Four Firebirds Earn All-East Coast Conference Men’s Soccer Honors
CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – Sophomore forward Felix Angerer was named First Team All-East Coast Conference, sophomore midfielder Nenad Smiljanic and senior defender Atunde Akum were both named Second Team All-ECC, and junior goalkeeper Louis Connor was named Honorable Mention as the ECC league office announced the 2014 Men's Soccer All-Conference awards as voted on by the league's head coaches.
These four are the first group of Firebirds to be named All-ECC since UDC joined the conference in 2012. They helped lead the Firebirds to the program's best season since 2004 which included nine wins – just one win shy of an ECC Tournament berth.
Angerer (Business Administration – Bayreuth, Germany/Graj Minster Gymnasium Bayreuth) had a sensational sophomore season, ranking in the top-five of the ECC in four offensive categories, including: goals (5th with eight), assists (4th with seven), points (3rd with 23) and shots (2nd with 59). He registered three points on a goal and an assist twice this season; first, in a 3-3 tie at California (PA) and then in a 4-2 win over Queens. He also had a foot in one goal in each of the Firebirds' last six games.
Smiljanic (Health Education – Barnsley, England/Barnsley College), also just a sophomore, capped off a great second season at UDC in 2014. He led the conference in penalty kick goals, going a perfect 3-for-3. He finished tied with Angerer for 5th in the league with eight goals, 13th in assists with four, and 6th in the league in points with 20. Twice he registered three points in a game on a goal and an assist; first, in the 4-2 win over Queens and also in a 2-0 win over Chestnut Hill. He scored one goal in each of the Firebirds' final three games of the season.
Akum (Health Education – Beltsville, MD/High Point HS), who has been a fixture on the Firebirds' defensive line for the past four years, had a terrific final season at UDC. In addition to registering three points offensively on a goal and an assist, Akum led a defensive line that forced three shutout victories and held its opponents to a goal or less in eight games.
In a season cut short three games due to a broken hand injury, Connor (Health Education – Birmingham, England/Arthur Terry School) still managed to rank 4th in the ECC with 73 saves. That mark is also 3rd on UDC's single-season record list. Connor had a season-high 10 saves in a 2-1 double-overtime loss at eventual league champion, NYIT. He also made eight saves on four separate occasions, including a 2-1 victory at Millersville. Along the way, he stopped two penalty kicks as well.