Four Deacs Win NSCAA All-South Region Honors
12/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Four members of the Wake Forest men's soccer team earned NSCAA Division I All-South Region honors on Wednesday with Jack Harrison headlining the list as Wake Forest's First Team honoree.
Joining Harrison as honorees are Michael Gamble, Ian Harkes and Jacori Hayes, all of whom were named Second Team All-South Region award winners.
"We're excited to have four players recognized as being some of the top players in the region," said head coach Bobby Muuss. "These guys have put in a lot of effort to get to this level and awards like this show they're being rewarded for it."
The accolade is added to Harrison's already-lengthy list of awards this postseason. The freshman from Bolton, England, was already named a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist last week and earned ACC Offensive Player and Freshman of the Year honors in November, as well as First Team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshman nods. Harrison is the only freshman to earn First Team honors and is just one of two freshmen to be named to any of the three All-South Region teams, joined by third-team honoree Sivert Daehlie of Radford. Harrison scored eight goals and tallied 11 assists on the season for 27 points. The assist and point totals stand as program records for freshmen. His 11 assists are also tied for sixth-most in a single season in school history.
Gamble, already a Second Team All-ACC performer this season, finished his Wake Forest career in 2015 with six goals and two assists, even though he missed portions of the second half of the season with injury. All six goals came in the first eight games of the season, which included his game-winning penalty kick on Sept. 22 on the road against Akron. With the numbers, he finishes his career ranked tied for ninth in program history for points with 68 and tied for 13th in both goals and assists with 24 goals and 20 assists.
Harkes played a massive role for Wake Forest at central midfield and broke out with four points during the NCAA Championship by tallying a goal and two assists in the tournament. Finishing the season with six points, Harkes recorded assists against Charlotte and Indiana before scoring against Stanford. Harkes started every game for Wake Forest in 2015 and has now started each of the 59 games he's played in through his first three seasons. Harkes was named a First Team All-ACC performer in November while also being named to the ACC Championship All-Tournament Team.
Hayes had a breakout season for the Demon Deacons in 2015 and was rewarded by the NSCAA and ACC. After scoring once in each of his first two seasons, the junior from Bowie, Maryland, scored five goals – all of which were game-winners – while finishing the season with a career-high 15 points. Hayes scored a crucial goal against Santa Clara in the season opener in the 84th minute to lift the Deacs to a 1-0 win before going on to notch the game-winners against then-No. 2 North Carolina and against Louisville in overtime of the ACC Quarterfinals. In November, Hayes was also named a First Team All-ACC performer while earning a spot on the ACC Championship All-Tournament Team.
Overall, ACC players occupied 10 of the 12 First Team spots, seven Second Team spots and five Third Team spots. Radford led all teams with five honorees (one First Team, one Second Team, three Third Team) while Wake Forest and Clemson tied for second with four players each. All four of Clemson's players were named First Team honorees.
