Orange Celebration! Student-Athletes Honored at Ninth Annual 'Cuse Awards

(4/28/2015) 2015 Cuse Awards

With another record-breaking year for Syracuse Athletics, student-athletes, coaches, and administrators gathered to celebrate the remarkable successes of many at the ninth annual 'Cuse Awards held at the Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center.

Soccer standout Alex Bono, the NSCAA First Team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, earned the Male Athlete of the Year award. Bono set the school single-season records for shutouts (12), goals-against average (0.55) and minutes played (1,949). The sixth overall pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft, Bono was also invited to train with the U.S. Senior National Team.

First-team All-American Emma Russell won the Female Athlete of the Year honor after leading the field hockey team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament final. Russell led the team in scoring and scored an ACC Tournament record six goals for the tournament, including four in a single game. The First-team All-ACC honoree finished the 2014 season with 46 points on 21 goals and four assists. Her 46 points rank sixth in program history for most points in a single season.

Field hockey coach Ange Bradley took home the Women's Coach of the Year award after leading the Orange to its first-ever NCAA final appearance this past season. In the program's second season in the ACC, Bradley also led the team to the ACC Tournament final and coached two first team All-Americans, Alyssa Manley and Emma Russell.

Men's soccer coach Ian McIntyre received the Men's Coach of the Year award. He led Syracuse to a 16-4-1 record and a share of the ACC Atlantic Division title. This past season, the men's soccer team was ranked in the top five for seven straight weeks, and reached No. 1 for the first time in school history. McIntyre was named the ACC Coach of the Year and the NSCAA South Region Coach of the Year after leading the Orange to the NCAA Round of 16 for the second time in three years.

The field hockey team earned the Female Team of the Year award after advancing to its first-ever NCAA Tournament final this past season. The team also celebrated defeating No. 1 North Carolina in a penalty shootout in the national semifinals, and advanced to the ACC Tournament final for the first time in school history.

The men's cross country team received the award for Men's Team of the Year, posting a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships, its best finish in nearly 60 years, and winning its second straight ACC Championship. This past season, the squad peaked at No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Rankings, the highest rank in the history of the program.

The 2015 Doris Soladay Awards were presented to seniors Komal Safdar and Sam Rodgers. Established in 1995 in honor of former Associate Athletic Director Doris R. Soladay, the award is considered the most prestigious honor given to a student-athlete by the Department of Athletics. It recognizes accomplishments in athletic competition, leadership and community engagement.

A four-year tennis letterwinner, Safdar has played in every match this season, while serving as the SAAC President and dedicating 40 hours per week in a clinical research lab. She is also the recipient of the 2014-15 ACC Post-Graduate Scholarship.

For the past four years, Rodgers has served as the Orange football team's long snapper, playing in every game of his collegiate career. He was elected team captain for the 2014 season, becoming one of two FBS snappers to be elected as a team captain. Off the field, Rodgers serves as the president of the Syracuse University chapter of Uplifting Athletes, and is a student leader of the Syracuse University Fellowship of Christian Athletes. For the past two years, Rodgers has participated in mission trips to Haiti with family and other Syracuse student-athletes, assisting with projects and working with children at an orphanage. A 2014 All-ACC Academic Team honoree, Rodgers has been a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll all eight semesters. He is also the recipient of the 2014-15 ACC Post-Graduate Scholarship, and was named a 2014 AFCA Good Works Team recipient.

Safdar and men's cross country student-athlete Reed Kamyszek earned the inaugural 'Cuse Scholar Awards for having the highest overall GPA.

The tennis team won the Team Grade Point Average Award for the highest GPA of the year.

Shaina Harrison won the Female Performance of the Year after winning the 60 meter dash at the ACC Indoor Championships, setting a school record time of 7.31. Cross country standout Martin Hehir won the Male Performance of the Year for his first-place finish in the ACC Cross Country Championships.

The field hockey team's unforgettable upset against No. 1 North Carolina in the NCAA Semifinals won Game of the Year. The victory led the squad to the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament Final.

Skylar Thomas of the men's soccer team won Play of the Year after making the game-winning goal against No. 2 Virginia this past season. Thomas was a first-round draft pick in the 2015 Major League Soccer SuperDraft.

Men's Soccer Mid-Fielder/Forward Emmanuel Gogo Kollie was honored with the Syracuse Eight Award of Courage. Once a refugee in Guinea, Kollie persevered through moving to America and learning to adapt to American culture and schooling to become a breakout soccer player in high school and eventually at SU. After the recent loss of his mother this year, Kollie is now awaiting graduation so that he can make her proud.

The Female and Male Rookie of the Year honors went to field hockey student-athlete Leike Visser and cross country/track & field student-athlete Justyn Knight. Visser was named to the Longstreth/NFHCA All-America Third Team and the All-Mideast Region First Team. During the 2014 season, she ranked second on the team in scoring with 39 points on 11 goals and 17 assists. Visser was also an All-ACC Third Team honoree. Knight, the 2014 Pan-Am Games Cross Country Champion, also was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and ACC Freshman Performer of the Year after an eighth-place finish at the ACC Championships.

The women's soccer team received the Cuse Cares Award for most outstanding community service. This past year the team contributed extensively to the Syracuse community, participating in Otto-Thon, leading the Breast Cancer Awareness Game for men's soccer, packing Easter baskets for children at Golisano Children's Hospital, and being named the top contributors for the Annual Toy Drive.

Syracuse University Athletics

Orange Celebration! Student-Athletes Honored at Ninth Annual 'Cuse Awards

Players Mentioned

Alex Bono

Shaina Harrison

Martin Hehir

Martin Hehir

Reed Kamyszek

Justyn Knight

Justyn Knight

Gogo Kollie

Alyssa Manley

Sam Rodgers

Emma Russell

Komal Safdar

Skylar Thomas

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