Full List of 2013 Achievements

DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Dayton men's soccer team held their annual end-of-the-year awards banquet this past weekend and honored both individuals and the team from the 2013 campaign.

After a 14-2-3 season, a trip to the Atlantic 10 Championship tournament, and a national ranking throughout most of the year, the men's soccer program looked back on all it was able to accomplish in 2013. It was even able to hand out more awards on top of the plethora they have already received this past season.

Senior defender John Howe was named team MVP for his efforts in this back last year. Junior forward Greg Enstone picked up Offensive Player of the Year honors while senior defender Jonathan Nelson earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Senior midfielder Abe Keller was named Midfielder of the Year. For the special accolades, sophomore defender Christopher Lenning was awarded the Unsung Hero honor while senior midfielder Eddie Jones received the Coaches Achievement Award. Junior midfielder Amass Amankona, a transfer from Ghana, was named Rookie of the Year to round out the night.

Head coach Dennis Currier talked about the overall success of the 2013 season.

"The 2013 team started preparing last spring on championship mentality," said Currier. "They came in extremely prepared for pre-season which led to our excellent start.  Although we fell short of our overall goal of winning the A-10, the team reached some unprecedented heights for our program."

He also talked about the impression this team had off the field.

"This group made an impact on the University and community through their service and commitment to excellence both on the field and off the field," Currier stated. "They were relentless these past two years in community outreach, academic success and setting records for our soccer program.  It was a great class to coach and one that will be missed. "

The 2013 senior class helped the Flyers achieve history by starting off the season a perfect 10-0 and went into the Atlantic 10 half of the schedule undefeated and ranked in the Top 25 nationally. A big part of that was the veteran leadership of those seniors.

"This group has set the expectations of work ethic, leadership and perception for years to come," said Currier. "They won 25 games in their final two years and broke several records and became one of the best teams in the history of Dayton soccer.  They achieved this by serving the University, community and soccer program on a daily basis."

The Flyers will have to replace the impact of those nine seniors, both on the field, in the locker room, and in the community of Dayton. Coach Currier and his staff expressed their pride in this group of young men and look forward to grow the expectations that the 2013 senior class developed.

"This group of seniors was the driving force to our success so there will be a void in leadership," explained Currier. "The returning group was fortunate to learn from the departing seniors but now they will have to execute on their own.  There is a lot of talent returning so we are excited about the future.  The returners know how close we were to earning a berth into the NCAA tournament this past season and we will focus on achieving that for 2014."

The future is bright for Dayton men's soccer, but those around the program know that 2013 will go down in the record books as one of the greatest leaps forward in becoming a national power.