BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a school and league record tenth consecutive winning season, and sixth straight appearance in the Patriot League Tournament, Lehigh was honored for its play, placing three players on the NSCAA/Adidas Mid-Atlantic Regional All-American Team, in seniors Adam Williamson and Jim Stevens on the First-Team and junior John O’Reilly on the Third-Team. Each of these Mountain Hawks was a First-Teal All-Patriot League selection this season with Williamson garnering Offensive Player of the Year accolades. This marks the ninth consecutive year that Lehigh, which once again finished the season ranked in the Mid-Atlantic top-ten, has placed a player on the All-Region team and the seventh time out of those nine years that more than one player was chosen. The three selections are also the most since 2001 when the Brown and White landed four players on the team.
Head Coach Dean Koski, who has more victories than any coach in school history with 123, offers his thoughts on the three selections. “It is a significant achievement for a program to have representation on the All-Region team and to have three players recognized is even better.” Koski continues, “I am very pleased for and proud of John, Adam and Jimmy for their achievements this past season and this distinction is well deserved for each of them. They have represented our program to the highest standards on and off the field and I am very excited to see their hard work rewarded.”
Williamson joined Evan Bruno (’00 and ’02) and Andrew Mittendorf (’97 and ’98) as the only other Mountain Hawks in school history to be honored as the league’s Offensive Player of the Year. The accounting major also becomes just the third Lehigh player since 1986, along with Kyle Boschen (’89, ‘91) and Bruno (’01, ’02) to be named a First-Team All-Region selection twice in his career. Despite drawing the opposition’s best defender on most nights, the New Jersey native still managed to score six goals, including two game-winners, and handed out five assists this season. For his career, Williamson netted 12 goals, handed out 15 assists, and totaled 39 points. He is a two-time All-League selection, and was a First-Team All-Region pick in 2004. Recently Williamson added another line to his soccer resume, as he was named the South Jersey College Player of the Year by the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association.
Stevens developed into one of the Patriot League’s most potent offensive players this season. The 6’ 7” forward tied for first in the league with 20 points and nine goals, and tied for sixth in game-winning goals with two. Stevens scored two goals in back-to-back matches in mid-October, earning himself a spot on the College Soccer News Team of the Week, and also recorded a hat trick versus Temple in early September. Stevens was a two-time All-League selection, garnering Second-Team status in 2004, and First-Team accolades this season.
Helping to anchor Lehigh’s nationally ranked defense, O’Reilly also did his fair share of damage on the offensive side of things. The Massachusetts native led the league in game-winning goals with four, and was a perfect three-of-three on penalty kicks this season. On defense, O’Reilly helped to lead the Brown and White “D”, which was without senior Elliot Leonard for the majority of the year, to a national ranking of 11th in goals against average and seven shut outs. For his efforts, O’Reilly was named to the All-Patriot League First-Team.
