Men's Soccer 2015 Season Recap

The Emory University men's soccer program ended the 2015 season with a 9-6-2 overall record, the 15th straight season with a winning percentage of .500 or better. The team went 3-3-1 during UAA play to finish fourth in the association standings.

Of the nine victories, three came against teams that made the NCAA Tournament as the Eagles went 3-2 vs. such teams. Two of those wins were against UAA foes, the University of Chicago and then-ranked #17 Washington University and were two of the more dramatic victories on the season. On October 3rd at the Maroons, senior Sebastian Hardington netted the golden goal in the 102nd minute to help the Eagles get off on the right foot in conference play. The 1-0 decision against Chicago was also a historic moment for the program as senior goalkeeper Abe Hannigan earned his 22nd shutout to become the all-time leader. A week later on October 10th, sophomore Christian Meyer scored the decisive goal in the 81st minute to break the scoreless tie with the Bears. Both wins came on the back end of Emory's season-long six game win streak.

Another season highlight came on September 23rd when Head Coach Sonny Travis collected his 400th career victory. He became just the 18th coach to reach the 400 wins milestone in Division III history and just the 39th coach to do so in all of NCAA men's soccer. An own goal gave the Eagles an early 1-0 lead in the second minute of the contest. Emory would hold onto the win but the Tigers did not make it easy. In the closing minutes, Sewanee had several extremely close chances but senior defender Matt Sherr made two incredible diving saves to preserve the 1-0 win.

Offensively, Emory was led by Hardington who tied for the team lead with five goals despite missing the final four games due to an injury. He was tied with Meyer, who experienced a breakthrough campaign in 2015, and became one of the go-to options on offense for the Eagles. Sherr finished third on the team in goals (4) and points (10), both career-highs, despite playing the majority of minutes at the center back position. Emory also saw the emergence of freshman forward Moustafa Khattab who tied for fourth on the squad with four points. Khattab led all rookies in every offensive category.

For the defensive unit, the backline led by Sherr posted eight shutouts and a 0.73 goals-against average during the season, a mark that ranked 42nd among 412 Division III schools. Five of the eight shutouts came during the Eagles' six-game win streak, all in succession. Emory did not allow a goal over 517:26 minutes of action, all with Hannigan between the posts. The streak was the third longest in team history and longest streak of Hannigan's career.

In addition to his success and honors for his play on the field this season, Sherr also earned CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team and NSCAA Scholar All-America Second Team honors for the first time in his career based on his athletic and academic performance. He was named Academic All-District as well for the second straight season. Sherr became the all-time leader in minute in program history on Senior Night against Brandeis on October 30th.

The Eagles will lose a large senior class as eight seniors will graduate in the spring but the 2016 season looks promising as many underclassman saw valuable minutes over the course of the season. Emory will also return key sophomores Meyer and Jason McCartney who were both named to the All-UAA Second Team for the first time in their careers.

 

The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2015 season: 

D3Soccer.com All-America
Matt Sherr		Third Team		Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
Jewish Sports Review All-America
Matt Sherr		Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
NSCAA South Atlantic All-Region
Matt Sherr		First Team		Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
All-University Athletic Association (UAA)
Matt Sherr	First Team		Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
Christian Meyer	Second Team		Hinsdale, IL (Hinsdale Central)
Jason McCartney	Second Team		Raleigh, NC (Enloe)
Sebastian Hardington	Honorable Mention		Jacksonville, FL (Episcopal)
Abe Hannigan	Honorable Mention		Montrose, NY (Hendrick Hudson)
CoSIDA Academic All-America
Matt Sherr		First Team		Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
NSCAA Scholar All-America
Matt Sherr			Second Team	Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
CoSIDA Academic All-District
Matt Sherr	Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
Sonny Carter Invitational All-Tournament Team
Matt Sherr	Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)
Sebastian Hardington	Jacksonville, FL (Episcopal)
Scott Haley	St. Simon's Island, GA (Frederica Academy)
Georges Daoud	Columbus, OH (Columbus Academy)
UAA Athletes of the Week
Abe Hannigan	Montrose, NY (Hendrick Hudson)		Oct. 5
Matt Sherr	Roslyn, NY (Roslyn)		Oct. 12, Nov. 9
Leo Ragazzo	Jacksonville, FL (Bolles)		Oct. 26
Austin Mirabella	Palo Alto, CA (Woodside Priory)		Nov. 9
HERO Sports Studs of the Week
Abe Hannigan		Montrose, NY (Hendrick Hudson)		Oct. 7
Leo Ragazzo		Jacksonville, FL (Bolles)		Oct. 28

 

2015 Emory team leaders:

Goals	Sebastian Hardington & Christian Meyer	5
Assists	Nick Schook	3
Points	Christian Meyer	11
Game Winning Goals	Christian Meyer	3
Shots	Sebastian Hardington	31
Shots on Goal	Sebastian Hardington	18
Wins	Abe Hannigan	8
Saves	Abe Hannigan	38
Shutouts	Abe Hannigan	6
Goals Against Average*	Abe Hannigan	0.79

                *Minimum 900 Minutes

 

Emory in the final NCAA Division III statistical rankings (out of 412 ranked teams):

Category	Rank	Total
Scoring Offense	289th	1.29
Total Goals	290th	22
Team Goals Against Average	42nd	0.73
Shutout Percentage	57th	0.47
Won-Lost-Tied Percentage	144th	.588
Assists Per Game	211th	1.12
Saves Per Game	401st	2.29
Points Per Game	265th	3.71
Save Percentage	221st	.750
Total Assists	225th	19
Total Points	279th	63

Eagles in the final NCAA Division III individual statistical rankings (top-200 players ranked):

Goals Against Average	Abe Hannigan	53rd	0.789
Game-Winning Goals	Christian Meyer	154th	3