FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Scott Burns, William & Mary
January 27, 2011

JMU’s Sapong Headlines University Men's Soccer All-State Team

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Jan. 27, 2011)— James Madison’s C.J. Sapong headlines the 2010 Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) Men’s Soccer University Division All-State team on Thursday.  Freshman Brian Span of Virginia was named Rookie of the Year, while William and Mary’s Chris Norris was named Coach of the Year.

After a brilliant senior season for the Dukes of James Madison, Sapong was named Player of the Year.  Sapong scored 12 goals and dished out nine assists to total 33 points, which tied for the state lead.  Sapong, the CAA Player of the Year, was named an All-American by both College Soccer News and Top Drawer Soccer.  Sapong finished 2010 ranked ninth in the country in points and in a tie for 12th for total goals.

After a great freshman season for Virginia, Span was named Rookie of the Year.  Span totaled five goals on the year and also tallied three assists this season for the Cavaliers.  Span was named to the All-ACC Freshmen Team and was ranked by Top Drawer Soccer as the fourth-best freshman in the country.

In his seventh season at the helm of the William and Mary program, head coach Chris Norris was named Coach of the Year after leading the College to the NCAA Third Round, a CAA Tournament title, and a CAA regular season crown.  W&M posted a record of 15-3-2 overall, which marked the most wins in a season for the Tribe since 2002.  Along with being named VaSID University Division Coach of the Year, Norris was also honored as the NSCAA South Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.

Along with Sapong, Nathaniel Baako of William and Mary and Uriah Bentick of Liberty were unanimous selections to the VaSID All-State First Team.  Making the team as forwards were Darren Amoo of Liberty, Iyiola Awosika of Radford, and Alan Koger of William and Mary.  Phillip Aseweh of Liberty and Chris Harmon of Old Dominion were named to the team as midfielders, while Derek Buckley of William and Mary and James Leith of Radford earned first-team honors as defenders.  Goalkeeper Evan Newton of Old Dominion rounded out the All-State First Team.

Earning VaSID Second-Team All-State honors were a trio of Virginia forwards in Will Bates, Brian Ownby, and Span.  Midfielders earning a spot on the squad were Harvey Headley of Longwood, Jordan Le Blanc of Old Dominion, and Paul Wyatt of James Madison, while defender Michael DiNuzzo of William and Mary made the second-team as well as Shane Johnson and Patrick McDaniel of Longwood.  Andrew McAdams of William and Mary and Diego Restrepo of Virginia also made the squad as goalkeepers.

The College of William and Mary led all schools with five overall selections, including three first-team honorees, while the University of Virginia had four selections.  Longwood, Liberty, and Old Dominion all had three players make one of the two all-state squads.