/
.
Seven Cavaliers Earn 2016 All-ACC Honors
Story Links
Nov. 8, 2016
2016 All-ACC Team | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. ââ’¬” Seven Virginia men’s soccer student-athletes earned 2016 All-ACC honors, as announced Tuesday by the conference office. Five Cavaliers were named to the 2016 All-ACC Teams, while two more earned spots on the All-Freshman Team. Each of the seven honored Cavaliers has eligibility remaining after this season.
A trio of Cavaliers were named by the league’s coaches to the All-ACC Second Team: midfielder Pablo Aguilar (R-Jr., Guatemala City, Guatemala), goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell (Jr., Todd, N.C.) and forward Edward Opoku (So., Rye, N.Y.). Midfielder Jean-Christophe Koffi (So., Potomac, Md.) and defender Sergi Nus (So., Barcelona, Spain) were selected to the third team.
Robin Afamefuna (Wuerselen, Germany) and Terrell Lowe (Hillsboro, Ore.) were named to the All-Freshman squad.
Aguilar is tied for the team lead with six goals while playing in 18 matches. He is tied for eighth in the league in goals and scored UVA’s game-winning goals in the team’s last two wins against Duke and NC State. He also has assisted on a pair of Virginia goals.
A third-team All-ACC honoree last season, Caldwell becomes the third goalkeeper in program history to earn All-ACC honors twice, joining Bob Willen (1986-87) and Tony Meola (1988-89). He has recorded clean sheets in half of his 18 starts this year, allowing just 16 goals while posting a 0.84 goals-against average. His nine shutouts ranks seventh in UVA single-season history. He also ranks second in the ACC with 69 saves this year.
Opoku earned All-ACC laurels for the second straight season after claiming third-team honors in 2015. He shares the team lead in goals with six, including five game-winning scores. He ranks eighth in the ACC in goals and second in game-winning goals. The speedy forward played and started in 16 matches while taking a team-high 39 shots.
Koffi made a huge step this season and became one of Virginia’s strengths in the midfield. He scored a goal against William & Mary and also added a pair of assists during the season. He played in all 18 matches, starting 17.
Nus joined UVA this season as a transfer from Fresno Pacific and served as the center back in the Cavaliers’ three-man back line. He started every game and has played all but 10 minutes this year, recording the most minutes of any UVA field player.
Afamefuna started and played at left back for the Cavaliers in 17 of their 18 matches this year. He was second to Nus in minutes amongst the UVA field players with 1,512.
Lowe has played in 18 matches in UVA’s midfield during his rookie season, starting 17. He recorded his first career assist in UVA’s Oct. 7 win at North Carolina.
Virginia (10-3-5) has finished second in the ACC Coastal Division and reached the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament and is now awaiting a bid to the NCAA tournament. The selection show for the 48-team field is Monday, Nov. 14, at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com. First-round matches will be contested Thursday, Nov. 17, while second-round matches will be played Sunday, Nov. 20.