Lindberg, Staff Named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year

NEW YORK – In just his third season at the helm, Seton Hall Head Coach Andreas Lindberg and his staff were awarded the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year award, as voted on by the BIG EAST Coaches, the conference announced on Wednesday.

Assistants Jeff Matteo and Ali Simmons and volunteer assistant Dan Solli share in the honor with Lindberg. This is the second time the Seton Hall coaching staff has been awarded as the staff of the year. The 2005 staff of Manfred Schellscheidt, Kazbek Tambi, Gerson Echeverry and Arda Altincatal also won the award.

In a historic season, the Pirates clinched their first BIG EAST Tournament birth since 2012 after a 5-1-2 conference record and a second-place finish in the East Division. This is the Pirates' first time playing in the BIG EAST semifinal game since 2004. The program has not won a BIG EAST Championship since 1991 when they won four in a six-year span (1986, 1987, 1988, 1991).

The Pirates also completed the Spring 2021 regular season unbeaten at home winning six of seven games at Owen T. Carroll Field. The lone draw for the Pirates came against then-No. 3 Georgetown. It's the first unbeaten regular season at home since The Hall went 7-0-1 at home in 2003. The five conference wins are also the highest total for the Pirates since the 2006 campaign that saw The Hall win seven BIG EAST matchups.

Seton Hall currently sit at No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Hall had ranked as high as the nine spot on April 6. It was the highest ranking for the Pirates since they began the 1990 season at No. 7. It is the Pirates' first season being ranked top-25 nationally since 2006.

In addition to honoring the coaching staff, five Pirates were named to All-BIG EAST Teams. Highlighting the selections for the Pirates are two All-BIG EAST First Team members in CJ Tibbling (Jarna, Sweden) and Luca Dahn (Kahl, Germany). After a solid season between the posts for The Hall, goalkeeper Andreas Nota (Rome, Italy) was awarded a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Rounding out the Pirates' all-conference selections with Third Team honors are JP Marin (Briarwood, N.Y.) and Johannes Pex (Stephansposching, Germany).

The Pirates will take part in their first BIG EAST Tournament since 2012 after a 5-1-2 conference record and a second-place finish in the East Division. The Pirates will take on the Midwest Division champion, Marquette, Thursday at 3:30.