FARMVILLE, VA - Five members of the NJIT men's soccer team, headed by sophomore Rahim Stennett, were honored as all-Atlantic Soccer Conference players in awards presented at the annual season-ending ASC awards banquet hosted by Longwood in conjunction with this weekend's conference championship tournament.
The teams were chosen based on regular season play and were selected by the five conference head coaches. Stuart Smith of Longwood coordinated the awards for the five member schools - Howard, Longwood, Adelphi, Houston Baptist in addition to NJIT.
Stennett, was NJIT’s first-team honoree. In his first season playing at NJIT after playing at national powerhouse Maryland in 2007 and at Cincinnati State Technical and Community Collegein 2008, Rahim leads the team with 6 goals and 13 points. He shares NJIT’s Division I school-record for most goals in a season (6) and ranks third all-time in most career goals (6). He was named ASC Player of the Week twice this season.
Picked for the second team was senior Gustav Warfving, sophomore Chico Lugo and freshmen Jack McVey and Pete Walker.
Warfving, who is dangerous with or without the ball, leads the team with 6 assists. He collected two out of six assists against conference opponents and holds the NJIT Division I record for career assists with (10) and assists in a season (6).
Lugo, a valuable player for the Highlanders for his scoring and shooting ability, ranks third on the team with three goals and 6 points. He scored the game-winner against Longwood on October 9 and was named ASC Player of the Week on October 12.
McVey, a center midfielder, is second on the team with three assists. McVey registered his first collegiate assist against Longwood on October 10 and first goal vs. Virginia Military Institute on September 20.
Walker, a center forward from England, ranks tied for third on the team with two goals. Walker netted his first collegiate goal against Virginia Military Institute on September 20.
Senior right back Alex Brito was named to the ASC all-Academic team. Brito played in all 18 matches and was a key player that helped hold opponents to a 1.77 goals against average. Brito, a biology major holds a 3.422 cumulative GPA.
The top conference honors were nearly swept by regular season champion Adelphi. Carlo Acquista was Coach of the Year and Issa Tall was named Player of the Year. Howard’s Phillip Borde was honored as Rookie of the Year.