Georgetown’s Yaro, Allen named BIG EAST Preseason Players of the Year

WASHINGTON (Via Hoya Athletics) – The No. 3 Georgetown University men’s soccer team tied for first in the BIG EAST Conference Preseason Coaches Poll on Tuesday. Additionally, junior Joshua Yaro (Santa Barbara, Calif./Cate School) was the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and senior Brandon Allen (Old Bridge, N.J./St. Joseph) was named the BIG EAST Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

In a split vote between the BIG EAST Conference coaches, Creighton and Georgetown were picked to win the league’s title. Both the Bluejays and Hoyas tallied 77 points and five first place votes each.

The Hoyas had three players named Preseason All-BIG EAST as senior Keegan Rosenberry (Ronks, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) joined Yaro and Allen on the 12-man squad. Georgetown and Creighton were the only teams to have three honorees.

Last season, Allen was named third team All-American and was a first team all-region selection after another impressive campaign. He led the team in scoring with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points on the year. His goals include three game winners and a mark of 3-3 on penalty kicks. He ranked first in the BIG EAST Conference in goals and second in points as well as first in goals per game.

Allen was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29 and earned two nods to the Weekly Honor Roll. He currently ranks seventh in career points (86), sixth in career goals (38) and has ranked every year on the Hilltop in season goals.

In his career, Allen has been a three-time all-region and All-BIG EAST honoree as well as the national and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

Yaro, a 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, was named First Team All-American and First Team All-Great Lakes Region last season. The 2014 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year was also a unanimous selection to the first team. He was a key part of Georgetown’s 10 shutouts in 2014, including a league-best six in the nine conference games played. He also got into the action on offense with an assist coming at Princeton. Yaro earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors on three occasions last season and was a member of the Preseason All-BIG EAST squad.

His sophomore year was a breakout season with conference, regional and national honors, marking the first in his career.

Already this season, both Allen and Yaro have been named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List and TopDrawerSoccer.com’s Preseason Best XI First Team.

Rosenberry was named Third Team All-Great Lakes Region and to the BIG EAST Second Team for the second-consecutive season at the end of conference play. Rosenberry helped the Hoyas to 10 shutouts including a league-best six in conference play. On offense, he managed a goal at DePaul and an assist in the victory over Wisconsin. Rosenberry was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13.

Rosenberry and Yaro are two of the four captains for the 2015 season.

Georgetown is in the midst of preseason training. The team downed Syracuse University, 3-0, in their its exhibition game on Saturday and fell, 2-1, to Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union earlier this morning in Chester, Pa.