SPARTANBURG, S.C. – USC Upstate men's soccer head coach Scott Halkett has been named the Big South Men's Soccer Coach of the Year, announced today by the league. Additionally, seven Spartans earned All-Conference recognition.
This is Coach Halkett's first Big South Coach of the Year honor, and it comes after the Spartans finished the regular season tied for second with a 6-3-1 record and a 6-1-1 slate in Big South play. Those six wins are the most conference wins in Upstate's Division I history, and the second-most overall wins in the DI era.
"It is an absolute honor to be named Big South Coach of the year. God has blessed me with the opportunity to lead this program, and all the glory has to go to him," said Coach Halkett. "I would like to thank all the other coaches in the conference for giving our program this recognition. This award is more about my coaching staff and the team than myself as the head coach. My associate head coach Nico Luque has been my right hand man since I took over the program, and none of what we have accomplished on and off the field would have been possible without him. Two former players, Michelangelo Dovidio and Santiago Restrepo, who have come back to help with the team also deserve credit. Without the team growing, playing as well as they have, and competing like they have this year, this this award would not be possible."
Upstate's only loss in conference play this season came against the league leader High Point. The Spartans ranked in the top three as a team in the Big South in several statistical categories, including second in shots (154) and corner kicks (58), and third in points (54). Additionally, the club ranked third in goals (21) and goals per game (2.1), and well as goals allowed (14) and goals against average (1.35).
The All-Conference team is voted on by the league's head coaches and features three forwards, four midfielders, four defenders, one goalkeeper and one at-large spot on each team, plus five honorable mention honorees regardless of position. Senior forward Pol Monells and sophomore midfielder Pascal Corvino each earned a spot on the First-Team All-Conference. Freshman forward Jeremy Montero and sophomore defender Hayden Anderson were each named to the Second-Team All-Conference, while Montero also landed a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Paul Bobai earned Honorable Mention All-Conference recognition, and defender Elias Ehlin joined Montero on the All-Freshman Team.
Additionally, Mario Arrocha earned a spot on the Big South All-Academic Team, which consists of one student-athlete from each institution that meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the Big South's sports information directors.
Monells started all 10 matches for Upstate this year and led the Spartans with seven goals, which ranks third in the conference. He tallied a team-high and conference second-best five assists. Monells netted both goals, including the game-winner, in the conference opener against Radford, and scored the lone goal off a penalty kick against High Point. He also scored a goal and had two assists in a 5-1 win over Presbyterian College. Monells recorded either a goal or assist in six straight games, with five goals in that span.
Corvino also started all 10 matches for the Spartans at the midfield and tallied 871 minutes of playing time. He ranked third on the team with four goals, and two of those goals came off penalty kicks in a 5-1 win over PC. Corvino scored the golden goal in a 2-1 season finale win over Gardner-Webb, and played the full time in six of 10 matches. Bobai was another crucial part of the Spartan midfield as he started all 10 matches for the Spartans, totaled 10 shots on the year, and tallied 613 minutes of playing time. Bobai also netted the first goal of the game against PC.
Montero recorded the second-most points by a freshman in Upstate's DI history (11) and appeared in all 10 matches for the Spartans, earning the start in the last four. He ranked second on the team with five goals including Upstate's lone goal in a 1-0 win over Longwood. Montero also netted two goals in a 3-2 win over Asheville. He went through a span of four games where he either scored or assisted a goal and totaled 18 shots on the year.
Anderson and Ehlin were each part of a backline that allowed just 14 goals and 81 shots (42 on goal) on the year, never allowed more than two goals in a match, and held the opponent to eight or less shots in six matches. The backline also allowed just two shots the entire match against Presbyterian College and Gardner-Webb. Anderson started all 10 matches and amassed 914 total minutes played, including playing the full time in eight matches while Ehlin appeared in all 10 matches with nine starts and totaled 849 minutes, playing the full time in six matches.
Academically, Arrocha boasts a 3.89 GPA as a double major in management and marketing and is a two-time President's list honoree and five-time Dean's List honoree. On the pitch, he helped lead the Spartan attack with a team second-most 34 shots and started all nine matches he appeared in. Arrocha netted two goals on the year, including the early equalizer against GWU to force OT and the game-winning goal against Winthrop. He also had three assists, two of them coming in a 3-2 win over Asheville.
No. 3 seed Upstate will face second-seeded Campbell on the road in the Big South Championship Semifinals on Wednesday, April 14 at 6 p.m.
2020-21 Big South Conference Spring Men's Soccer Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
F: MD Myers, Soph., High Point
F: Pol Monells, Sr., USC Upstate
F: Jalen James, R-Soph., Campbell
MF: Sebastian Chalbaud, Jr., High Point
MF: Sami Amal, Fr., Campbell
MF: Pascal Corvino, Soph., USC Upstate
MF: Miles Peay, Jr., UNC Asheville
D: Franck Momo, Jr., Campbell
D: Finn McRobb, Fr., High Point
D: Moses Mensah, Soph., Campbell
D: Luca Ziegler, Sr., Presbyterian College
GK: Holden Trent, R-Soph., High Point
AL: Diego Koninicks, Soph., D, Campbell
Second-Team All-Conference
F: Abel Gebrekiros, Sr., Gardner-Webb
F: Alex Abril, Jr., High Point
F: Jeremy Montero, Fr., USC Upstate
MF: Humberto Chavez, Sr., Campbell
MF: George Bediko, Sr., Campbell
MF: Matt Lock, Jr., Campbell
MF: Mason Marcey, Sr., High Point
D: Octavio Ocampo, Soph., Radford
D: Cesar Sancho, R-Soph., Presbyterian College
D: Alessandro Sobacchi, Jr., High Point
D: Hayden Anderson, Soph., USC Upstate
GK: Sam Lechuga, Sr., Campbell
AL: Sam Catherall, Jr., D, Gardner-Webb
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Josh Dubost, Jr., D, High Point
Bassafi Dotte, Soph., D, Campbell
Paul Bobai, Jr., MF, USC Upstate
Nokkvi Nokkvason, Fr., D, Presbyterian College
Lalas Ayertey, Jr., MF, High Point
All-Freshman Team
Sami Amal, MF, Campbell
Finn McRobb, D, High Point
Jeremy Montero, F, USC Upstate
Nokkvi Nokkvason, D, Presbyterian College
Davis Biggerstaff, MF, High Point
Tyler Young, F, Campbell
Conor Behan, MF, UNC Asheville
Caco Fernandez, MF, High Point
Leon Musial, GK, UNC Asheville
Sebastian Reventlow, MF, Gardner-Webb
Elias Ehlin, D, USC Upstate
All-Academic Team
Alex Egeonu, F, Sr., Campbell
Cole Sanfilippo, D, Sr., Gardner-Webb
MD Myers, F, Soph., High Point
Jonas Kalchner, D, Jr., Longwood
Luca Ziegler, S, Sr., Presbyterian College
Dondre' Robinson, F, Sr., Radford
Taylor Durall, F, R-Jr., UNC Asheville
Mario Arrocha, F, R-Soph., USC Upstate
George Orfanidis, D, Sr., Winthrop
Offensive Player of the Year
MD Myers, F, Soph., High Point
Defensive Player of the Year
Franck Momo, D, Jr., Campbell
Freshman of the Year
Sami Amal, MF, Campbell
Coach of the Year
Scott Halkett, USC Upstate
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Taylor Durall, F, R-Jr., UNC Asheville
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