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Five USM Players Named to All-LEC Team
Reilly Tabbed as Top Defender; Keller Named Coach of the Year

Men's College Soccer

November 11, 2008

GORHAM, Maine -- Five members of the University of Southern Maine men’s soccer team have been named to the 2008 All-Little East Conference team that was announced recently following a vote by the conference’s eight head coaches.

Named to the All-Little East first team were senior defender Colin Reilly (Evergreen, Colo.), senior forward Greg Cox (Brookline, Mass./Hebron Academy) and junior midfielder Peter McHugh (Scarborough, Maine). Earning spots on the second team were senior forward Sinisa Bajic (Belgrade, Serbia/Portland) and junior goalkeeper David Kreps (Agawam, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson).
 

In addition to the five all-conference selections, LEC commissioner Jonathan Harper also announced that Reilly had been selected by the coaches as the Defensive Player of the Year, and head coach Mike Keller was voted by his peers as the Coach of the Year.
 

“This is a great honor for these players and our program,” commented Keller. “They deserve the all recognition they’ve received. They dedicated themselves to do well this year and their play, and the results they attained, was indicative of that dedication.”
 

Reilly is the first USM player to be tabbed as the LEC’s top defensive player since the award’s inception in 2002. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defender has been a stalwart player on the Huskies’ back line for four years. This is the third straight season that Reilly, who was a second team pick in 2006 and 2007, has been named to the all-conference team. A two-time captain, he has played in all 21 matches this season earning one assist.
 

Keller is the second USM men’s coach to win Coach of the Year honors in the 20-year history of conference. Eric Miller was the previous winner in 2004. Since taking over the reins of the program from Miller in 2005, Keller is guided the Huskies to a four-year record of 37-36-5, including 10-or-more wins the last three seasons, and the program’s first-ever LEC regular season title this season. Last month, Keller, now in his 18th season overall, recorded his 100th career win when USM defeated Plymouth State University.
 

“I look at the Coach of the Year award as a team award. If the team does not go out and work hard to get a positive result, you don’t win awards like this. I definitely look at it as a team award earned by the players and coaching staff, not one individual,” responded Keller when asked for a reaction to being picked as the top coach.
 

Cox earned his third consecutive all-conference honor after having the best offensive season of his career. The dynamic 5-foot-11 forward, who also played in midfield, scored nine goals, including three game winners, and dished off five assists for 23 points.
McHugh picked up his first all-conference accolade after leading the Huskies in scoring this season with 13 goals and five assists for 31 points. The 5-foot-10 central midfielder is also one of the top defensive players in the conference.
 

Kreps earned a spot on the second team after fashioning a 1.23 goals against average in 16 matches. The 5-foot-11 keeper, who transferred to USM in 2007, posted a 9-6-0 record, made 66 saves and had six shutouts this season. He was named the LEC Goalkeeper of the Week three times during the season.
 

One of the most feared offensive players in the LEC over the past four seasons, Bajic picked up his fourth consecutive all-conference honor. In 14 matches this season, Bajic scored six goals, including three game winners, and has a team-high seven assists for 19 points. The 6-foot-3 forward was a first team all-conference selection the past two seasons, and a second team selection in his rookie campaign. The school’s second all-time leading scorer, Bajic was the LEC Rookie of the Year in 2005, and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007.
 

Southern Maine, 12-8-1 overall, travels to Bangor, Maine, on Wednesday (1:00 p.m.) to play Husson College in a quarterfinal round match of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament.

2008 Little East Conference Men’s Soccer Awards
All-Conference First Team
Name Position Year Institution
Greg Cox Forward Senior Southern Maine
Maxim Fantl Forward Junior Eastern Connecticut
Semir Mehmedovic Forward Junior Plymouth State University
Ryan Kelley Midfield Junior Rhode Island College
Peter McHugh Midfield Sophomore Southern Maine
Brandon Migliore Midfield Senior Rhode Island College
Romeo Zeqo Midfield Senior UMass Boston
Kyle Bedini Defense Senior Eastern Connecticut
Jim McConville Defense Senior Eastern Connecticut
Colin Reilly Defense Senior Southern Maine
Josh Silva Defense Senior Rhode Island College
Dan Michalowski Goalkeeper Senior Western Connecticut

All-Conference Second Team
Name Position Year Institution
Sinisa Bajic Forward Senior Southern Maine
Nicholas Boretti Forward Junior Eastern Connecticut
Alex Horne Forward Senior Keene State College
Michael Alves Midfield Sophomore UMass Dartmouth
Chris Bourdeau Midfield Junior Eastern Connecticut
Jarred Goldstein Midfield Junior UMass Dartmouth
Adam Gove Midfield Senior Plymouth State University
Gareth Stephens Midfield Senior Plymouth State University
Bill Constantine Defense Senior Eastern Connecticut
Damion Noble Defense Junior Western Connecticut
Kory Pacheco Defense Junior Rhode Island College
Aaron Smiles Defense Freshman Eastern Connecticut
David Kreps Goalkeeper Junior Southern Maine

Offensive Player of the Year
Maxim Fantl, Junior, Forward, Eastern Connecticut

Defensive Player of the Year
Colin Reilly, Senior, Back, University of Southern Maine

Rookie of the Year
Justin O’Connor, Freshman, Goalkeeper, Rhode Island College

Coach of the Year
Mike Keller, University of Southern Maine
 

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