Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Places Four on Men's Soccer All-Region Team
12/10/2009 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 10, 2009
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Four members of the record-setting Bucknell men's soccer team earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors on Thursday, headed by first-team selection Conor O'Brien (Mt. Sinai, N.Y./St. Anthony's). Patrick Selwood (Darnestown, Md./The Heights School), a senior co-captain along with O'Brien, earned second-team honors, while junior Ross Liberati (Warwick, Md./Tower Hill School) and freshman Brendan Burgdorf (Westfield, N.J./The Pingry School) were third-team picks.
Bucknell's four selections were tied with Dayton for the most in the region. The Bison have now had an all-region honoree in each of the last eight years, with multiple selections in seven of those eight years. The Patriot League fared very well in the 2009 voting, with 12 of the 35 student-athletes on the three All-Mid-Atlantic teams coming from the conference.
The Bison were the Patriot League champions this fall and went on to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament while finishing with a program-record 17 victories. Co-captains O'Brien and Selwood were major reasons why.
O'Brien continues to pile up the postseason honors after wrapping up a banner career in Orange & Blue. In the last week he was named one of 15 semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, awarded to the national player of the year, and he was picked as a Third Team All-American by the Goal.com Website.
This is O'Brien's third all-region certificate after earning second-team honors in both 2007 and 2008. He is the first Bucknell player to earn first team all-region honors since Adam Edwards and Tim Faneck in 2005.
O'Brien this season became only the fourth player in Patriot League history to repeat as the league's Offensive Player of the Year. He was also a First Team All-Patriot League selection after leading the league in goals (11), assists (9) and points (31).
It was O'Brien's third All-Patriot League honor, as he was also a first-team selection in 2008 and a second-team pick as a sophomore in 2007. O'Brien had a point in 17 of the team's 23 games this season, and in 22 of 28 matches dating back to the end of the 2008 season. Seven of his 11 goals were game-winners, the most dramatic of which was his golden goal against Lafayette in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.
O'Brien wrapped up a brilliant career ranked second on Bucknell's career list for assists (25), sixth in points (77) and ninth in goals (26). He is the highest scoring Bison player in the last 20 years.
Selwood also enjoyed a terrific senior year for the Bison. He was named MVP of the Patriot League Tournament after leading the team to back-to-back 1-0 wins over Lafayette and American. In fact, Bucknell broke the school record for shutouts in a season with 12, with 10 of those coming by 1-0 margins.
Selwood was a First Team All-Patriot League defender in 2009 after earning second team honors as a junior. He was also named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Team for the second year in a row.
Selwood missed only one start in his last two seasons and was the leader of Bucknell's defense from his center back position. Selwood anchored a standout defense that had allowed only 17 goals in its first 22 games before conceding five to No. 2 Virginia in the NCAA Round of 32. Selwood was named to all-tournament teams in each of the five tournaments in which Bucknell played over the last two years, including the Nike Fall Classic, the Mayor's Cup and the Patriot League Tournament this season.
Liberati made his debut on both the All-Mid-Atlantic Region and All-Patriot League Teams this year. A hard-nosed defender who is one of the league's best in the air, Liberati missed only one start over the last two seasons. This season he played primarily center midfield, but also still played some on the back line. He earned all-tournament honors at the Mayor's Cup after helping the Bison to the title with 1-0 wins over Hartwick and Syracuse.
Liberati had two assists this season, and in his career he has five goals and three assists.
Burgdorf was one of only two freshmen on the All-Mid-Atlantic Team, joining fellow third-team pick Alex Sweetin of Saint Louis. Burgdorf enjoyed a sensational rookie year for the Bison, finishing with nine goals and two assists for 20 points. His goal and point totals ranked second in the Patriot League, behind only his teammate O'Brien.
Most notably, he scored the lone goal against American in the Patriot League championship match, then did the same thing in a 1-0 victory at Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. His nine goals were the most by a Patriot League freshman and ninth-most among all Division I freshmen in 2009, and the total was tied for second-most all-time by a Bucknell freshman. Scott Strasburg scored nine goals as a frosh in 1973, while Dave Domsohn set the program record with 18 in 1985. Strasburg and Domsohn are both members of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame.
