FOREST, Va. --- Virginia Wesleyan University garnered a league-best nine all-conference selections while Washington and Lee University and the University of Lynchburg split recognition for special individual honors to highlight the 2024 All-ODAC Men's Soccer Awards.
WLU mentor
Lumumba Shabazz received ODAC Coach of the Year laurels from his peers, while Generals forward
Weyimi Agbeyegbe secured back-to-back ODAC Offensive Player of the Year plaudits. WLU keeper
Will Joseph earned the ODAC/Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year award from the league's athletic communications personnel.
Lynchburg's strong defense garnered the remaining two special honors. Centerback
Benjamin Velasquez received his second straight nod as the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year, while fellow backline mate
William Casey took home ODAC Rookie of the Year distinction.
Thirty-seven stars earned recognition combined between the 2024 All-ODAC First, Second, and Third Teams. That includes 18 repeat honorees from last season featuring seven standouts from the 2023 first team, eight from the second team, and three from the third team.
Agbeyegbe, a senior from Atlanta, Ga., makes it three straight years with Generals earning the ODAC's top offensive player award as this is his second straight honor to go along with Michael Kutsanzira's recognition in 2022. Agbeyegbe is the Generals all-time career leader in points (120) and ranks third in career goals scored (48) entering the NCAA tournament. Those numbers would currently tie for sixth and ninth, respectively, on the ODAC career charts. Ahead of Saturday's first round game, Agbeyegbe leads the ODAC in points (34) and goals scored (14), while his six assists rank third. He has registered at least one point in 10-of-20 games played.
Shabazz is in his first season holding the reins of the Washington and Lee men's program. This is his 13th campaign as a collegiate head coach after spending the previous dozen seasons guiding the Kalamazoo College men's program. Shabazz's Generals are currently the 21st-ranked team in the country and own Division III's 18th-best NCAA Power Index (NPI) rating entering the NCAA tournament. WLU boasts a 13-3-4 (.750) overall record following its 1-0 at Lynchburg last Saturday to claim its eighth ODAC men's soccer title and second in three seasons. Shabazz owns a 113-85-32 (.561) career record ahead of the Generals' first round contest against Otterbein University on Saturday at Johns Hopkins University.
Joseph, a junior from Wilmette, Ill., combines the ODAC/VAFB scholar-athlete award with his third All-ODAC selection, this time to the third team after a first team choice in 2023 and a second team nod in 2022. In the classroom, Joseph maintains a 3.98 grade point average as an accounting and classics double major. The four-time W&L Scholar Athlete and two-time ODAC All-Academic Team honoree earned the 2023 NCAA Elite 90 Award as the player with the highest grade point average at the Division III championship venue. He previously earned VaSID Academic All-State and College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Laurels. Joseph, who owns his own childcare business, serves as an aide for special education children through TOP Soccer Program. He also coaches youth goalkeepers for Rockbridge County High School in Lexington and has worked as a volunteer assistant coach for Camp Shutout, the largest goalkeeper camp in the country.
On the pitch, Joseph has helped Washington and Lee allow just 18 goals for a 0.90 goals against average this season. He is third in the ODAC with a 0.921 individual GAA powered by seven shutouts. He owns a .757 save percentage while making 56 saves. The three-time All-ODAC keeper has registered the second-most (21) shutouts in WLU program history and is the only player with six or more shutouts in three separate seasons in Generals history.
Velasquez, a junior from Dale City, Va., and Casey, a first-year from Chapel Hill, N.C., not only spearhead the least scored on defense in the ODAC, but they are key contributors offensively, especially on set pieces. Lynchburg's duo has helped the nationally 24th-ranked Hornets allow just 10 goals all season including only five in official conference contests. They have registered 11 clean sheets powering a 0.53 opponent scoring average and 1.00 scoring margin per game. The Hornes have allowed more than one goal in a game just two times this year.
Velasquez is the first back-to-back winner of the ODAC Defensive Player of the Year award since the league's coaches first recognized the honor in 2022. He got forward to register three assists this season. Casey is only the fourth ODAC ROY winner from Lynchburg with each award earned since 2011. He got forward to score two goals and assist on three others.
Below is the full set of All-ODAC Men's Soccer Awards.
2024 ALL-ODAC MEN'S SOCCER AWARDS
ODAC Offensive Player of the Year: Weyimi Agbeyegbe, Sr., F, Washington and Lee
ODAC Defensive Player of the Year: Benjamin Velasquez, Jr., D, Lynchburg
ODAC Coach of the Year: Lumumba Shabazz, Washington and Lee
ODAC Rookie of the Year: William Casey, Fy., D, Lynchburg
ODAC/Va. Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete: Will Joseph, Jr., GK, Washington and Lee
| ALL-ODAC FIRST TEAM |
| Michael Ramsey |
Sr. |
F |
Roanoke |
| Chinedu Ikem * |
Jr. |
F |
Shenandoah |
| Nolan Schulte |
So. |
F |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Weyimi Agbeyegbe * |
Sr. |
F |
Washington and Lee |
| Manzi Shalita ^ |
Gr. |
M |
Lynchburg |
| Zach Whelan + |
5th |
M |
Lynchburg |
| Nathan Yared * |
Sr. |
M |
Shenandoah |
| Alex Moody * |
Gr. |
M |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Benjamin Velasquez * |
Jr. |
D |
Lynchburg |
| Aaron Deans |
Jr. |
D |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| PJ Ryan * |
Sr. |
D |
Washington and Lee |
| Thomas Viscuso ^ |
Jr. |
GK |
Lynchburg |
|
|
|
|
| ALL-ODAC SECOND TEAM |
| Riley Queen + |
So. |
F |
Bridgewater |
| Charlie Letson |
Jr. |
F |
Hampden-Sydney |
| Kyle Welch |
Sr. |
F |
Shenandoah |
| Jaques Lavielle |
Jr. |
M |
Hampden-Sydney |
| Ryan Pidgeon |
Sr. |
M |
Roanoke |
| Lucas Pleasants |
Sr. |
M |
Washington and Lee |
| Dmitri Tulloch |
So. |
M |
Washington and Lee |
| Justin Varela + |
Sr. |
D |
Hampden-Sydney |
| William Casey |
Fy. |
D |
Lynchburg |
| Josh Condit ^ |
Sr. |
D |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Josh Nevins |
So. |
D |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Ben Haynes |
So. |
GK |
Virginia Wesleyan |
|
|
|
|
| ALL-ODAC THIRD TEAM |
| Daniel Starr ^ |
5th |
F |
Averett |
| Walker Stebbings |
Jr. |
F |
Hampden-Sydney |
| Kenny Robles |
5th |
F |
Lynchburg |
| Zach Bittler ^ |
Jr. |
F |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Carter Laatsch |
Jr. |
M |
Roanoke |
| Ilan Mejia ^ |
Jr. |
M |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Gio Zizza |
Fy. |
M |
Virginia Wesleyan |
| Matthew Jenkins |
So. |
M |
Washington and Lee |
| Oliver Kousholt ^ |
Sr. |
D |
Averett |
| Will Fatzinger |
Jr. |
D |
Roanoke |
| Spencer Furman |
So. |
D |
Washington and Lee |
| Willy Hall ^ |
Jr. |
D |
Washington and Lee |
| Will Joseph * |
Jr. |
GK |
Washington and Lee |
|
|
|
|
* 2023 All-ODAC First Team (7)
^ 2023 All-ODAC Second Team (8)
+ 2023 All-ODAC Third Team (3) |