Nov. 7, 2012
EDISON, N.J. - Five Loyola University Maryland men's soccer players earned All-Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference team honors, while freshman Larry Ndjock was named the MAAC Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the league's head coaches and announced Wednesday night.
Ndjock was also tabbed a first-team all-conference player and to the All-Rookie Team, while senior Gerwyn Jones and sophomore Connor Thompson joined Ndjock on the first team. Junior Stephen Dooley was named to the All-MAAC Second-Team and freshman Dominic Marshall was included on the all-rookie team.
A native of Berlin, Germany, Ndjock becomes the first Greyhound to earn Rookie of the Year honors and a spot on the All-MAAC First Team since Omar Alfonso did so in 2003. He also becomes the third player under head coach Mark Mettrick to be voted the MAAC Rookie of the Year and is the lone freshman on the first team. In addition, Ndjock is the top freshman in the NCAA in scoring and leads the MAAC with 13 goals and is tied for first in points (23).
Jones becomes the seventh Greyhound under Mettrick to earn three-straight All-MAAC First Team honors, and just the fourth back to do so, joining Niall Lepper (2000-02), Gabe Ortega (2004-06) and Tennant McVea (2007-09). A team captain from Caernarfon, Wales, Jones has anchored a defense that leads the MAAC in shutouts (7) and is second in goals-against average (0.91). He also saved a ball off the goal line against Saint Joseph's and scored the Greyhounds' game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at Canisius.
Thompson, an All-Rookie Team selection a year ago, is making his first appearance on the All-MAAC First Team and is one of three players that are a freshman or sophomore on the 10-person first team. The MAAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct.ober 29 is tied for sixth in the MAAC, and is second on the team, this year with 18 points on six goals and six assists. The Swindon, England native had a hand in all three of Loyola's goals in a 3-0 win over Siena, marking his first multi-goal game and a career-best five points.
Dooley, a Preseason All-MAAC Team selection, missed the first seven games of the season due to injury, but returned to score two goals on his first two shots of the season, leading the Greyhounds to a 4-2 win over James Madison - a squad that had previously knocked off No. 1 North Carolina. A forward from Portstewart, Northern Ireland, Dooley is currently ranked fourth in the MAAC with 1.42 points per game on six goals and five assists. He scored the game-winner in Loyola's 2-0 win over American and assisted Ndjock's game-winner versus Iona.
Marshall joined Ndjock on the All-Rookie Team after concluding the regular season fourth on the team with nine points on two goals and five assists. A midfielder from Hartlepool, England, Marshall earned MAAC Rookie of the Week honors on October 15 after setting up the game-winning goal in overtime against Marist. Marshall knocked in his first collegiate goal versus James Madison and strung together a string of four-straight games with a point, capping it off with his second goal of the season in a win at Fairfield.
Loyola will open play at the 2012 MAAC Championships on Thursday with a semifinal contest against Iona at Marist's Tenney Stadium. Game time is slated for 9 p.m.
