NEW YORK – The 2017 BIG EAST men’s soccer regular season awards were announced on Friday. Butler, the 2017 regular season winner and No. 1 seed in the upcoming championship, took home three of the league’s major awards with sophomore forward Brandon Guhl earning BIG EAST Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors, redshirt senior Eric Dick named Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Paul Snape and staff earning Coaching Staff of the Year accolades. Creighton senior forward Ricky Lopez-Espin shared Offensive Player of the Year honors with Guhl. No. 3 seed St. John’s boasted two major award winners with senior David Enstrom named Defensive Player of the Year and classmate Harry Cooksley picking up BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors. Second-seeded Georgetown’s Derek Dodson earned the Freshman of the Year title.
Co-Offensive Player of the Year honors came from the Bulldogs for the second year in a row as Guhl joins his former teammate David Goldsmith with the title. Guhl led the BIG EAST Champion Bulldogs in points (24) and goals (10) with season. In league play, the sophomore finished the season ranked second in points with 14 and six goals through nine matches. Guhl tied teammate Lewis Suddick for the most game-winners in league play with three. The forward earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors after the league-opener with a two-goal effort in the final 15 minutes of regulation in the Bulldogs’ 3-2 overtime come-from-behind victory over Creighton (Sept. 16). Guhl had three four-point efforts this season as he also scored both goals in Butler’s 2-0 win over DePaul (Oct. 14) and against San Francisco (Sept. 3).
Creighton’s Lopez-Espin led the BIG EAST in points this season with 15, averaging 1.67 points per game and a league-best seven goals. Overall, the senior forward accumulated a BIG EAST best 25 points on 11 goals and three assists. His 11 goals currently rank 13th in the national statistical standings. Lopez-Espin earned BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 16 after scoring two goals in Creighton’s 4-1 win over Xavier. The forward tallied his first brace of the season at Butler on Sept. 16. Like his co-award winner Guhl, Lopez-Espin also has three game-winners for the year. Lopez-Espin started the year on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Last year, the senior was on the All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-Tournament team.
Guhl and Lopez-Espin were the only two unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
St. John’s teammates Cooksley and Enstrom are the Red Storm’s first major award winners since 2011 when Pablo Punyed won BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. The duo played a major role in St. John’s returning to the BIG EAST championship field for the first time in five years (2012). Cooksley led St. John’s in points (11) and assists (5) with seven points (2G, 3A) in BIG EAST action. Cooksley scored both goals in the Red Storm’s road result at Creighton on Oct. 6, a match that would be cut short due to weather and end in a tie. Cooksley also had a four-point effort in the season-opener against Drexel with a goal and two assists.
Enstrom won BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors twice this season as he started at center back for a Red Storm team that limited opponents to a 0.056 shot percentage and 0.62 goals against average. In league play, Enstrom helped lead a defense that allowed just five goals, paving the way for five shutouts over nine matches. Overall, St. John’s had eight clean slates. Enstrom headed in the eventual game-winning goal against Georgetown, then ranked No. 10 nationally. The 1-0 victory clinched a playoff berth for the Red Storm as Enstrom and the back line held Georgetown to just two shots on goal.
Butler’s net minder Dick was named Goalkeeper of the Year after he led the league in shutouts (5), saves (47) and saves per game (5.22) through nine BIG EAST matches, helping the Bulldogs to an 8-1-0 record and top seed. Dick’s save percentage ranked second in the league at .870 with a goals against average of 0.76 in BIG EAST action. The redshirt senior won BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the year honors a league-high four times. Dick’s save-high for the year was nine in a 2-1 victory at Marquette on Oct. 28. The win locked up the No. 1 seed for Butler. For the year, Dick ranks 10th nationally in total shutouts (8) and 11th in save percentage (0.833). He has 70 saves for the season with a 0.85 goals against average. Dick was the 2016 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Defensive Player. He makes his first appearance on the BIG EAST First Team this season after earning second team honors in 2015.
Dodson helped the Hoyas on offense when Georgetown’s then-leading scorer Achara went down with an injury on Oct. 6. Dodson, who also earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team as a freshman, ranked second in goals (six), goals per game (0.67) and third in the league in points (13) and points per game (1.44) in nine BIG EAST matches. Dodson also scored two game-winning goals in league play, including a big two-goal effort in a come-from-behind victory over Creighton on the final day of the season to score the Hoyas the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament. Overall, Dodson started in seven games for Georgetown and led the Hoyas in points (18) and goals (eight), ranking in the BIG EAST top 10 in both categories. Dodson won the weekly freshman honor three times this season, ending the year with Offensive Player of the Week accolades.
Butler head coach Paul Snape led the Bulldogs to their first BIG EAST regular season title this season with an impressive 8-1-0 record in league play, 12-4-1 overall record and a current No. 15 national ranking in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Butler was ranked in the Top 25 for the majority of the 2017 season. The Bulldogs were 7-1-1 at home at the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl. Snape helped lead the Bulldogs to eight shutouts this year, including a 0-0 draw against then-No. 1 Indiana on Oct. 18. The Bulldogs were picked to finish third in the league’s preseason poll after winning their first BIG EAST Championship title in 2016. Snape is in his seventh year as head coach of Butler. He has a 64-44-21 career record in that time, 25-18-2 in BIG EAST play.
In addition to the major awards, the conference announced the All-BIG EAST First, Second and All-Freshman teams.
The All-BIG EAST First Team has at least one player from each of the BIG EAST Championship teams. No. 1 seed Butler had the most first team honorees with three. Guhl and Dick were joined on the top squad by sophomore midfielder Lewis Suddick. Georgetown led the way with five total all-BIG EAST selections, two on the first team The Hoyas’ first teamers included senior midfielder Christopher Lema and junior defender Brendan McDonough. Lema also earned first team accolades in 2016. St. John’s and Creighton, who will be playing each other in the first round on Saturday, also had two first team honorees. Major award winners Enstrom and Cooksley represented St. John’s with top all-league honors. For Creighton, in addition to Lopez-Espin, senior defender Lucas Stauffer earned first team accolades for the second-consecutive year. Providence redshirt senior forward Mac Steeves earned his second first team honor, he also was on the league’s top squad in 2015. Xavier senior defender Cory Brown returns to the all-conference first team for the third-straight year.
All-BIG EAST Teams and major awards are voted on by the league’s head coaches, who are not permitted 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 selection. The BIG EAST All-Freshman Team recognizes the top-11 freshman vote earners.
BIG EAST Championship action kicks off Saturday with the first round. No. 3 St. John’s will host No. 6 Creighton at 6 p.m. at Belson Stadium. No. 4 Xavier will host No. 5 Providence at the XU Soccer Complex at 7 p.m. Both contests will air on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
The semifinals are set for Wednesday hosted by No. 1 seed Butler and No. 2 seed Georgetown. The Hoyas will play the winner of the 3/6 first round match at 1 p.m. at Shaw Field. The Bulldogs host the winner of the 4/5 contest at 7 p.m. at The Sellick Bowl. Both semifinals will also be on BEDN. The final will be hosted at the highest seed remaining and will air on FS2 at 12 p.m.
See below for the complete listing of awards.
BIG EAST Co-Offensive Players of the Year
Brandon Guhl, Butler, So., F
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Harry Cooksley, St. John’s, Sr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
David Enstrom, St. John’s, Sr., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Eric Dick, Butler, RS-Sr.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Butler (Head Coach Paul Snape)
All-BIG EAST First Team
Brandon Guhl, Butler, So., F *
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Sr., F *
Mac Steeves, Providence, RS-Sr., F
Harry Cooksley, St. John’s, Sr., M
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Sr., M
Lewis Suddick, Butler, So., M
Cory Brown, Xavier, Sr., D
David Enstrom, St. John’s, Sr., D
Brendan McDonough, Georgetown, Jr., D
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Sr., D
Eric Dick, Butler, RS-Sr., GK
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Fr., F
Declan McCabe, Georgetown, Sr., F
Matt Vasquenza, Xavier, Sr., F
Andres Arcila, Seton Hall, Jr., M
Noah Franke, Creighton, Sr., M
Simen Hestnes, Xavier, Jr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, So., M
Shane Bradley, Villanova, So., D
Joe Moulden, Butler, Jr., D
Cameron Taylor, Xavier, RS-Jr., D
JT Marcinkowski, Georgetown, Jr., GK
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Samuel Buzzas, Xavier, RS-Fr., D
Manuel Cukaj, Marquette, Fr., D
Matt DePerro, Providence, RS-Fr., F
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, Fr., F *
Jacob Montes, Georgetown, Fr., M *
Zach Nelson, Xavier, RS-Fr., GK
Sean O’Hearn, Georgetown, Fr., D
Kuba Polat, Creighton, Fr., M *
Theo Quartey, Villanova, Fr., M
Jack Shearer, St. John’s, Fr., F *
Istvan Wilhelms, DePaul, Fr., M
* - denotes unanimous selection