Three Men's Soccer Players Named All-Region
11/30/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. Ryan Junge, Michael Kraus and Matt Allen of the Creighton men's soccer team have been named All-Midwest Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), as released by the organization Thursday. Junge and Kraus were honored on the first-team, while Allen was tabbed second-team.
Junge, a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference defender, anchored the Bluejays' defense this season. The Omaha native was solid in the back for the Jays, contributing to Creighton's nine shutouts and 0.95 goals against average. He proved his worth on the attack as well, ranking second on the team with five assists. The senior also added two goals, including the game-winning score against Drake on Oct. 11.
The MVC Player of the Year, Kraus was honored on the NSCAA/adidas All-Region First-Team this year after earning second-team accolades last season. The senior forward led the Bluejays with six goals, five of which went for game-winners, while he finished with 15 points on the season. The Memphis native had a memorable final campaign, earning all-tournament honors in all six tournaments the Bluejays participated in this season, including all-MVC tourney recognition for the third straight year. He closed out his career with 21 goals (10 game-winners) and 17 assists for 59 career points.
Allen, the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, had an outstanding season in goal for the Bluejays. The junior was 12-5-3 and posted a 0.93 goals against average in 1,841 minutes of play. Twice named MVC Defensive Player of the Week this year, he logged eight shutouts and now ranks third in school history with 19 career clean sheets. The Omaha Burke graduate posted a scoreless streak of better than 422 minutes this year, the fifth longest such streak in school history. His 0.84 career goals against average ranks second in school history, while he also ranks in the CU career top-five in minutes, wins and saves.
Creighton, the MVC regular-season and tournament champions in 2006, finished its season 13-5-3 after a first-round loss in their 15th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
