Completed Event: Men's Soccer at #14 Akron on November 30, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2
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Men?s Soccer Holds Annual Banquet; Mathers Voted MVP
12/3/2015 10:32:00 AM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.—The Duke men's soccer team honored its group of eight seniors and announced its award winners in the annual end-of-the-season banquet Tuesday night at the University Club in Durham. The Blue Devils gathered for an evening to reflect on the year and for those eight seniors their overall time at Duke.
In addition to recognizing the contributions of the eight seniors – Wade Clement, Wilson Fisher, Tyler Hilliard, Mitchell Kupstas, Zach Mathers, Luis Rendon, Jared Rist and Ryan Thompson, head coach John Kerr announced the team awards as voted by the players.
The team awards include – Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Offensive Player, Most Valuable Defensive Player and the John Rennie Coaches Award. Both the offensive and defensive honors ended in ties.
Taking home the Rookie of the Year honor was freshman Ciaran McKenna. A central midfielder, McKenna played in 19 games with 12 starting assignment. The Glasgow, Scotland native earned his first start in the annual meeting with rival North Carolina and went the distance in six games overall. McKenna netted his first goal, the game winner, against Loyola and recorded his first career assist in an overtime loss to Notre Dame. Overall, McKenna led all Duke freshmen with 1,470 minutes played.
Sophomores Brian White and Jeremy Ebobisse both garnered Offensive Player of the Year recognition from their teammates. Both were starters in all 19 games and combined for 31 points.
Ebobisse, Duke's No. 2 point scorer, registered seven goals and four assists for 18 points. The All-ACC third team choice got off to a fast start for the Blue Devils with five goals in the first five games, including two in the 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's to start the season. He also tallied the game-tying goal in a thrilling 2-2 draw with reigning NCAA champ Virginia. His 18 points were 11 more than he had his rookie year.
White, playing primarily in an outside midfield role for much of the year, tripled his goal scoring from 2014 with six tallies. He registered the overtime goal in a thrilling 3-2 double overtime win over No. 23 Hofstra and evened the score against No. 10 Elon as the Blue Devils rallied to a 2-1 overtime victory.
Another sophomore duo of Carter Manley and Markus Fjørtoft were voted the Blue Devils' Defensive Player of the Year awards. The tandem played 3,168 minutes on the backline and combined for two goals and three assists on the offensive end.
Fjørtoft, a second-year starter, ranked second on the team in minutes played with 1,724. Dangerous on set pieces for the Blue Devils, the Norway native added a pair of goals on corner kicks to bring his career total three. Overall this season, Fjørtoft went the distance in 15 of his 19 starts this season.
A first-year starter at outside back, Manley was an outstanding addition to the Blue Devils' backline. Manley played in 17 games with 15 starts after recovering from an early season injury. Excellent at going forward out of the back, the Elkridge, Md., native finished with three assists, including one in the 2-1 comeback victory over No. 10 Elon.
Cody Brinkman, Duke's marathon man in the midfield, was honored with the John Rennie Coaches Award for epitomizes what it means to be a Duke soccer player. A tireless worker playing in a holding midfield position, Brinkman started all 19 games and ranked third on the team in minutes played (1,592). He is an All-ACC honor roll choice and has started 25 games in his career.
Zach “Chachi” Mathers was the unanimous choice as the team's Most Valuable Player. Duke's utility man throughout his career, Mathers garnered All-ACC first team honors after leading the Blue Devils with eight goals and eight assists for 24 points. He registered his first hat trick and the first by a Blue Devil since 2011 with a three goals and seven points overall in a 5-2 victory over NC State. Mathers had 13 points in the final seven games of the year, including both assists in the Blue Devils' 2-1 win over Virginia Tech. For his career, Mathers played in 71 games with 69 starts. He will graduate in December as he pursues a career in Major League Soccer.
The Blue Devils finished the year 10-7-2 overall and 3-4-1 in ACC play for a tie for seventh place with NCAA quarterfinalist Syracuse.
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