BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2016 Men’s Soccer Awards on Thursday and Gustavus owned two honorees on the All-Conference team in Matt Murakami (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.) and Arthur Parens (So., Wayzata, Minn.).
Matt Murakami appeared in all 17 games for the Gusties as a co-captain and led Gustavus in scoring with a career-best 17 points from seven goals and three assists. His seven goals tied for second most in the conference and his point total tied for third. Gustavus went 5-1 in the month of October, in which Murakami registered eight points with three goals and two assists to help the Gusites earn a No. 3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs. For his monthly performance, Murakami earned Gustavus Student-Athlete of the Month.
Arthur Parens started in 13 of 14 games played for the Gusties and tallied three goals, two of which were game-winners for the Black and Gold. After leading Gustavus newcomers in scoring in 2015, Parens was again dangerous on the attack in 2016 as he led the Gusties with 31 shots.
Additionally, Matt Bateman (So., Savage, Minn.), Jack Conroy (So., Shoreview, Minn.), Matt Ouren (North Mankato, Minn.), and Patrick Roth (Sr., Stillwater, Minn.) were recognized as All-Conference Honorable Mentions. Daniel Barnes (So., Lund, Sweden) was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.
Matt Bateman led the Gusties in net as the sophomore goalkeeper posted four shutouts, including two in a row to earn MIAC Athlete of the Week honors Oct. 3. He also allowed an average of just 1.02 goals against, which ranked third in the MIAC. Matt Ouren led the Gusties with four assists on the season and Patrick Roth was the second-leading scorer with five goals. Jack Conroy and Daniel Barnes were strong defenders for the Black and Gold defense that allowed an average of 1.19 goals per game.