Manful Named National Player Of The Year; Four Earn All-American Honors
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine senior Chris Manful (Baltimore, Md./Woodlawn) was named United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Soccer National Player of the Year on Thursday night during the association's end-of-year award banquet. Manful was one of four Brandywine all-Americans and was joined on the first team by Elijah DeBooth (West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) and Raymond Kelly (Middletown, Del./Middletown), while Christian Zavala (Kennett Square, Pa./Kennett) earned honorable mention accolades.
Manful, who was also named Penn State University Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the second-straight season, is the fourth Brandywine student-athlete to claim national player of the year honors, joining Bryce Barrouk (men's basketball), Nikki Velez (women's basketball) and Brianna Banks (women's soccer).
Manful enters the USCAA Tournament tied for the national lead in goals with 26 and ranks second in the USCAA after accumulating 60 points. In 15 matches against USCAA opposition this season, Manful has tallied 23 goals and five assists.
In USCAA victories over Central Penn and Christendom, Manful recorded a season-high four goals. Those were two of his seven multi-goal efforts in 22 total matches. He registered at least one point in 16 games, including eight-straight entering Saturday's first USCAA Tournament match.
In two seasons at Brandywine, Manful compiled 64 goals and 17 assists for 145 points. As a junior he topped the USCAA by scoring 38 goals.
DeBooth made 12 starts in goal for the Lions, also earning All-PSUAC honors for the first time. He posted a record of 8-3-2 with 54 saves.
DeBooth's eight victories tied him for fourth nationally, while ranking sixth with a .818 save percentage. He posted three shutouts and combined on four more, allowing just 12 goals in nearly 1,050 minutes in net this fall.
During the last three seasons, DeBooth has made 45 appearances for Brandywine, producing a record of 27-4-5 with 14 shutouts.
Kelly anchored the Brandywine defense, starting all 22 matches on the Lions' back line. He aided the Lions' defense in amassing a USCAA-leading 16 clean sheets this fall. The Lions have not yielded a goal since Oct. 7, a streak of 10-straight matches.
Now a three-time all-American and two-time first teamer, Kelly was also one of the top point-producing defenders in the USCAA this fall. He stands third on the team with nine goals and 23 total points. Of his 23 points, 20 came in matches against USCAA foes.
Kelly has started 69 matches for the Lions in three seasons, tallying 22 goals and seven assists.
Zavala earned the first all-American award of his career after competing in 19 matches in the midfield this season. He produced his lone goal in the regular-season finale at Penn State Mont Alto and is fourth on the team with six assists. Zavala collected three helpers in a win over Gallaudet in October and handed out two assists against Penn State Greater Allegheny two weeks later.
During his 67-match career, Zavala has tallied 11 goals and 19 assists for 41 points.
Brandywine (17-3-2) will compete at the USCAA Tournament for the seventh-straight year beginning with Saturday's first pool play match at 3:30 PM.
