games against IUPUI and Temple, respectively. Stefanovic, who earned the league’s Goalkeeper of the Year honor in 2014, has five shutouts in conference play and is riding a scoreless streak of 293 consecutive minutes into Friday’s Championship semifinal. McLaughlin led the Mustangs with 12 points this year. The rookie recorded his fourth goal of the season last Saturday in SMU’s season finale at UConn. USF head coach George Kiefer and his staff garnered Coaching Staff of the Year honors after claiming the American regular-season title and the top overall seed in the American Championship. The Bulls posted 30 points and a 6-2-2 mark in league play. UConn earned the Team Fair Play Award after totaling 108 points (68 fouls, eight yellow cards and zero red cards) during conference play. The Fair Play Award is given to the team with the fewest accumulated fouls, yellow cards and red cards in league action (foul=one point; yellow card=five points; red card =10 points). The 2016 all-conference teams and a complete list of awards are listed below. 2016 American Men's Soccer Awards Offensive Player of the Year Matias Pyysalo, UCF Defensive Player of the Year Prosper Figbe, USF Midfielder of the Year Adam Wilson, Cincinnati Goalkeeper of the Year Spasoje Stefanovic, USF Rookie of the Year Garrett McLaughlin, SMU Coaching Staff of the Year USF Team Fair Play Award UConn First Team All-Conference Matias Pyysalo, M, Jr., UCF Adam Wilson, M, So., Cincinnati *Kwame Awuah, M, Sr., UConn *Abdou Mbacke Thiam, F, So., UConn Jake Nerwinski, B, Sr., UConn Nazeem Bartman, F, Sr., USF Prosper Figbe, B, So., USF Lindo Mfeka, M, Sr., USF Spasoje Stefanovic, GK, Sr., USF *Jorge Gomez Sanchez, F, Sr., Temple Carlos Moros Gracia, B, Sr., Temple Second Team All-Conference Patrick Nielsen, B, Fr., Cincinnati Simen Olafsen, B, So., UConn Raul Gonzalez, M, Sr., Memphis Joonas Jokinen, F, Jr., Temple Melvin Becket, F, Sr., USF Jordan Cano, B, Jr., SMU Mauro Cichero, M, Jr., SMU Jake McGuire, GK, Sr., Tulsa Matt Puig, F, Fr., Tulsa Ray Saari, M, Sr., Tulsa Zack Stavrou, B, Jr., Tulsa All-Rookie Team Brian Jamba, M, UCF Ryan Melink, M, Cincinnati Patrick Nielsen, B, Cincinnati David Sanz, M, Cincinnati Niko Petridis, M, UConn Munir Saleh, M, UConn Jackson Morse, M, Memphis *Garrett McLaughlin, F, SMU Albert Moreno, M, Temple *Alejandro Chavez, B, Tulsa Matt Puig, F, Tulsa [*] denotes unanimous selection