Kraus, Allen Earn Top MVC Men's Soccer Honors
11/2/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
PEORIA, Ill. Senior Michael Kraus was tabbed Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and junior Matt Allen was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, while eight other Creighton men's soccer players were honored on the all-conference teams as announced by the league at the pre-tournament banquet Thursday night in Peoria. Kraus becomes Creighton's eighth MVC Player of the Year, while Allen is the sixth Bluejay to earn Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Senior Ryan Junge joined Kraus and Allen on the MVC first-team. The regular-season co-champion Bluejays also shared the inaugural MVC "Fair-Play" Award with
A forward, Kraus leads the team with five goals and four-game winning tallies, while his 12 points tie for second on the squad. He is the school and MVC active career leader with 56 points and 16 assists, while his 20 career goals leads all active Bluejays. The
Allen has been the anchor of Creighton's defense from his goalkeeper position. He joins Jay Fitzgerald (1995) and current goalkeeper coach Kevin Doyle (1992) as the only Bluejay keepers to earn the nod for top defender in the MVC. The Omaha Burke graduate posted a league-best 0.57 goals against average in MVC play, as the Jays surrendered only three goals in six conference contests. On the season he ranks among NCAA leaders with a 0.86 GAA, while his 0.81 career goals against average ranks second in school and league history. The junior has posted seven shutouts this year and 18 in his career.
The sweep was the first by the Bluejays since 1997, when National Player of the Year Johnny Torres earned POY honors and Wright was named the Defensive POY.
Junge was also tabbed to the first-team after earning second-team all-MVC honors last year. The defender has helped the Jays log eight shutouts this season and was a leader on the top defense in the league. The Millard West product also chipped in on offense with two goals and four assists.
Four players represent Creighton on the second-team. Sophomore Byron Dacy and junior Pietari Holopainen, along with seniors Tony Odorisio and Andrew Peterson landed on the second-team.
Dacy, last year's MVC Freshman of the Year, leads the squad with 13 points on the season. The forward out of Creighton Prep ranks second on the team with four goals and five assists. Holopainen proved his worth in his first season at CU, leading the team with six assists while playing both in the back and midfield.
Odorisio bounced back from an injury-shortened junior campaign to post a solid senior season. The Omaha Skutt Catholic graduate started 11 of the 16 matches in which he appeared this season, helping stabilize the CU defense while adding a goal and assist this season. Peterson has played in all 18 matches, starting 13 in the back for CU. His play in the back helped the Bluejays rank among the top defensive teams in the NCAA this year, as the team carries a 0.89 goals against average.
The future looks bright for the Bluejays as three players were named to the MVC All-Freshman team; Rodrigo Faria, Chris Schuler and Jeff Thayer. Faria, a rookie from
Schuler, a redshirt transfer from
Thayer made a splash when he arrived on the scene, scoring in the fifth minute of his first home match to help the Jays to a 3-2 win over
The individual honorees will come together this weekend as the team takes aim at it 10th MVC tournament title. Second-seeded Creighton (11-4-3), ranked as high as 18th in the nation this week, plays sixth-seeded
Complete MVC release.
MVC Tournament central.
