It's Unanimous - Henderson Named Ivy Player of the Year, Mkosana is Top Rookie

It's Unanimous - Henderson Named Ivy Player of the Year, Mkosana is Top Rookie

11/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

PRINCETON, N.J. ? Unanimous selections for Craig Henderson (Wellington, New Zealand) as the Ivy League Player of the Year and Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) as Ivy Rookie of the Year headline a list of seven All-Ivy honorees for the Ivy League Champion Dartmouth men's soccer team.

Craig Henderson '09, Ivy League Player of the Year

For Henderson, a senior midfielder, the award caps a thrilling year in which he also represented his home New Zealand in the 2008 Olympic Games. He started 16 games for the Big Green (11-5-1, 5-1-1 Ivy) and led a potent Dartmouth attack from the center midfield position, ranking second on the team and sixth in the league with 17 points on six goals and five assists. He was also voted unanimously to the All-Ivy first team after earning second team honors as a junior. Henderson is just the third player in Dartmouth history to win Ivy Player of the Year and first since Justin Head did so in 1992.

Mkosana's unanimous selection as the Ivy Rookie of the Year was not surprising after he led both the Ivy Champs Dartmouth and the league in scoring with 24 points including a league-best 11 goals. The freshman forward, who was a four-time Ivy Rookie of the Week, scored four game-winning goals for the Big Green this season and was a dynamo on the front line. Also voted unanimously to the All-Ivy first team, Mkosana is the fifth Dartmouth player to receive the award and third since 2000.

This marks the third-straight season in which the Ivy's top player and rookie have come from the same team and is the third time in Dartmouth history and first since 1992, that the Big Green has won both awards

Lucky Mkosana '12, Ivy Rookie of the Year

Dartmouth senior goalkeeper Sean Milligan (Westport, Conn.) makes his second-straight first team All-Ivy appearance after backstopping the Big Green to 11 wins and six shutouts this season. Milligan posted a 0.87 goals against average and made 55 saves while setting up the offense on restarts with his booming kicks out of the 18. Some of his biggest shutouts came down the stretch against Ivy contenders Harvard and Brown to help secure the title. He ranks second all-time in career shutouts for Dartmouth with 17 and is just one shy of the record held by Rowan Anders '07.

The Big Green had two players make their All-Ivy debut with spots on the second team for junior back Pumi Maqubela (Andover, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder Andrew Olsen (Norwell, Mass.). Maqubela paced the Dartmouth defense to a 0.87 goals against average and six shutouts, starting all 17 games in the backline and playing more minutes than any other field player. Olsen had a solid sophomore season, starting 16 of 17 games played and making an impact offensively. He tallied 11 points with three goals ? all game-winners ? and five assists. Most recently, he scored the game-winner against Brown to secure a share of the Ivy title for Dartmouth, earning Ivy League Player of the Week accolades as a result.

Sean Milligan '09, First Team

Rounding out Dartmouth's All-Ivy honorees are two other key members of the backline who earned honorable mention accolades, sophomore Bryan Giudicelli (Emerald Hills, Calif.) and junior Donnie Surdoval (Sparta, N.J.). In addition to their efforts on defense, both provided key points during the season. Giudicelli tallied three goals and two assists while Surdoval scored three goals.

Dartmouth's season continues next Tuesday night at 6:00 p.m. when it will host either Boston College or Colgate in an NCAA Tournament second-round game. The Big Green earned the #16 national seed and the coveted first-round bye that accompanies it.

First Team All-Ivy (11)
*Andre Akpan, Harvard (Jr., F, Grand Prairie, Texas)
Mike Fucito, Harvard (Sr., F, Westford, Mass.)
*Lucky Mkosana, Dartmouth (Fr., F, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)
Omid Shokoufandeh (Sr., F, Los Angeles, Calif.)
*Alex Grendi, Penn (Sr., M, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
*Craig Henderson, Dartmouth (Sr., M, Wellington, New Zealand)
*John Stamatis, Harvard (Sr., M, Mountainside, N.J.)
*Rhett Bernstein, Brown (Sr., D, San Diego, Calif.)
Matt Care, Princeton (Sr., Newtown, Pa.)
Kwaku Nyamekye, Harvard (Jr., D, Geneva, Switzerland)
Sean Milligan, Dartmouth (Sr., GK, Westport, Conn.)

Player of the Year
*Craig Henderson, Dartmouth (Sr., M, Wellington, New Zealand)

Rookie of the Year
*Lucky Mkosana, Dartmouth (Fr., F, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)
* - Unanimous selection

Second Team All-Ivy (12)
Bayo Adafin, Columbia (So., Rochester, Minn.)
Antoine Hoppenot, Princeton (Fr., F, Princeton, N.J.)
Nick Elenz-Martin, Brown (Jr., Encinitas, Calif.)
Brian Mascarenhas, Penn (Sr., M, Marietta, Ga.)
Devin Muntz, Princeton (Jr., M, Macungie, Pa.)
Andrew Olsen, Dartmouth (So., M, Norwell, Mass.)
Markus Jackson, Yale (Sr., D, Augusta, Ga.)
Pumi Maqubela, Dartmouth (Jr., Andover, Mass.)
Joe Yonga, Cornell (Sr, D, Brooklyn Park, Minn.)
Alex Guzinski, Yale (Sr., D, Palo Alto, Calif.)
Ben Burton, Princeton (So., Minneapolis, Minn.)
Drew Healy, Penn (Sr., GK, Wilmington, Del.)

Honorable Mention (14)
F - Matt Bouraee, Cornell (Jr., Manasquan, N.J.); Aden Farina-Henry, Yale (So., Eugene, Ore.).
M - Pepe Carotenuto, Columbia (So., Scottsdale, Ariz.); Dan McKallagat, Cornell (Sr., Groton, Mass.); Kevin Unger, Penn (Fr., Menomonee Falls, Wisc.); Andy Hackbarth, Yale (Bend, Ore.).
D - Stephen Sawyer, Brown (Sr., Coppell, Texas); Bryan Giudicelli, Dartmouth (So., Emerald Hills, Calif.); Donnie Surdoval, Dartmouth (Jr., Sparta, N.J.); Luke Sager, Harvard (Sr., Farmington, Conn.); John Elicker (Sr., West Chester, Pa.); Jake Levin, Penn (Fr., Columbia, Md.); Ryan Porch, Penn (Sr., Marlton, N.J.).
GK- Jarrett Leech, Brown (Sr., Manakin-Sabot, Va.)