The University of Akron was abuzz this week with news of the hiring of former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel. But it was the men’s soccer team that claimed yet another award after yet another successful season under the expert tutelage of Caleb Porter.
The team claimed the Collegiate Athlete of the Year award, beating out Cleveland State’s Norris Cole and Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore at the 2011 Greater Cleveland Sports Awards.
While the program did not win another national title, it did send Darren Mattocks to MLS as the #2 overall pick and several others (Luke Holmes, Matt Dagilis, Michael Balogun) to likely careers in the NASL, USL, and NPSL.
Other winners at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards included Mitch Trubisky (High School Athlete of the Year), Jessica Beard (Amateur Athlete of the Year), Asdrubal Cabrera (Athlete of the Year), Austin Carr (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Brandee Kelly (Courage Award).
