At Monday night’s annual Student-Athlete Awards Reception at the Metcalf Trustee Center, 2009 all-region midfielder and former co-captain Samuel Appiah of the Boston University men’s soccer team was awarded the John Simpson award for “his enthusiastic senior leadership.”
BU coach Neil Roberts accepted the award on Appiah’s behalf because Appiah is training in Houston.
The Houston Dynamo drafted Appiah in the third round of January’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The 5-foot-8, 145-pound speedster from Ghana officially joined the club’s 24-man roster when he signed with Houston last month.
“It’s been great,” Appiah, who has yet to see action in a regular season game for the Dynamo this season, said of his experience with Houston thus far in a telephone interview. “It’s a good feeling. It’s something that I’ve been working hard to earn. So far, I’m enjoying it.”
Appiah has a proud supporter in Roberts.
“I’m happy for him,” Roberts said. “He definitely maximized every bit of talent that he had in his body. He worked as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen. He probably wasn’t even the most talented guy on our team, but he was by the far the hardest worker. He can do a lot of things well.”
Though he could have been selected by defending MLS Cup Champion Real Salt Lake or the New England Revolution, Appiah didn’t have a preferred destination. He just wanted to be drafted, plain and simple.
And with the 46th pick of the SuperDraft, the Dynamo chose Appiah.
“I didn’t know what the outcome was going to be in the draft,” Appiah said. “I was ready to go anywhere. I’m happy to be here in Houston.”
Having coached Appiah for four seasons, Roberts knew the type of player Houston was receiving.
“He’s very easy to coach,” Roberts said. “He was the hardest worker that we had. He got better all the time. His technique got better and cleaner. He’s not a big guy, but he’s a very physical player. What Houston liked about him was that he didn’t miss a game all year. They knew he was durable. At his size, being durable and the way he played is a credit to him.”
Now a professional soccer player, all that concerns Appiah is doing his job.
“Soccer is what we do for a living,” Appiah said. “It’s our lives. We don’t have to worry about school or anything. The only thing we have to worry about is soccer, so it’s good for us.”
Appiah tallied 11 goals and 10 assists over 76 collegiate appearances for the Terriers. As a senior this past season, he was named to the America East All-Conference Team, finishing with 13 points on four goals and five assists.
“I was the captain, so the coaches trusted me to lead for everybody,” Appiah said. “If you want to go to the next level, you must do the extra work all the time. You have to have a passion for the game and you have to do extra work every day.
“I think BU prepared me as an individual, asking me what I wanted to do after I’m done with school. That’s when I knew that I wanted to play soccer. I made sure that I did everything [the coaches] told me to do all the time.”
Roberts believes Appiah has the skills and work ethic to make a name for himself in MLS.
“Sammy will succeed,” Roberts said. “He’s succeeded everywhere he’s been &- back home in Ghana and over here. He knows how to work. He worked in the weight room and he worked on the field. He’s going to wait his turn and get his playing time with Houston, which he’ll get eventually. Then he’ll keep moving up, whether he stays in the MLS or moves someplace else.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that Sammy will succeed.”
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