The Emory University Men's Soccer Team completed one of the best
seasons in the program's history in 2007, matching a school record
for wins in a season and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the
11th time in school history.
The Sonny Travis era of Emory soccer began on a high note, as the
Eagles finished the season with a 16-3-0 record (the 13th-best
winning percentage in the nation in 2007), marking the fifth time
in school history that the team has won 16 games, and the most wins
by Emory since the 2005 season. Emory's 62 assists is the
third-best total in school history, the 178 points scored are the
fifth best mark by an Eagles team, and the Eagles notched the
eighth-best mark in school history with 58 goals. The team
went 7-1-0 in home matches during the year.
After finishing the regular season 20th in the nation in goals per
game (3.05) and 26th in the country in goals against average
(0.67), the Eagles were one of seven teams in the 57-team field of
the NCAA tournament to receive a first-round bye. However,
the University of Redlands (Calif.) shocked the Eagles during their
second-round match, defeating Emory 1-0 with a goal in the final
minute of regulation at the Woodruff P.E. Center.
The Eagles completed one of their best seasons in conference
play. Despite falling just three points short of the
University Athletic Association (UAA) title, Emory won six UAA
games for the first time since 1998, marking a four-game
improvement from last season. During the season, the Eagles
led all UAA teams in goals scored, while the defense also limited
opponents to the fewest scores in the conference.
The 2007 season also saw the Eagles score eight or more goals in a
game twice in one year for the first time since 2005, and for just
the fourth time in school history. Emory defeated Piedmont
College (Ga.) and the University of the South (Tenn.) in
back-to-back games by 8-0 scores.
New head coach Sonny Travis won the 300th match of
his career during the Eagles' 4-0 win over Heidelberg College
(Ohio), becoming the 27th Division III head coach to do so.
The win came at the Adidas Invitational, hosted by Center College
(Ky.), where Travis began his coaching career.
Later in the season, Emory picked up a key in-region overtime win
over Greensboro College (N.C.). In the game, Emory received
an Alex Diego game-tying goal in the final two
minutes of regulation, followed by Patrick
McFarland's second ‘golden goal' of the season in
the overtime period.
Offensively, Emory was led by the two ‘Patricks,' junior
all-region forwards Patrick Carver and
Patrick McFarland. Carver led all Eagle
scorers during the year with 16 goals and 41 points, while
McFarland scored 12 goals of his own to go along with 12 assists
for 36 points. The pair was recorded the top-two scoring
outputs in the UAA during the season, and Carver became the sixth
Emory player to be named the UAA Player of the Year. Carver was
also named a first-team All-American, just the fourth player in
school history to earn the honor.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior goalkeeper Keith
Meehan matched a school record with 16 wins in goal, while
the defensive backfield of juniors Jacob Roche,
Andre Jakubowski, Jordan Edelman,
and Erik Laney held opponents to just 57 shots on
goal during the year.
The following Eagles received individual postseason honors in 2007:
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/ Adidas All-American | ||
Patrick Carver |
First Team |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) |
| ||
D3Kicks.com All-American | ||
Patrick Carver |
First Team |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) |
| ||
CoSIDA Academic All-American | ||
Patrick McFarland |
Second Team |
Franklin, TN (Centennial) |
| ||
NSCAA/ Adidas All-South Region | ||
Patrick Carver |
First Team |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) |
Marc Del Marmol |
Second Team |
Longwood, FL (Lake Brantley) |
Andre Jakubowski |
Second Team |
Winter Park, FL (Trinity Prep) |
Patrick McFarland |
Second Team |
Franklin, TN (Centennial) |
| ||
D3Kicks.com All-South Region | ||
Patrick Carver |
First Team |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) |
Marc Del Marmol |
Second Team |
Longwood, FL (Lake Brantley) |
Andre Jakubowski |
Second Team |
Winter Park, FL (Trinity Prep) |
Patrick McFarland |
Third Team |
Franklin, TN (Centennial) |
| ||
University Athletic Association Player of the Year | ||
Patrick Carver |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) | |
| ||
All-Conference (University Athletic Association) | ||
Patrick Carver |
First Team |
Springfield, MO (Parkview) |
Marc Del Marmol |
Second Team |
Longwood, FL (Lake Brantley) |
Andre Jakubowski |
Second Team |
Winter Park, FL (Trinity Prep) |
Patrick McFarland |
Second Team |
Franklin, TN (Centennial) |
Keith Meehan |
Second Team |
Tampa, FL (Jesuit) |
Alex Diego |
Honorable Mention |
Santa Cruz, CA (Santa Cruz) |
Jordan Edelman |
Honorable Mention |
Roslyn Heights, NY (The Wheatley School) |
| ||
CoSIDA Academic All-District | ||
Patrick McFarland |
First Team |
Franklin, TN (Centennial) |
Jordan Edelman |
First Team |
Roslyn Heights, NY (The Wheatley School) |
| ||
University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week | ||
Patrick Carver |
Sep. 25th, Oct. 2nd, Nov. 6th | |
Patrick McFarland |
Sep. 18th | |
Keith Meehan |
Oct. 9th | |
Andre Jakubowski |
Oct. 30 |