Annual BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Awards Announced
Creighton, Georgetown, St. John’s and Marquette take home major awards ahead of upcoming #BEfútbol Championship.
NEW YORK – With the 2018 BIG EAST Men’s Soccer Championship presented by Jeep kicking off on Saturday, the annual conference honors were announced on Friday. Regular-season champion and tournament No. 1 seed Creighton claimed three major awards: Sven Koenig as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, Joel Rydstrand as Midfielder of the Year, and Coaching Staff of the Year led by head coach Elmar Bolowich. BIG EAST co-runner-up Georgetown saw Dylan Nealis be named Defensive Player of the Year, while Marquette’s Luis Barraza was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year and St. John’s Skage Simonsen selected Freshman of the Year.
In addition to major awards, All-BIG EAST First Team, Second Team and All-Freshman Team were selected. Honorees were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players. All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams are comprised of three forwards, three midfielders, three defenders, one goalkeeper and one at-large pick. All-Freshman Team is 11 at-large selections.
Senior forward Koenig led the BIG EAST in shots (4.33/game), points (14) and goals (7) over nine league contests. Koenig scored in six of nine conference contests and enters the postseason on a three-match scoring streak. Overall on the year, the senior has a league-best 10 goals to rank in the top 30 nationally, while his shot accuracy of .614 is 13
th best among Division I players and his shots on goal per game average (2.06) is sixth-best. Three of his 10 goals on the season were of the game-winning variety. Creighton collects Offensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight year and fourth time in five seasons. Koenig was the lone unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
Rydstrand was the Bluejays’ top facilitator with four assists over nine BIG EAST contests. The senior midfielder added 19 shots in conference play, playing 831 minutes, second-most on the team, and starting all nine matches. He is the third different BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year out of Creighton since 2014, while the Bluejays take the honor for the fourth time.
Junior defender Nealis anchored a Georgetown defense which earned three shutouts in BIG EAST play and limited opponents to a 0.84 goals against average. The Hoyas combined to outshoot their opponents by a 148-97 margin, including 68-42 on goal, while doubling them up in goals, 16-8. Nealis also added a game-winning goal and three assists in conference action. Nealis is the first Defensive Player of the Year for Georgetown since Joshua Yaro earned back-to-back honors in 2014 and 2015.
Senior goalkeeper Barraza finished with the BIG EAST’s top save percentage (.885), while listing second in saves per game (5.75) and third in goals against average (0.77) and shutouts (3). Over eight league appearances he played nearly 700 minutes and surrendered just six goals. His overall season save percentage of 0.861 is second among all Division I keepers. Barraza is the first Goalkeeper of the Year out of Marquette since 2013 (Charlie Lyon).
Simonsen becomes the first Freshman of the Year from St. John’s since its national championship season in 1996 (Wojtek Krakowiak). The rookie midfielder finished third in the BIG EAST with 10 points off four goals and two assists. His goals total ranked third in the league. Overall he has played in all 17 games for the Red Storm and is tied for the team lead with 16 points off six goals and four helpers.
Bolowich is in his eighth season at the helm of the Bluejays, leading Creighton to its second BIG EAST regular-season title in five years. CU finished BIG EAST play 7-1-1 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship, and has been ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 for eight consecutive weeks, three of which were spent in the top 10. Creighton finished BIG EAST play with the best marks in goals (16), points (48) and goals allowed (6), while listing second in GAA (0.65) and shutouts (4). Creighton earns Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time and first since 2014.
Georgetown led the way with seven total All-BIG EAST selections, including three on the First Team. Creighton followed with six, also with three first-teamers, while Marquette and Providence had five honorees apiece. The Golden Eagles had three first-team selections, while the Friars and Xavier each placed one on the top squad. Creighton, Georgetown, Providence and Seton Hall all boasted multiple Second Team selections, while the Hoyas, Friars and St. John’s all had multiple All-Freshman Team picks.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Sven Koenig, Creighton, Sr., F
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Jr., D
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Joel Rydstrand, Creighton, Sr., M
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Luis Barraza, Marquette, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Skage Simonsen, St. John’s, Fr., M
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton
All-BIG EAST First Team
Sven Koenig, Creighton, Sr., F*
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, So., F
Achara, Georgetown, Jr., F
Simen Hestnes, Xavier, Sr., M
Joel Rydstrand, Creighton, Sr., M
Tiago Mendonca, Providence, R-Jr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, Jr., M
Akeem Ward, Creighton, Sr., D
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Jr., D
Patrick Seagrist, Marquette, Jr., D
Luis Barraza, Marquette, Sr., GK
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Connor Alba, Marquette, Jr., F
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Fr., F
Sam Sergi, Xavier, R-Jr., F
Skage Simonsen, St. John’s, Fr., M
Kyle Zajec, Georgetown, Sr., M
Zach Zandi, Villanova, Sr., M
Brendan McDonough, Georgetown, Sr., D
Mitch LaGro, Creighton, R-Sr., D
Klisman Sousa, Providence, R-Sr., D
David Arvidsson, Seton Hall, Grad., D
Colin Miller, Providence, R-Sr., GK
Paul Kruse, Creighton, Fr., GK
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Lukas Sunesson, Marquette, Fr., F*
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Fr., F*
Gil Santos, Providence, Fr., F
Skage Simonsen, St. John’s Fr., M*
Jack Haywood, Butler, Fr., M
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Fr., M
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Fr., D
Paul Kruse, Creighton, Fr., GK*
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Fr., GK
Taylor Crull, Xavier, R-Fr., D
Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John’s Fr., F
*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting