Men's Soccer Hands Out Awards at Postseason Banquet
1/17/2015 3:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
OMAHA, Neb. - The Creighton men's soccer team held its postseason awards banquet Saturday afternoon, handing out individual honors following the Bluejays' 2014 season. Supporters joined members of the team and staff at the Old Mattress Factory in Omaha for the event.
Creighton earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the 22nd time in 23 years this season. The Bluejays' 2014 campaign ended with their third quarterfinal appearance in the last four seasons after falling to UMBC in a shootout following a 0-0 draw. The Jays won their first BIG EAST regular season title with a 7-1-1 mark in just their second year in the conference and finished with a 16-3-3 overall record.
The Bluejays finished among the top seven in the three major polls that marked the end of the 2014 season. Creighton ended the year at No. 7 in the NSCAA Top 25. CU ranked No. 5 in the final CollegeSoccerNews poll and No. 7 in the TopDrawerSoccer year-end Top 25.
Creighton won multiple All-BIG EAST major awards in 2014 including Offensive and Midfielder of the Year as well as sharing Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
CU sophomore forward Fabian Herbers earned a unanimous selection from the BIG EAST coaches as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Junior Timo Pitter claimed BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors while Creighton's coaching staff shared BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors with Xavier.
Herbers, Pitter and senior Jose Ribas were unanimous All-BIG EAST First team selections this season. Additionally, freshman Lucas Stauffer was also a unanimous selection on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
At the end of the season Herbers was named as a MAC Herman Trophy Semifinalist. Herbers also claimed NSCAA All-America First Team recognition while Ribas and Pitter earned spots on the NSCAA All-America Second Team. Coach Bolowich earned distinction as the All-Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year and junior goalkeeper Connor Sparrow earned recognition as a member of the All-Great Lakes Region Third Team.
Here are the five individual awards handed out at Saturday's team banquet:
Bluejay Award (sponsored by Ren & Stacie Smith) - Alex Bolowich, Sr., GK
Honor given for community service and outreach
Most Competitive Award (sponsored by The Dowd Family) - Timo Pitter, Jr., M
Honor given for most winning points in practice games throughout the season
Most Improved Award (sponsored by The Manion Family) - Connor Sparrow, Jr., GK
Voted on by coaching staff
Coaches Award (sponsored by The Carollo Family) - Jose Ribas, Sr., D
Voted on by coaching staff for leadership and most consistent effort on and off the field
Most Valuable Player Award (sponsored by The Hillstoppers) - Fabian Herbers, So., F
Voted on by players
Below is a complete listing of individual awards Bluejays claimed throughout the season.
2014 Men's Soccer Honors
Head Coach Elmar Bolowich
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year (tie)
NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year
Fabian Herbers, So., F
MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalist
NSCAA All-America First Team
NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
All-BIG EAST First Team
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team
CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team
TopDrawerSoccer Postseason Best XI First Team
CollegeSoccerNews First Team All-America
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (10/20)
TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week (12/2,10/21)
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/22, 9/8)
TopDrawerSoccer Midseason National Top 100 (No. 71)
Brendan Hines-Ike, Jr., D
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/8)
Vincent Keller, Jr., D
CollegeSoccerNews Team of the Week (11/10)
TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week (11/10, 12/9)
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (11/3)
Sean Kim, Sr., F
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (11/10)
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Fr., F
BIG EAST Rookie of the Week (9/1)
TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week (9/1)
Timo Pitter, Jr., M/F
NSCAA All-America Second Team
NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
All-BIG EAST First Team
BIG EAST All-Tournament Team
CollegeSoccerNews Second Team All-America
TopDrawerSoccer Postseason Best XI Third Team
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week (11/3, 10/13)
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Jose Ribas, Sr., D
NSCAA All-America Second Team
NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team
All-BIG EAST First Team
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/1)
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
CollegeSoccerNews Team of the Week (11/24)
TopDrawerSoccer Midseason National Top 100 (No. 64)
TopDrawerSoccer Preseason National Top 100 (No. 41)
Connor Sparrow, Jr., GK
NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team
CoSIDA Academic All-District VII First Team
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week (11/10, 10/13, 9/1)
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/29)
CollegeSoccerNews Team of the Week (9/1)
Lucas Stauffer, Fr., M
BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
TopDrawerSoccer Postseason Best XI Freshman First Team
BIG EAST Rookie of the Week (10/6)
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll (9/29)
NSCAA Team Academic Award
