(Photos courtesy of David Faulkner, SPX Sports.)
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Four Gustavus men’s soccer players were named MIAC All-Conference and another was named honorable mention Tuesday afternoon. Raphael Cattelin (Fy., Edina, Minn.), Matt Gibbons (Jr., Minneapolis), Wesley Sanders (Fy., Urbandale, Iowa), and Cole Schwartz (So., Jakarta, Indonesia) represent Gustavus on the All-MIAC team.
Lionel Vang of Augsburg was named the MIAC Player of the Year while Jon Lowery of St. Thomas was named Coach of the Year.
Cattelin earned All-Conference honors in his first collegiate season as he finished second in the MIAC in scoring with 49 points. He finished the season with 17 goals and 15 assists, with his assists and total points both being the fifth most in the nation. The Edina native led the Gusties this year with seven game-winning goals, including three-straight in the team’s final two regular season contests and their first-round playoff matchup with Saint John’s.
Making his second consecutive appearance on the All-Conference team, Gibbons continued his solid Gustavus career, finishing fourth in the MIAC with 30 points and second with 14 assists, albeit missing four games due to injury. Gibbons added eight goals during his junior campaign, while his .875 assists per game is the fifth highest in the country.
Sanders started every game in net for Gustavus, posting a 17-3-0 record, with the 17 wins tying Tyler Garry’s Gustavus record for most goalie wins in a season set in 2006. Sanders saved 66 shots while allowing 19 goals for a save percentage of .776. Sanders had five complete game shutouts to lead the conference, while he played a large portion of three other shutouts for the Golden Gusties.
In his first season in the Black and Gold, Schwartz etched his name in the MIAC and Gustavus record book, totaling 23 goals and seven assists. His 53 points make him the fifth player in conference history to score at least 50 points in a season and are the most of any conference player since 1975, when former Gustie Larry Shelhamer totaled 62. Schwartz also scored the most points during the conference season, 23, since Kimani Williams put up 33 for Macalester in 2001. The 53 points are currently the second most in the nation and are 19 ahead of the next non-Gustavus men’s soccer player in the MIAC.
Max McLaughlin (Fy., Urbandale, Iowa) was named All-Conference honorable mention as he totaled a goal and eight assists in his first-year campaign. McLaughlin played well down the stretch for the Gusties, notching seven assists in the team’s final six MIAC contests.
As part of a Conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the 14th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men’s soccer. Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field of competition with Scott Heinen (Jr., Aurora, Ill.) receiving the honor for the Gusties
The Gusties, who finished the regular season 15-3 and defeated Saint John’s and St. Thomas in the MIAC Playoffs will travel to North Park (Ill.) for their opening round matchup with Colorado College Saturday at 3:30 p.m.