NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- Fresh off claiming its first Big West South Division since 2012, the CSUN men's soccer team took home a bevy of awards on the 2016 All-Big West Team, highlighted by senior Patrick Hickman winning Defensive Player of the Year, senior Kevin Marquez winning Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Terry Davila earning Coach of the Year honors. Hickman and Marquez were joined by Juan Fernando Samayoa on the First Team All-Big West while senior Gabe Robinson and junior Emmanuel Usen Jr. received Honorable Mention All-Big West and Edwin Quiroz was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team.Â
Patrick Hickman
CSUN has now had the past two Big West Defensive Player of the Year honors after Hickman earned the award. Originally from Columbia, SC, Hickman anchored a CSUN backline that finished unblemished at home (5-0-2) during the 2016 season. The Matadors also produced three clean sheets, all of which came against Big West opposition and Hickman is the third Matadors since 2012 to claim the top defensive honor among Big West players (Joe Franco, 2012; Trevor Morley, 2015).
"I am extremely honored and proud to receive the award and for this team. As a team, we talked earlier today about how all these awards that have come in are really representative of a great effort by the entire team. We defend as a team and I am lucky to have people like Gabe and Kevin and a host of others supporting me and the rest of the squad," said Hickman. "The match against UCR on Senior Night was unbelievable. It was an amazing night and experience and the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people. I was proud to see Sam get the game-winning goal after helping us tremendously as a true freshman. I feel like we are getting stronger as a team with each match and we have a positive mindset no matter what adversity we may face."
Offensively, Hickman has scored a career-high three goals in 2016. He headed home the game-winning goal against Sacramento State and had they game-tying goal at Cal Poly. He added his third of the season in a 3-1 home victory over UC Irvine and clinched a berth in the Big West Tournament. Hickman also had one assist on the year, flicking a header to Samuel Dadzie on the back post that led to CSUN's 1-0 victory over UC Riverside to win the Big West South Division. Hickman earned Honorable Mention All-Big West honors as a sophomore and junior. Â
Kevin Marquez
Marquez has had a sensation season in net for the Matadors and earned the top goalkeeper award for the league. He has played every second this season and sports a 1.21 goals-against average, 89 saves and a .795 save percentage. Against Big West opposition, Marquez posted a 1.03 GAA, 59 saves and an .817 save percentage in 10 matches. He ranks among the NCAA Division I leaders in saves, save percentage and minutes.Â
"None of these awards would be possible without the help of everyone surrounding me. I want to thank my coaches, teammates, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches and everyone else who contributed to the team's success this year," said Marquez.Â
He posted a career-high nine saves in a 1-1 draw with Cal State Fullerton and had seven stops in a draw at Cal Poly and in a double-overtime victory against Air Force. He also had five games of six saves and his 89 stops are the sixth-most in program history and the most by a Matador since 2003. Marquez recorded his first career clean sheet in a 1-0 victory over Sacramento State and in both of CSUN's 1-0 victories over UC Riverside. On Halloween, Marquez earned the final Big West Defensive Player of the Week award after his performances in a draw at Cal State Fullerton and 1-0 victory over UCR on Senior Night. Â
Juan Fernando Samayoa
Samayoa has been the offensive leader for the Matadors in 2016, pacing CSUN with six goals, six assists and 18 points. He has connected on five penalty kicks on the season, including a pair from the spot in a win over UC Davis. He also scored a penalty kick goal in draws with CSUB and San Diego and in a 4-3 loss to UC Irvine. His sixth goal came off a free kick to cement a 3-1 CSUN victory over UC Irvine to clinch a berth in the Big West Tournament.Â
"Today has been exciting and I am really happy for everyone on the team," said Samayoa. "I definitely wanted to get back to the First or Second All-Big West Team before I graduated and I am proud to have accomplished a goal I set before the season. I really did it for my dad and I am happy to make him proud."
For his career, Samayoa has amassed seven goals and 12 assists with the playoffs beckoning. He recorded a pair of assists in a 3-1 victory over UCI, finishing the night with four points. He recorded the game-tying assist in draws with Cal Poly and Cal State Fullerton and Samayoa recorded the primary assist on Papi Diouf's goal eight seconds into the 2-1 season-opening victory over Tulsa, the second-fastest goal in NCAA Division I history.Â
In his final season with the Matadors, Robinson has been another stout defender and earned Honorable Mention honors. The team's throw-in specialist, Robinson helped produce three notable tosses that resulted in Matador goals. Hickman got his head on a heave in a 1-0 victory over Sac State, Dadzie and defender met at the apex of one his throws resulting in the game-tying goal and most recently, his toss was flicked by Hickman to Dadize for the Big West South Division title-winning overtime goal. He also recorded his second career goal in a 4-1 victory at CSUB and he has started all 17 matches in which he has appeared.Â
Usen Jr. has made an immediate impact as a transfer from IUPUI. A Houston native, Usen Jr. recorded four assists on the year, helping set up several notable goals. On Diouf's goal at eight seconds, Usen Jr. started the play with a kickoff touch back to Samayoa. He also had an assist in a 2-1 double-overtime victory against Air Force and added helpers against CSUB and UC Irvine. Usen Jr. has started all 15 games in which he has appeared and he has 15 shots on the season.Â
A rookie from Lancaster, Quiroz finished the regular season with a goal and an assist. He scored his first career goal in a loss at UC Santa Barbara and then assisted on Dre Deas' goal in a contest at UC Irvine. Quiroz has appeared in all 18 Â matches and made 15 starts in his freshman campaign.
Finally, Davila won his sixth Big West Coach of the Year Award and his first since 2012. The Matadors were picked in a tie with UC Irvine for second in the Big West South Division in the Preseason Coaches Poll. After guiding the Matadors through a difficult and eventful non-conference slate that often sent CSUN to some challenging destinations, CSUN rallied in league action to claim the South Division. CSUN kicked off the campaign with home wins over UC Davis and Sacramento State and then added a draw at Cal Poly to post seven points against North Division foes. Against their South Division rivals, CSUN swept the season series with UC Riverside for the second-straight year and played to a pair of draws with Cal State Fullerton. After a tough 4-3 loss to UCI, the Matadors responded with a decisive 3-1 win against the Anteaters that secured a berth in the Big West Tournament. Davila also won the award in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009 as well.Â
The Matadors have a bye until the Big West Semifinals, which they will host at Matador Soccer Field on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. CSUN will face either Sacramento State or UC Riverside after those squads meet in Sacramento on Saturday, Nov. 5.Â
