Dec. 28, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame junior forward Joseph Lapira (Lake Charles, La./Saint Louis Catholic) has earned the Sports Illustrated On Campus (SIOC) Male U Award for the fall of 2006. Taking home the female honor was North Carolina soccer player Heather O’Reilly. The awards go to the student-athletes who best represent the spirit of intercollegiate athletics.
This is one of many postseason honors for Lapira, who led the nation in points with 50 and goals with 22 during the 2006 campaign. He won the Missouri Athletic Club (M.A.C.) Hermann Trophy on Dec. 2. The M.A.C. Hermann Trophy is the official player of the year award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The junior forward became the first player in the history of the Notre Dame men’s program to be named the national player of the year from any organization.
Lapira also was named the Soccer America Men’s Player of the Year along with being selected as one of 11 Soccer America MVPs for the 2006 season. Along with those honors, College Soccer News tabbed Lapira as a first-team All-American.
The Louisiana native took home BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year honors and was a unanimous choice on the all-BIG EAST first team. Lapira appeared in all 23 matches this season, making 20 starts. He notched 11 game-winners, including two in this year’s NCAA Tournament to help lead the Fighting Irish into the quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Notre Dame finished the season with a 15-6-2 record and ranked 6th in the final NSCAA/adidas poll. That marks the highest final NSCAA/adidas ranking ever for the Fighting Irish program. The previous best was eighth in 2003.
To read the si.com story on Lapira go to: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/sioncampus/12/27/uaward.lapira/index.html
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