With the 2018 regular season in the books, the Radford University men’s soccer team picked up nine Big South postseason awards including two First Team All-Conference selections and Co-Freshman of the Year honors for Amadou Macky Diop, the league office announced Friday morning.
Diop was an absolute force on the attack in his first season with the Highlanders and he’s been rewarded for it, being named First Team All-Big South and to the All-Freshman Team in addition to his Co-Freshman of the Year nod.
The Dakar, Senegal native leads the Big South in points (23), points per game (1.77) and goals per game (0.69). He also ranks 2nd in shots per game (3.23), 2nd in goals (9), 4th in assists per game (0.38), 4th in game-winning goals (2), 4th in shots (42) and T-5th in assists (5). He was tabbed as conference Attacking Player of the Week twice and Freshman of the Week once.
Joining Diop on the All-Big South First Team was redshirt senior forward Kieran Roberts. This marks the third all-conference selection for the Bournemouth, England native after making the First Team in 2017 and Second Team in 2016.
Roberts was the only Highlander to start all 15 games this season, racking up six goals and two assists. He is T-3rd in the Big South with three game-winning goals and also ranked top-10 in the conference for shots (48), shots per game (3.20), points (14), points per game (0.93) and goals per game (0.40).
Making his first career appearance on the All-Big South Second Team is senior defender Myles Yorke. Yorke anchored the Radford back line this season, starting 14 games and helping limit opponents to just 24 goals all season – the second-best mark in the Big South. A native of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Yorke ranks third on the team with 1,251 minutes played.
Also making the All-Big South Second Team is redshirt junior midfielder Victor Valls. The Barcelona, Spain native played in 13 games including 12 starts this season, recording one goal and one assist. Across his 922 minutes played, Valls ranks second on the Highlanders with a .167 shooting percentage.
Radford had two more players voted onto the All-Freshman team – goalkeeper Sam Farrell and defender Thure Ilgner.
Farrell rose from third on the depth chart to starting goalkeeper six games into the season. In the Big South, he ranks second in save percentage (.772), 3rd in goals against average (1.23) and third in saves per game (4.40).
Ilgner played in and started 14 games in his debut season, ranking second on the team with 1,265 minutes played. He also showed off his offensive capabilities on set pieces, tallying 10 shots including four on goal.
Redshirt junior defender Benjamin Thiss rounds out Radford’s awards with a place on the All-Academic Team. A Biology major concentrating on Pre-Health with a Chemistry minor, Thiss has sustained a 3.76 GPA while carving out a starting role on the team. The Cincinnati, Ohio native received a resolution of commendation from the Radford Board of Visitors for his incredible involvement with the university and he played a career-high 11 games including six starts.
–RU Athletics
