Six Deacs Earn All-ACC Accolades
11/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 14, 2013
By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Luca Gimenez, Sean Okoli, Jared Watts, Jalen Robinson, Ian Harkes and Jacori Hayes have each earned All-ACC honors as announced by the conference office on Thursday.
Wake Forest led the ACC with three selections on the top team, as Okoli, Gimenez and Watts all earned First Team All-ACC honors. Maryland and Notre Dame were the only other schools with two First Team members.
Robinson was named Second Team All-ACC, while Harkes and Hayes were selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team.
For Watts (Statesville, N.C.), who was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List prior to the start of the season, this marks the third straight year that he has been named First Team All-ACC. This comes after being named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2010. Watts is now only the second player in Wake Forest history to be named First Team All-ACC three years, as Jeremiah White (2001-03) also accomplished the feat. As a senior this year, Watts has equaled his best offensive season at Wake Forest with two goals and four assists for eight points. In addition, he has played and started in 16 games while wearing the captain's armband.
Demon Deacon strikers Okoli and Gimenez have each scored eight goals on the year, including seven goals apiece in ACC action. Their 14 combined goals against conference foes helped Wake Forest lead the entire conference with 25 goals in 11 ACC games.
This marks the first time that Gimenez has been named First Team All-ACC. The senior was named Second Team All-ACC in 2012 and was selected to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2010. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native was named ACC Player of the Week on October 22 for the second time of his career after he scored two goals and dished out an assist in a 4-3 win at Maryland on October 19. With his career-high eight goals this season, Gimenez now has 26 for his career and is in a tie for 10th place on Wake Forest's all-time goal scoring list. He has also set career-bests with four assists and 20 points, and his 62 points for his career are good enough for a tie for 14th in school history.
Okoli, a junior from Federal Way, Wash., is also making his first appearance as a First Team All-ACC selection. He was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2011 and earned Second Team All-ACC honors last season. His eight goals this year are tied for the team lead with Gimenez and give him 23 for his career. That total is already 13th all-time in just his third year with the Demon Deacons. He also has 54 career points, putting him in 16th place in Wake Forest history. This season, Okoli leads the team with four game-winning goals and had a two-goal game at NC State on October 8.
Hailing from Catonsville, Md., the sophomore Robinson has been named Second Team All-ACC for the first time of his career. He earned All-ACC Freshman Team honors a year ago and was named to TopDrawerSoccer's First Team All-Freshman Team and College Soccer News' Second Team All-Freshman Team. This season, he has started 17 games and scored one goal while helping the Demon Deacons post a 1.04 goals against average.
Harkes, who came to Wake Forest from Fairfax, Va., is the only Demon Deacon who has started all 19 games this season and leads the team with 1,707 minutes played. Robinson has played the second-most minutes this year with 1,606 minutes logged. In addition to leading the team in starts and minutes played, Harkes has been the best distributor for the Deacs with a team-best seven assists. His assist total was tied for third in the ACC at the end of the regular season. Harkes also scored his only goal of the year in the regular season finale against Syracuse.
Hayes is a Bowie, Md., native and has played in 16 games during his inaugural campaign, earning nine starts in the process. Hayes has scored one goal and has dished out one assist on the year, with his goal coming in a 3-0 shutout win over Virginia Tech on October 4. He also had an assist against the Hokies for a three-point night.
Notre Dame took two of the four special awards with Harrison Shipp being named ACC Offensive Player of the Year and Bobby Clark being named ACC Coach of the Year. North Carolina's Boyd Okwuonu was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and Boston College's Zeiko Lewis was named ACC Freshman of the Year.
Wake Forest will wait to see where it plays next until Monday at 12 p.m. when the NCAA releases the bracket for the 2013 NCAA Men's Soccer Championship.
ACC Offensive Player of the Year - Harrison Shipp, Sr., F, Notre Dame
ACC Defensive Player of the Year - Boyd Okwuonu, Jr., D, North Carolina
ACC Freshman of the Year - Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
ACC Coach of the Year - Bobby Clark, Notre Dame
All-ACC First Team
Thomas McNamara, Gr., M, Clemson
Sebastien Ibeagha, Sr., D/M, Duke
Patrick Mullins, Sr., F, Maryland
Dan Metzger, Jr., M, Maryland
Boyd Okwuonu, Jr., D, North Carolina
Harrison Shipp, Sr., F, Notre Dame
Nick Besler, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Kyle Renfro, Sr., GK, Virginia Tech
Sean Okoli, Jr., F, Wake Forest
Luca Gimenez, Sr., M/F, Wake Forest
Jared Watts, Sr., M, Wake Forest
All-ACC Second Team
Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
Sean Davis, Jr., M, Duke
Schillo Tshuma, So., M/F, Maryland
Nazmi Albadawi, Sr., M, NC State
Jonathan Campbell, So., D, North Carolina
Brendan Moore, Jr., GK, North Carolina
Patrick Hodan, So., M, Notre Dame
Emil Ekblom, Fr., F, Syracuse
Eric Bird, Jr., M, Virginia
Darius Madison, So., F, Virginia
Jalen Robinson, So., D, Wake Forest
All-ACC Third Team
Jack Metcalf, Sr., M, Clemson
Kyle Fisher, So., D, Clemson
Zach Mathers, So., M, Duke
Brody Huitema, Fr., F, Duke
Mikey Ambrose, So., D, Maryland
Alex Martinez, Sr., M, NC State
Jordan McCrary, Jr., M/D, North Carolina
Vince Cicciarelli, Jr., F, Notre Dame
Luke Mishu, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Grant Van De Casteele, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Alex Bono, So., GK, Syracuse
Jordan Allen, Fr., M, Virginia
All-ACC Freshman Team
Zeiko Lewis, Fr., M/F, Boston College
Brody Huitema, Fr., F, Duke
Zack Steffen, Fr., GK, Maryland
Michael Sauers, Fr., M, Maryland
Travis Wannemuehler, Fr., F, NC State
Omar Holness, Fr., M, North Carolina
Emil Ekblom, Fr., F, Syracuse
Alex Halis, Fr., M, Syracuse
Jordan Allen, Fr., M, Virginia
Ian Harkes, Fr., M, Wake Forest
Jacori Hayes, Fr., M, Wake Forest
