The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) released its 2011 Men’s Soccer Awards on Thursday afternoon. Three Gustavus players were named to the All-Conference Team, while three more were named Honorable Mention All-MIAC.
Seniors Justin Eglseder (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Doug Frey (Duluth, Minn.) along with junior Lucas Thompson (Sioux Falls, S.D.) took home All-Conference honors. Freshmen Zach Brown (Eau Claire, Wis.), David Lilly (Maple Grove, Minn.), and Brett Ylonen (Lake Elmo, Minn.) earned a spot on the Honorable Mention All-Conference Team, and Junior Gabe Steinborn (Sioux Falls, S.D.) was named to the 2011 All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team.
Ole David Rosenthal was named MIAC Player-of-the-Year, while St. Olaf Head Coach Kurt Anderson was named the MIAC Coach-of-the-Year.
The 2011 All-MIAC team included 11 seniors, four juniors and five sophomores with balanced selections throughout the league. Regular season co-champs St. Olaf and Carleton each placed three players on the All-MIAC team, as did Gustavus, Macalester and St. Thomas. Augsburg had two players selected, and Saint John’s, Concordia and Bethel all had one player apiece on the All-Conference team.
Senior defender Justin Eglseder makes his second-career All-Conference appearance, earning the distinction for the first time since his freshman year in 2008. Eglseder finished third on the team and ninth in the MIAC in overall scoring this season with eight goals, four of which were game-winners, and three assists for 19 points. Within conference play, Justin’s five goals matched fellow teammates Doug Frey and Zach Brown to finish in a three-way tie for third place. Eglseder was the top-scoring defender in the league this season.
Eglseder has been staple of the Gustavus back three the past four seasons, earning “Iron Man” distinction by playing in all 74 matches (starting in 73) over his career. This season, Eglseder was a member of a three-man defensive unit that ranked fourth in NCAA Division III in goals against average at 0.46. Over his collegiate career, Justin has been the top-scoring Gustavus defender all four seasons, recording a career 14 goals and six assists for 34 points.
Senior forward Doug Frey finished fourth on the team in scoring this season with six goals and three assists for 15 points. An Honorable Mention All-MIAC performer in 2010, Frey recorded five goals within league play this season, ranking seventh in points and third in goals.
A quiet but persistent threat on the attack, Frey played in 66 matches over his career, tallying 15 goals and 13 assists for 43 points. During Frey and Eglseder’s tenure on the hill, the Gustavus men’s soccer team went a combined 46-18-10 overall for a winning percentage of .689.
Lucas Thompson makes the All-Conference team for the second straight season. Although Thompson’s stats don’t jump off the scoresheet, the junior has been an essential piece of the Gustavus back line the past three seasons. Along with Eglseder and Ben Ceder, the trio has been the core of a Gustavus defense that has led the league in goals allowed and goals against average the past two seasons.
Thompson, a member of the Sioux Falls, S.D. pipeline, scored a goal and an assist this season. He has played in in all 55 games of his career thus far, starting in all but one contest.
Gustavus’ big-three freshman Zach Brown, David Lilly, and Brett Ylonen all took home All-MIAC Honorable Mention honors.
Zach Brown led the Gusties in scoring, burying 12 goals and contributing four assists for 28 points in 18 games. Brown led the team in shots with 65 and had one game-winning goal.
David Lilly played in all 18 matches in his rookie year, scoring two goals and adding one assist. Lilly’s play was essential to the Gustavus ball-control game, helping the Gusties to win the possession time battle against opponents all season.
Brett Ylonen burst onto the scene to become the MIAC’s overall leader in goals against average (0.58) and save percentage (.580). Ylonen made a total of 51 saves for an average of 3.00 saves per game. He went 12-2-3 on the season, holding opponents scoreless in nine matches and ranking 19th in the country in goals against average.
As part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC announced the sixth-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.
Junior Gabe Steinborn represents Gustavus on this season’s All-MIAC Sportsmanship team. Steinborn played in all 19 games and scored five goals for a total of 10 points. Three of Steinborn’s goals were game-winners – one of which came with less than a minute left in regulation to give the Gusties a 2-1 over Augsburg on Oct. 15.
The Gustavus men’s soccer team finished third in the MIAC with 21 points following a regular season in which the Gusties went 14-2-3 overall and 6-1-3 in league play.