Soccer America Men's MVPs
M Nico Colaluca (Virginia)
F Charlie Davies (Boston College)
D Andy Iro (UC Santa Barbara)
F Joseph Lapira (Notre Dame)
D Jay Needham (SMU)
M David Roth (Northwestern)
G Chris Seitz (Maryland)
F Jarrod Smith (West Virginia)
D Julian Valentin (Wake Forest)
M Michael Videira (Duke)
M Sal Zizzo (UCLA)
NICO COLALUCA (Virginia). Cavs coach George Gelnovatch says Colaluca may be the most talented player in college soccer. The Virginia playmaker had his best season in three years in Charlottesville, leading the Cavs to their first appearance in the NCAA Division I semifinals since 1997. Colaluca set up senior Adam Cristman for two goals in Virginia's 3-2 win over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. After two uneasy seasons in Charlottesville, Colaluca blossomed in 2006 with a more mature attitude and improved defensive habits. The transition to college had been difficult for Colaluca, who previously had a short stint at the U.S. Soccer U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla. He grew up in an Italian family in Rhode Island and played soccer with Colombian immigrants in a working-class area of Pawtucket.
CHARLIE DAVIES (Boston College). Davies has left BC but not before one of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of college soccer. He was the Big East Rookie of the Year in 2004, the Eagles' last season before moving to the ACC, but never got to play in an ACC game in 2005. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening game against Fairleigh Dickinson and never returned. Without Davies, BC went 0-6-2 in the ACC and was the only conference team not to be selected to the NCAA Tournament. But he rehabbed his knee and returned for spring drills, scoring two goals against MLS's New England Revolution in a scrimmage. Davies won the 2006 ACC Offensive Player of the Year award after scoring 15 goals in 16 games for the Eagles. The 20-year-old product of Manchester, N.H., was to decide between signing with MLS and pursuing multiple European offers.
ANDY IRO (UC Santa Barbara). At 6-foot-5, the Liverpudlian is one of the most dominating center backs to ever play college soccer. He was the inspirational leader of the Gauchos in their march to their first NCAA Division I championship. Despite playing on a bad knee, Iro was named the Defensive Most Valuable Player of the Men's College Cup. In the final against UCLA, Iro played all but 18 seconds — forced to the sidelines for a bloody mouth. Iro, a biology major, played a key role in limiting the high-flying Bruins to three shots in the first half. Iro, who burst on the national scene at the 2004 Men's College Cup when UCSB lost to Indiana in a shootout, had earlier been named the Big West Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year.
JOSEPH LAPIRA (Notre Dame). For the second year in a row, the Soccer America Men's Player of the Year is a Louisianan. Last year it was Maryland's Jason Jason Garey from Gonzales, located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The 2006 recipient is Notre Dame junior Joseph Lapira, from Lake Charles in Acadiana. Nicknamed the ''Ragin' Cajun'' by Irish coach Bobby Clark when he attended the Notre Dame soccer camp while in high school, Lapira played the 2006 season with a meniscus tear in his knee — an injury suffered in Notre Dame's opening game against UAB — but that didn't stop him from having a breakout season. He led the country in scoring with 22 goals and 50 points. He put on one of the greatest performances by a visiting player in the long history of Indiana's Armstrong Stadium, scoring four goals in a 5-4 overtime win over the Hoosiers over Labor Day weekend. In October, he went on a scoring tear that included two goals in five straight games and goals in seven games in a row. Lapira's knee injury limited his practice time late in the season, but he had the two biggest goals of the season in the NCAA Tournament. He scored in the 1-0 victory over UIC in the second round and struck the golden goal that knocked off defending champion Maryland, 1-0, in the third round. The Irish's quarterfinal finish was the best in their history. Although Lapira had decent freshman and sophomore seasons — with three goals and seven goals, respectively — no one would have predicted he would break out like he did as a junior. Clark credits Lapira's hustle around the goal for his ability to create multiple chances for himself. Lapira, who finished with 11 game-winning goals, says a positive attitude kept him from getting down like he did in previous seasons when he missed chances.
JAY NEEDHAM (SMU). When injuries limited SMU's attacking options, the Mustang defense stepped up. SMU went unbeaten in its first 17 games and was No. 1 in the Soccer America Top 25 rankings for five weeks. Needham served as a tri-captain and one the leaders of the Mustangs' outstanding defense that earned shutouts in 14 of 23 games. The 6-foot-2 senior from Ft. Worth also contributed three goals and three assists. The Dallas Texans product started all 23 games in 2006 and 84 of 87 games in his four seasons at SMU.
DAVID ROTH (Northwestern). Roth took a chance on an unheralded Wildcats program and helped make it a national contender. As a freshman in 2004, he tied a Big Ten assists record with 14 for the Wildcats, who made the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time. In 2006, the 5-foot-8 midfielder was instrumental in leading the Wildcats to the NCAA Division I quarterfinals. In the second round, Northwestern upset 11th seed Saint Louis, 1-0, thanks to Roth's goal from 30 yards that deflected off the crossbar and into the SLU nets. The victory came in Roth's hometown of St. Louis, where he starred at Chaminade College Prep and the Busch (now St. Louis) Soccer Club.
CHRIS SEITZ (Maryland). The 6-foot-4 Californian is one of the top goalkeeping prospects ever to come along in the college ranks. He's got size, agility and good distribution. Seitz, one of only four returning starters from the Terrapins' 2005 national championship team, was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for anchoring the Maryland backline which racked up 10 shutouts in 16 wins. In two seasons, he has a 28-5-3 record. The SoCal United (now Real So Cal) product might start on the U.S. U-20 national team in 2007 CONCACAF qualifying.
JARROD SMITH (West Virginia). The New Zealand international scored 14 goals in 16 matches for the Mountaineers, who won a Big East divisional regular-season championship and took second place in the conference tournament. Smith, who was suspended at the beginning of the season after returning from international duty with the All Whites, established Big East single-season records for conference goals (12) and conference assists (28). Smith's father, Ian, was a cricket star and is the leading commentator on the sport in New Zealand, but Jerrod chose soccer over cricket at the end of his high school career because it afforded him more opportunities. The 6-foot-2 Smith enrolled at West Virginia sight unseen. He finished as the Mountaineer's leading scorer in all four seasons.
JULIAN VALENTIN (Wake Forest). The junior from Lancaster, Pa., had a huge season in leading the Demon Deacons to a record 18 wins and their first appearance in the NCAA Division I semifinals. He was a key member of the Wake defense that recorded 13 shutouts in 25 games. He was also a big threat on balls played into the opposing team's box. During the regular season, he scored winning goals against nationally ranked Connecticut and North Carolina in back-to-back games. The charismatic Valentin, who finished the season with four goals, is one of the best young prospects at center back for the U.S. under-20 national team.
MICHAEL VIDEIRA (Duke). Videira, the 2004 Soccer America Freshman of the Year, had another big year at playmaker, helping the Blue Devils retain their ACC title and earn the top seed in the NCAA Division I Tournament. The junior from Milford, Mass., scored eight goals, including five gamewinners, and recorded seven assists. He recovered from an injury that kept him out of action for three games late in the season to be named the ACC Tournament's Most Valuable Player and score goals in Duke's NCAA Tournament wins over Brown and Lehigh. Videira played under former Duke great John Kerr Jr. for the Greater Boston Bolts. He's one of a trio of New England products from ACC schools along with New Hampshire's Charlie Davies (Boston College) and Rhode Island's Nico Colaluca (Virginia) to be named 2006 MVPs.
SAL ZIZZO (UCLA). No player's stock rose as much in the 2006 college season as did Zizzo's. The sophomore winger from San Diego was sensational in the NCAA Tournament, scoring five goals in the first three games to lead the Bruins to the Men's College Cup, where they fell to UC Santa Barbara in the final. Zizzo's golden goal 30 seconds into overtime knocked off top ranked Duke in the quarterfinals. He terrorized defenses with his quickness down the right wing. Zizzo was a standout baseball player in high school but a hip injury between his junior and senior seasons of high school set him back in terms of baseball. Baseball's loss has been soccer's gain as Zizzo is a top prospect for the U.S. U-20s. His parents were born in Sicily, making him eligible to play in Europe on an EU passport.