STORRS, Conn (Nov. 1) - University of Connecticut men’s soccer freshman forward Bonginkosi Macala (Pretoria, South Africa) was named BIG EAST Rookie Player of the week by the conference office on Monday. This is Macala’s second honor of the season, sharing this week’s award with freshman midfielder John Mousinho of Notre Dame.

Macala scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season, the game-winner, to lift UConn to a 3-2 victory over Syracuse on Oct. 27. The tally came at the 59:12 mark in the contest to push the Huskies ahead after losing the two goal lead before the half. Macala also added an assist on Connecticut’s second goal of the game.