Koffeman Earns BIG EAST and College Soccer Times
Oct 09 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Bart Koffeman (The Hague, Netherlands) earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Monday, for his performances last week against Cleveland State (Oct. 3) and St. John's (Oct. 7). Koffeman was also named to the College Soccer Times' National Team of the Week.
Koffeman's defensive effort helped hold CSU to eight shots and St. John's to just seven while limiting both teams to two just goals, compared to RU's eight in the two games. The senior tri-captain also had a solid offensive performance last week, as he netted two goals in the two games. Koffeman scored his first goal of the week in a 6-1 defeat of Cleveland State, a win which improved the team's record to.500. He scored his second goal of the week when he knocked in the game-winning, overtime goal against St. John's.
The conference victory over SJU gave Rutgers a winning record for the first time this season and put RU in a second-place tie with South Florida in the BIG EAST's Red Division.
Koffeman's play at center back has stood out this season, as RU's defense has allowed just two goals in the past three games. For the season, RU's defense has held opponents to just 0.96 goal-per-game. Koffeman has also contributed on offense. He now has three goals on the season, both a team and career-high. Prior to this season, Koffeman had never scored more than one goal in a single year since joining the Scarlet Knights in 2003.
After starting the season with a 1-5 record, Rutgers has won six of its last seven games, including four of five against BIG EAST opponents. Head coach Bob Reasso knows that Koffeman has been a big reason for the team's turnaround.
"Bart's been our MVP all season," he said. "He's been great and played consistently for us all year. He is one of the best center backs in the league and he deserves this honor."
Koffeman and the rest of the team are back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 11, when RU travels to Penn for a 7:30 p.m. game.
