Hofstra freshman defender Shaun Foster, a native of Southport, England, earned both the Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year honors.

Foster becomes the first player in CAA Men’s Soccer history to win two major awards in the same season. No freshman has ever previously won either the Player of the Year or the Defensive Player of the Year.

Foster’s efforts helped Hofstra to a late-season surge into the CAA Tournament, where it begins play this weekend. The Pride finished the regular season with a 7-6-5 overall record and a 5-3-3 mark in league play, good for third place.

In addition to his two major awards, Foster was chosen to the All-CAA first team, the only freshman to earn that accolade. In fact, the other 10 players on the All-CAA first team were all seniors, as were two of the three second-team defenders.

The third-seeded Pride will open CAA Tournament play when they take on second-seeded VCU on Friday at 5 p.m. in the semifinals, which are held at top-seeded William & Mary.