Men's Soccer: Six Named to All-PAC Teams; Taal Named PAC Coach of the Year
Erikka Sansom, Director of Athletic Communications
Greenville, Pa. – Third year Head Coach Frankie Taal was named the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year along with six men's soccer players were named to All-PAC Teams announced by the leagues office Friday afternoon.
Bethany's Modou Faye was named All-PAC First Team, Sebastian Arrocain, Rokeba Cordice and Jahzinho O'Garro were named All-PAC Second Team and Adis Salihovic and Ramiro Veiga rounded out the Bison All-PAC teams earning Honorable Mention.
Taal was tabbed as the PAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career after guiding Bethany to their first league championship since 2001. Over the last nine matches, the Bison are 8-1, including a five-match win streak.
Faye was named the Most Outstanding Player in the PAC Tournament and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team along with teammates Arrocain and Salihovic. The Dallas, Texas native finished the season with eight goals and three assists. He scored the game winning goal against Chatham in the first round of the PAC Tournament. His two goal performance against Franciscan helped propel the Bison to their first PAC Championship in twenty years.
Arrocain finished the season scoring three goals and had three assists. In the semi-final match against Grove City, Arrocain scored the first goal of the match and assisted on the game winning goal to send the Bison to the PAC Championship match.
Cordice, O'Garro and Salihovic were key components for the Bison defense. Salihovic appeared in 12 matches in net for the Bison. He recorded 55 saves with a save percentage of .764. In the PAC Championship, the Dallas, Texas native recorded nine saves to help the Bison clinch the title.
Veiga finished the season with four goals and four assists and was a key contributor to the Bison offense. He scored two goals against Washington and Jefferson to help the Bison get into the PAC Tournament.
Valentin Ursino was named to the PAC Sportsmanship team. Ursino scored two goals during his rookie season, including the game winning goal in the PAC Championship.
The Bison have a league best 31 PAC Championships and will make a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the 20th time in program history. Bethany will face host John Carroll in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament held in University Heights, Ohio at Don Shula Stadium at 11 am. For full tournament details visit here.
