Nov. 8, 2016
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – In the midst of a stellar junior season that has seen his emergence as one of the leading scorers in NCAA Division I men’s soccer, University of Notre Dame forward Jon Gallagher was officially recognized as the 2016 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Offensive Player of the Year on Tuesday. Gallagher is the third Notre Dame player in the program’s four seasons of conference membership to be honored as the top ACC offensive performer, joining past MAC Hermann Trophy candidates Harrison Shipp (2013) and Patrick Hodan (2014).
Gallagher led four overall Notre Dame honorees included in the 2016 ACC season awards cycle, joining senior center back Brandon Aubrey on the all-ACC first team. Fifth-year senior midfielder/tri-captain Evan Panken was tabbed to the all-ACC third team, while midfielder Tommy McCabe earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman team.
After 19 starts thus far in 2016, Gallagher (Dundalk, Ireland) remains atop the ACC scoring charts with 12 goals and 31 points, adding the second-most assists in the conference with seven helpers. Notre Dame has posted a perfect 9-0 record this season when Gallagher tallies a goal, a campaign which has featured two-goal performances against UC Irvine (Aug. 26), Pittsburgh (Sept. 30) and No. 6 Indiana (Oct. 4). Playing in the nation’s top conference, Gallagher, whose point total was eight clear of his closest ACC peer at the time of voting, ranks fourth in the NCAA in shots per game (2.11), sixth in total points and eighth in total goals as of Nov. 7.
Aubrey (Plano, Texas) earned his first career all-conference scroll as the latest accolade in a breakout senior season on the Notre Dame back line. Aubrey, ranked third in the ACC with nine goals and fourth in the conference with 19 points, is the leading scorer among all league defenders and remains in the upper echelon of NCAA defenders in both categories in 2016. Notre Dame is 7-0-1 in matches this season where Aubrey has tallied at least one point, which included the first Notre Dame hat trick since 2012 during a 4-1 win over No. 15 Virginia Tech on Sept. 15. Aubrey was named the top overall player in the TopDrawerSoccer Upperclassmen Top 100 midseason rankings in October, and has also helped preside over eight Notre Dame team shutouts.
Like Aubrey, Panken (Edina, Minnesota) broke through for his first all-conference nod in his fourth year as a starter in the Notre Dame midfield. Through 19 starts in 2016, Panken has scored two game-winning goals and added six assists for the Irish offense, with his assists total ranking in a fourth-place tie in the ACC. Panken has also attempted the second-most shots for Notre Dame this season, connecting on 35 official attempts. Panken’s 22 career assists are tied for ninth in program history, while his 86 starts in an Irish uniform rank among the top 10 most appearances by any player in Notre Dame’s 40-year history at the varsity level.
McCabe (South Orange, New Jersey), a product of the United States Soccer Under-17 Residency Program, has started all 19 contests during his freshman season at Notre Dame. He has attempted 10 shots (one shot on goal), and logged his first career point with the primary assist on the opening Irish goal in a 3-2 win over Duke in the first round of the ACC Championship on Nov. 3. McCabe was previously named the number two player in the TopDrawerSoccer Freshmen Top 100 rankings that were unveiled in October.
No. 20 Notre Dame (11-6-2) awaits its seeding in the 2016 NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, with the full tournament bracket set to be unveiled live on NCAA.com at 1 p.m. (ET) on Nov. 14.
2016 ACC Men’s Soccer Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year – Jon Gallagher, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Midfielder of the Year – Ian Harkes, Sr., M, Wake Forest
Defensive Player of the Year – Miles Robinson, So., D, Syracuse
Freshman of the Year – Cam Lindley, Fr., M, North Carolina
Coach of the Year – Bobby Muuss, Wake Forest
2016 All-ACC Men’s Soccer Teams
First Team
Zeiko Lewis, Sr., F, Boston College
Tim Kubel, Jr., D, Louisville
Mohamed Thiaw, Jr., F, Louisville
Cam Lindley, Fr., M, North Carolina
Brandon Aubrey, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Jon Gallagher, Jr., F, Notre Dame
Chris Nanco, Sr., F, Syracuse
Miles Robinson, So., D, Syracuse
Alec Ferrell, Sr., G, Wake Forest
Ian Harkes, Sr., M, Wake Forest
Jacori Hayes, Sr., M, Wake Forest
Second Team
Diego Campos, Jr., F, Clemson
Oliver Shannon, Jr., M, Clemson
Brian White, Jr., F, Duke
Colton Storm, Sr., D, North Carolina
Alan Winn, Jr., F, North Carolina
Zach Wright, Jr., F, North Carolina
Julius Duchscherer, So., M, NC State
Pablo Aguilar, Jr., M, Virginia
Jeff Caldwell, Jr., G, Virginia
Edward Opoku, So., F, Virginia
Marcelo Acuna, Jr., F, Virginia Tech
Third Team
Patrick Bunk-Andersen, So., D, Clemson
Geoffrey Dee, Jr., M, Louisville
Daniel Johnson, Sr., M, Louisville
Walker Hume, Sr., D, North Carolina
James Pyle, So., G, North Carolina
Evan Panken, Gr., M, Notre Dame
Mo Adams, Fr., M, Syracuse
Jean-Christophe Koffi, So., M, Virginia
Sergi Nus, So., D, Virginia
Brad Dunwell, So., M, Wake Forest
Kevin Politz, Jr., D, Wake Forest
All-Freshman Team
Lasse Lehmann, Fr., M, Boston College
Malick Mbaye, Fr., D, Clemson
Tanner Dieterich, Fr., D, Clemson
Suniel Veerakone, Fr., M, Duke
Max Moser, Fr., M, Duke
Cam Lindley, Fr., M, North Carolina
Mauricio Pineda, Fr., M, North Carolina
Tommy McCabe, Fr., M, Notre Dame
Mo Adams, Fr., M, Syracuse
Robin Afamefuna, Fr., D, Virginia
Terrell Lowe, Fr., M, Virginia
Ema Twumasi, Fr., M, Wake Forest
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball and men’s soccer programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.