Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men’s Soccer with Five Named to United Soccer Coaches All-Region Team
12/9/2019 12:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Osmanu, Roberts, Yosef, Leinhos and Pita all honored on All-Southeast Team
United Soccer Coaches All-Region Teams
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Awards and honors continue to pour in for the Marshall men's soccer team after its historic season. Five players were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team, the organization announced on Monday, three on the first team with one each on the second and third teams.
Honored on the first team were senior Illal Osmanu, junior Jamil Roberts and redshirt freshman Milo Yosef. Sophomore Jan-Erik Leinhos was selected to the second team and redshirt senior Paulo Pita garnered third team honors. These five highlighted a great lineup that helped lead Marshall to its first top 25 rankings since 2001, first ever Conference USA Regular Season and Tournament Titles, as well as its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win.
"Really happy for the guys to be recognized in our region in addition to our conference," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "It was a great year, and the guys deserve all the awards they get. Congratulations to them. I'm sure for all of them, those returning and those making their first steps into professional soccer, there are many awards to come."
Osmanu finished his senior season helping to lead Marshall on the defensive end through the best season in program history. The Herd allowed 20 goals in 22 matches including eight shutouts. Osmanu played 2,040 minutes of a possible 2,055, only missing some time at the end of the match against UTRGV dealing with a minor injury. The Accra, Ghana native played every minute of 21 matches this season and 45 matches in his three year Herd career. Osmanu was named All-Conference USA First Team and was a two-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week in October. The defensive leader was a force in the backfield with his size, speed and knowledge of the game. In just three years, Osmanu finished his Herd career with 59 games, 58 starts, 5,217 minutes and three goals.
Roberts missed four matches during the 2019 season and still managed to record eight goals, good for second on the team, and lead the Herd with 10 assists. Roberts led Conference USA in assists and was among the nation's leaders in helpers as well, entering the match at No. 6 Washington tied for fifth in the NCAA in total assists. The Langport, England native tallied two assists in three matches and scored two goals in two matches. The junior forward scored both of the Herd's goals in a 2-1 win at No. 19 FIU in the regular season finale to secure the top-overall seed going into the C-USA Tournament. He also scored in both of Marshall's NCAA Tournament matches. Roberts was named to the Conference USA Second Team. His 10 goals tied for the single-season Marshall record and his career total of 15 is tied for fourth all-time.
Yosef helped ignite a lot of excitement and energy into Marshall's offense in his first season with the Green & White. The Aachem, Germany native was named the Conference USA Offensive MVP, C-USA Freshman of the Year, All-Conference First Team and All-Conference Freshman Team after leading the Herd and the conference with 12 goals including five game-winners. He led C-USA in six offensive categories. Yosef was the first player in team history to score 10 or more goals since Tom Jackson had 10 in 2011. His 12 goals tied for fifth-best in program history. Yosef scored two goals in three different matches including back-to-back contests at Loyola Marymount and San Diego State. He tallied the game-winner, with the back of his head, off a corner kick against WVU in the NCAA Tournament.
Leinhos had a streak of 36-straight matches started before an ankle injury took him out of four matches and he made his return against WVU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Leinhos has been rock-solid for the Herd on defense as well as a player that can push the ball downfield. The Felsberg, Germany native has a strong leg and is used for many free kick opportunities as well as penalty kicks. Leinhos lined up for two PKs in 2019 and converted both including the equalizer in the 79th minute of an eventual win over Akron. He played every minute of seven matches and had a season-high 102 on the pitch in the 0-0 draw at then No. 5 Charlotte. Leinhos was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team.
Pita was a brick wall for Marshall in his final collegiate season. The redshirt senior played every minute this year for the Herd and allowed just 20 goals in 22 matches. Pita ended the season with a 0.88 goals against average, recorded 74 saves and had a .787 save percentage. His eight shutouts were second most in a season in Herd history and he finished fourth all-time with 11.5 career clean sheets. He saved some of his best performances for the biggest matches with a shutouts against No. 5 Charlotte and No. 15 Kentucky in the regular season, and shutouts over Kentucky and Charlotte again in the C-USA Tournament. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native was a three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, co-winner of the conference Golden Glove Award (league shutouts) and named to the All-Conference USA Second Team.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Awards and honors continue to pour in for the Marshall men's soccer team after its historic season. Five players were named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team, the organization announced on Monday, three on the first team with one each on the second and third teams.
Honored on the first team were senior Illal Osmanu, junior Jamil Roberts and redshirt freshman Milo Yosef. Sophomore Jan-Erik Leinhos was selected to the second team and redshirt senior Paulo Pita garnered third team honors. These five highlighted a great lineup that helped lead Marshall to its first top 25 rankings since 2001, first ever Conference USA Regular Season and Tournament Titles, as well as its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and win.
"Really happy for the guys to be recognized in our region in addition to our conference," Herd head coach Chris Grassie said. "It was a great year, and the guys deserve all the awards they get. Congratulations to them. I'm sure for all of them, those returning and those making their first steps into professional soccer, there are many awards to come."
Osmanu finished his senior season helping to lead Marshall on the defensive end through the best season in program history. The Herd allowed 20 goals in 22 matches including eight shutouts. Osmanu played 2,040 minutes of a possible 2,055, only missing some time at the end of the match against UTRGV dealing with a minor injury. The Accra, Ghana native played every minute of 21 matches this season and 45 matches in his three year Herd career. Osmanu was named All-Conference USA First Team and was a two-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week in October. The defensive leader was a force in the backfield with his size, speed and knowledge of the game. In just three years, Osmanu finished his Herd career with 59 games, 58 starts, 5,217 minutes and three goals.
Roberts missed four matches during the 2019 season and still managed to record eight goals, good for second on the team, and lead the Herd with 10 assists. Roberts led Conference USA in assists and was among the nation's leaders in helpers as well, entering the match at No. 6 Washington tied for fifth in the NCAA in total assists. The Langport, England native tallied two assists in three matches and scored two goals in two matches. The junior forward scored both of the Herd's goals in a 2-1 win at No. 19 FIU in the regular season finale to secure the top-overall seed going into the C-USA Tournament. He also scored in both of Marshall's NCAA Tournament matches. Roberts was named to the Conference USA Second Team. His 10 goals tied for the single-season Marshall record and his career total of 15 is tied for fourth all-time.
Yosef helped ignite a lot of excitement and energy into Marshall's offense in his first season with the Green & White. The Aachem, Germany native was named the Conference USA Offensive MVP, C-USA Freshman of the Year, All-Conference First Team and All-Conference Freshman Team after leading the Herd and the conference with 12 goals including five game-winners. He led C-USA in six offensive categories. Yosef was the first player in team history to score 10 or more goals since Tom Jackson had 10 in 2011. His 12 goals tied for fifth-best in program history. Yosef scored two goals in three different matches including back-to-back contests at Loyola Marymount and San Diego State. He tallied the game-winner, with the back of his head, off a corner kick against WVU in the NCAA Tournament.
Leinhos had a streak of 36-straight matches started before an ankle injury took him out of four matches and he made his return against WVU in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Leinhos has been rock-solid for the Herd on defense as well as a player that can push the ball downfield. The Felsberg, Germany native has a strong leg and is used for many free kick opportunities as well as penalty kicks. Leinhos lined up for two PKs in 2019 and converted both including the equalizer in the 79th minute of an eventual win over Akron. He played every minute of seven matches and had a season-high 102 on the pitch in the 0-0 draw at then No. 5 Charlotte. Leinhos was named to the All-Conference USA Third Team.
Pita was a brick wall for Marshall in his final collegiate season. The redshirt senior played every minute this year for the Herd and allowed just 20 goals in 22 matches. Pita ended the season with a 0.88 goals against average, recorded 74 saves and had a .787 save percentage. His eight shutouts were second most in a season in Herd history and he finished fourth all-time with 11.5 career clean sheets. He saved some of his best performances for the biggest matches with a shutouts against No. 5 Charlotte and No. 15 Kentucky in the regular season, and shutouts over Kentucky and Charlotte again in the C-USA Tournament. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native was a three-time C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, co-winner of the conference Golden Glove Award (league shutouts) and named to the All-Conference USA Second Team.
For all of the latest information on the Marshall men's soccer team, follow the Herd on Twitter @HerdMSoccer, Facebook at Marshall University Soccer and on www.herdzone.com.
To follow all Thundering Herd sports and get live stats, schedules, and free live audio, download the Marshall Athletics App for iOS or Android!
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