Cooke, Finlay named captains for 2009

Feb. 16, 2009

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Carson-Newman men's soccer coach Allen Vital recently named forward Omar Cooke (Roanoke, Va.) and defender Matthew Finlay (Liverpool, Eng.) captains for the 2009 season.

Cooke, who will be a fifth-year senior next season, saw action in 16 games in 2008 and earned first team All-South Atlantic Conference and first team National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-Southeast Region honors. He finished the year with five goals, including two game winners, and was second on the team in shots with 55.

"When I started here as a freshman, I never thought I would be named a captain, but it's a great honor to be captain at Carson-Newman," Cooke said.

Finlay, who will be a junior next season, played in all 18 games for the Eagles this season, finishing the year with four goals and earning second team All-SAC honors. Finlay helped anchor a defense that allowed a conference best 18 goals.

"Omar and I just want to thank the coaches for naming us captains, and I would just like to praise God," Finlay said. "It's definitely an honor, having only been here such a short time. It was something that I set out to accomplish. I'm just very fortunate that I was named a captain."

Cooke and Finlay led the Eagles to an 11-5-2 record this season and a 6-1-1 SAC record, winning a share of the SAC regular season title and reaching the NCAA Division II tournament.

"We won a trophy, but that doesn't matter," Cooke said. "Our goal is to win the national tournament, and we didn't really get close to it. We just have to start working hard and get there next year."

Both Finlay and Cooke have high expectations for the Eagles in 2009.

"We have a lot of strong players coming back," Finlay said. "We had a very young team last year. We should have a really good team coming back next year and definitely have the potential to go the next step. Hopefully we can take that next step and really stamp our mark on the Carson-Newman men's soccer program."