Dec. 6, 2011

Kansas City, Missouri - Twenty-four men's soccer coaches at NCAA institutions, including Fordham's Jim McElderry, have been recognized by their peers with the announcement of the 2011 NSCAA/Mondo Regional Coaches of the Year. McElderry was named the Division I Middle Atlantic Regional Coach of the Year.

These coaches will be joined by those coaches whose teams advanced to the NCAA semifinals on the ballot for NSCAA/Mondo National Coach of the Year in their respective divisions.

Recipients of the national award will be announced at the annual Awards Banquet, to be held on Friday, Jan. 13, 2012, at the Kansas City Convention Center in conjunction with the 2012 NSCAA Convention.

Under McElderry's direction, Fordham captured a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title for the first time in school history this past season. The Rams accomplished this with a 7-2 mark in league play, earning a spot in the Atlantic 10 Championship as the number one overall seed. Overall, the Rams compiled an 11-7-1 record. During the year, the Rams faced three ranked opponents and defeated two of them, #23 Xavier, who went on to win the A-10 Championship, and #10 Charlotte, who advanced to the NCAA Men's Soccer College Cup this weekend. It marked the first time in a quarter-century that Fordham beat a pair of top-25 teams in the same season. These wins helped Fordham earn an RPI of 60 at the end the season.

Among individual accomplishments, seven Fordham players were selected to the All-Conference team, led by senior goalkeeper Ryan Meara and sophomore midfielder Nathaniel Bekoe who were both named First Team All-Atlantic 10. Meara also took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award and was named to the Herman Trophy Watch List, awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top male and female college soccer players. Other honorees included Second Team All-Atlantic 10 selections, Tim Richardson, John Niyonsaba, and Ryan Curran, All-Rookie Team pick Jack-Tim Murphy, and All-Academic pick Aaron Markowitz.