Nov. 16, 2005
Rob Valentino was named West Coast Conference Defender of the Year and Erik Visser co-Coach of the Year as the league's postseason awards were announced Tuesday.
Visser, who was the loop's Coach of the Year last season, when USF also won the league crown, shares the award with Gonzaga's Einar Thorarinsson.
It is the first time since WCC conference play began in 1988 the league has had two coaches share Coach of the Year honors.
USF's Valentino and senior defender Luis Aguilar were named to the all-WCC First Team. The 21st ranked Dons travel to Dallas, TX to play Southern Methodist University in a first round NCAA playoff on Friday night at 5:30 pm (Pacific).
This marks the second consecutive year Valentino, who was a 2004 Freshman All-American, has claimed WCC first team honors. During regular season he posted four goals, including game-winning goals against Stanford (1-0) and Loyola Marymount (1-0). Following the game against Stanford, he was named "WCC Player of the Week."
This is the second consecutive year Coach Visser has led the Dons (11-5-4, 6-3-3 WCC) to the WCC title. The Dons recovered from a slow start start finishing with an exciting 4-0-1 run that gave them 21 points to take the WCC title.
USF also placed two players on the conference's second team, including sophomore forward Aaron Chandler and goalie Geremy Uhl, who posted the best goals against average (0.85) in the league. Defender Kevin Long and Midfielders Brandon McDonald and Mike Bagheri were named WCC honorable mention. Bagheri and forward Ben Dessard were also named to the all-freshman team.
The Dons return all of the honored players with the exception of senior defender Luis Aguilar, who was named all-WCC for the second time.
WCC Honors:
Player of the Year: Mehdi Ballouchy, Santa Clara
Freshman of the Year: Michael Clegg, St. Mary's
Defensive Player of the Year: Rob Valentino, St. Mary's
Coach of the Year: Erik Visser, San Francisco; Einar Thorarinsson, Gonzaga
First Team
Luis Aguilar, USF -SR -D -La Mirada, CA
Sean Babcock, POR -SR -M -Corvallis, OR
Mehdi Ballouchy, SCU -JR -M -Casablanca, Morocco
Michael Clegg, SMC -FR -F -Santa Clarita, CA
Carlos Diaz, SMC -FR -M -Napa, CA
Hector Guzman, SCU -SR -F -San Jose, Costa Rica
George Josten, GON -SO -F -Idaho Falls, ID
Kevin Meissner, USD -JR -M -San Diego, CA
Luis Robles, POR -JR -GK -Sierra Vista, AZ
Rob Valentino, USF -SO -D -Cave Creek, AZ
Junior Ybarra, LMU -JR -M -Santa Barbara, CA
Second Team
Aaron Chandler, USF -JR -F -Riverside, CA
Matt Fitzgerald, SMC -JR - M -Castro Valley, CA
Miguel Guante, POR -SR -M -Ft. Huachuca, AZ
Ryan Guy, USD -JR -M/F -Carlsbad, CA
Kelechi Igwe, SCU -SR -F -Belmont, CA
Peter Lowry, SCU -SO - M -Fair Oaks, CA
Scott Martin, USD -SR -M/D -San Diego, CA
Armando Melendez, LMU -SR - M -Los Angeles, CA
Ben Sawyer, GON -JR -D -Spokane, WA
Geremy Uhl, USF -JR -GK -Cypress, CA
Tommy Von Bromsen, USD -SR -D -Gothenburg, Sweden
Honorable Mention
Mike Bagheri, USF; Bobby Burling, LMU; Jimmy Burling, LMU; Stephen Carlson, LMU; Michael Caso, USD; Alex Christlieb, SMC; Drew Chrostek, POR; Jawaan Delaney, LMU; Keith DeVey, SCU; Trini Gomez, LMU; Jeff Griffin, POR; Vito Higgins, GON; Kevin Long, USF; Brian Mason, SMC; Brandon McDonald, USF; Matt Mejia, LMU; Jide Ogunbiyi, SCU; Sam Reeder, USD; Calle Rendahl, USD; Jeff Scott, SCU; Mark Stock, GON; Kevin Sweeney, SCU
Player of the Year: Mehdi Ballouchy, Santa Clara
Freshman of the Year: Michael Clegg, Saint Marys
Defensive Player of the Year: Rob Valentino, San Francisco
Co-Coaches of the Year: Einar Thorarinsson, Gonzaga
Erik Visser, San Francisco
All-Freshman Team
Mike Bagheri, USF -M -West Covina, CA
Drew Chrostek, POR -D -Corvallis, OR
Michael Clegg, SMC -F -Santa Clarita, CA
Jawaan Delaney, LMU -M/D -Long Beach, CA
Ben Dessard, USF -F -Saumur, France
Carlos Diaz, SMC -M -Napa, CA
Alex Elliott, POR -F -Vancouver, B.C.
Chris Hoyd, GON -F -Boise, ID
Scott Meslin, GON -M -San Diego, CA
Jide Ogunbiyi, SCU -F -Gwynedd, PA
Sam Reeder, USD -D -Lewisville, TX
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