Altchek, Akpan of men's soccer sweep year-end Ivy League awards

Senior captain Charles Altchek has been arguably one of the most pivotal players in the history of the Harvard men’s soccer team.

Yesterday, his legacy, one that includes last year’s Ivy League Player of the Year award and leading the team to a No. 17 ranking and an Ivy championship this season, was cemented when he was awarded Player of the Year honors for the second season in a row. That feat had not been accomplished since Steve Sirtis of Columbia earned the nod in 1982 and 1983.

Altchek’s statistics on the season include a league-leading 12 goals, four of which have been game-winners.

Someday, standout freshman André Akpan may join Altchek as one of the Crimson’s greats, and he started along that path by winning the Ivy League Rookie of the Year award yesterday. He is the third Harvard rookie to win the award in four years—junior Matt Hoff and sophomore Michael Fucito won in their respective freshman seasons.

Altchek, Akpan, and Fucito were all unanimously voted to the First Team All-Ivy, while Hoff and sophomore John Stamatis were named to the Second Team. Freshman Kwaku Nyamekye was an Honorable Mention selection.