When the men’s soccer All-Conference teams were announced on Wednesday, I was a bit surprised that a certain player didn’t garner any recognition for his performance this season. That player is sophomore forward Adam Whitehead. Whitehead, for my money, is Binghamton University’s most improved player from the 2009 season and has established himself as the team’s biggest offensive threat.

Only three forwards are selected for each All-Conference team, so only six forwards in the conference gain first or second-team honors. It’s tough to argue against the players that were chosen, particularly the first team forwards. UMBC’s Levi Houapeu was undoubtedly the conference’s best forward this year, as he led the conference with 12 goals. He was named America East Striker of the Year for his performance. Strangely enough, Houapeu won AE Midfielder of the Year last season. His teammate Andrew Bulls was last year’s Striker of the Year, and this season Bulls was named a first-team All-Conference midfielder. Ben Berube and Aaron O’Neal of Boston each scored eight goals for the Terriers this season, and are also well deserving of being first team members.

The second team features some talented forwards, as well. I witnessed Raphael Abreu’s ability firsthand when Stony Brook handed the Bearcats their first-ever regular season loss at the Bearcats Sports Complex. Abreu tallied both of the Seawolves’ goals that match. Pete Caringi III helped form an intimidating attacking trio, along with Houapeu and Bulls, at UMBC. Caringi scored six goals and had five assists. He warrants a position on the team. However, I don’t believe Albany’s Bo Jelovac deserved a spot on the squad over Whitehead.

I’m not taking anything away from Jelovac. He had a very solid season, contributing three goals and two assists, leading the Great Danes with eight points, while starting all of Albany’s 16 games. Whitehead also scored three goals, but had four assists, which gave him 10 points for the season, which was the most on the team. Whitehead consistently challenged defenses all season long, totaling 40 shots, which tied him for sixth in the conference in that category. Of course, it’s much easier for me to judge Whitehead’s performance as I have seen him play many times and have not seen Jelovac once, but on numbers alone, Whitehead seems to have been snubbed.

It’s been a pleasure watching Whitehead play throughout this season. He has the ability to score from anywhere in the attacking half. He’s been a real asset on set pieces; he sends in beautiful passes off corner kicks and is a legitimate threat to score on free kicks. He drained a 25-yard free kick against Albany earlier this year. Whitehead’s rocket of a leg has proven valuable from the penalty spot, as well. He rifled home a penalty in the team’s 3-2 win over Bucknell Tuesday night, and in training the following day he converted all of his penalty tries. This skill becomes more relevant now than ever. In the playoffs, if the game is tied after two overtime periods, the game will be decided with penalty kicks. Five of Binghamton’s seven conference matches went into overtime, and two of them ended in ties, making penalty kicks a legitimate possibility.

He may not be a part of an All-Conference squad, but Adam Whitehead has shown he is one of the conference’s elite forwards this season.