Matt LaBarre '04 was named the 2000 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Wednesday after leading the Big Green men's soccer team in scoring in his first season. LaBarre scored seven goals and had six assists in 17 games, which was also good for third in the Ivy League in scoring.
"It feels great," LaBarre told The Dartmouth. "This whole season has been a great experience."
LaBarre, a forward, also earned a spot on the second-team All-Ivy squad, along with defenseman Scott Lish '03.
"I played defense in high school so I had no idea I'd be playing up front," LaBarre said. But with his superior height on offense, he could "get the chance to head the ball into the goal this year."
Team co-Captain Nick Magnuson '01 earned first-team All-Ivy honors -- the first Dartmouth player so recognized in two seasons.
"It's an honor to be recognized at such a level," Magnuson told The Dartmouth. "I saw that we had only one player on the [first] team and I was kind of disappointed that no one else was recognized. Some of the guys that maybe were on the second team or maybe just honorable mention were worthy of the first team."
Five Dartmouth players, all of whom will return for at least one more year of school, earned honorable mention All-Ivy. Goalie Ben Gebre-Medhin '02, defensemen Matt Miller '03 and Michael Vidmar '03 and offensive players Tom Billings '03 and Damien Quinn '04 were all identified as being among the Ivies' best.
"If you look at who was mentioned, it's all underclassmen," Magnuson said. "They definitely have a good base from which to improve on in the years to come."
LaBarre, the top-performing freshman, was the third Dartmouth player to win rookie of the year. John Milne '92 and David Moran '92 had previously done it.
For the second year in a row a Brown player earned Ivy Player of the Year honors. Following Marcio's naming in 1999, senior defenseman Cory Gibbs -- sporting a first name and a surname -- won the award this this year.
Brown and Dartmouth were the two Ivy teams to make the NCAA tournament this year -- Brown by winning the League title and Dartmouth through an at-large bid. The Big Green head to Storrs, Conn., to play the UConn Huskies -- a Final Four team a year ago -- this Sunday at noon.
"They've been the frontrunner in the region for the last four years and we've never had a shot at them," Magnuson said. "We're better prepared this year than we were two years ago," he added, referring to the 1998 team that narrowly missed an NCAA bid.
