LaBrocca, Koffeman Earn All-BIG EAST Honors
Nov 02 | Men's Soccer
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers men's soccer players Bart Koffeman (The Hague, Netherlands) and Nick LaBrocca (Howell, N.J.) were both named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, the conference announced Thursday evening at its annual awards banquet. The senior captains helped guide Rutgers to a 10-6-1 record and advance to this weekend's BIG EAST semifinal match against No. 2 West Virginia.
Defenseman Koffeman was a key part in helping the Scarlet Knights rebound from their 1-5 start to reach their current 10-6-1 mark. His play on defense kept the Scarlet Knights in every game they played, proven by the fact that the team has won nine of its last 11 games and enters this weekend's BIG EAST semifinal game riding a seven-game unbeaten streak. Koffeman anchored a defense that had a goals-against average of 0.84 and limited opponents to just 15 goals. During the season, Koffeman earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors for the week of Oct. 1-8 after he helped limit Cleveland State and St. John's to just two goals, while also scoring two of his own, and was named to the conference's weekly honor roll on Oct. 23. Koffeman's selection to the All-BIG EAST Second Team was the first such honor of his career.
With his selection to the second team, LaBrocca earned the third All-BIG EAST honor of his career. The senior was named to the All-BIG EAST second team as a sophomore, and earned third team honors as a junior. This season, LaBrocca has started all 17 of RU's games and for his career, has missed just one start in his 76 career games. LaBrocca scored two goals this season from the midfield position, netting one against both Villanova and Syracuse, two BIG EAST teams. The midfielder also took 27 shots, the third-highest total on the team. His play and outstanding leadership for the Scarlet Knights helped the team advance to the semifinals of the conference tournament after.
The Scarlet Knights will face the No. 2 Mountaineers in the BIG EAST semifinals on Friday, Nov. 3, at 5:30 p.m. at Rutgers' Yurcak Field. Rutgers advanced to the semifinal round following the team's 2-1 quarterfinal defeat of No. 8 Notre Dame on Oct. 28.
