N.C. Soccer

Former Wake Forest men’s soccer player Sean Randolph died in a motocycle accident on Dec. 21 at the age of 22. The accident occured in Winston-Salem. Randolph, a native of California, played three seasons for the Demon Deacons (2009-11 and was a member of WFU’s College Cup team in 2009. His[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’] first goal at Wake Forest as freshman, the game-winner against #7 Indiana in 2009, made SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays…..Former UNC All-America and Philadelphia Union midfielder Michael Farfan, 25, and Los Angeles Glaxy forward Jose Villarrel, 20, have joined Cruz Azul of Liga Mx in Mexico. Both have played their entire professional careers in their native USA, but both he Mexican passports which aided in making the deals. Both agreements are loans, with the option to buy the player contracts from Major League Soccer. Villarrel was a key forward on the U.S. U20 World Cup team…..Former Wake Forest All-American Ike Opara (Durham, NC) was a member of the MLS Cup champion Sporting Kansas City. Opara did not appear in the championship game, but did play in three of the team’s five MLS Cup playoff games. He made 18 regular season appearances, starting 15 times while scoring three goals. Opara is the fourth WFU player to claim the MLS Cup, joining Brian Carroll (DC United, William Hesmer (Columbus Crew) and Wells Thompson (Colorado Rapids)…..Senior Nazmi Albadawi (Raleigh, NC) was recognized as the 2013 Most Valuable Player at the N.C. State Men’s Soccer awards banquet. Albadawi, a four-year high school standout at Athens Drive HS, was named ACC Player of the Week for his golden goal against #10 UNC. The Wolfpack was 7-3-2 with Albadawi on the field and he was named All-ACC Second Team….Duke men’s head coach John Kerr has received the Disney Soccer Showcase Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his accomplishments as a player and coach. Past winners include Mia Hamm, John Harkes and Julie Foudy…..N.C. State has added two transfers to the women’s program. Alexa Allen, a redshirt sophomore from Buford, Ga., is coming from Auburn, and junior Jenna Kalwa played at Penn State.