Perez and Kapp Capture BIG EAST Player of the Year Awards, Six Bluejays On All-BIG EAST Teams

OMAHA, Neb. -- Creighton men's soccer players Ricardo Perez and Alex Kapp earned BIG EAST Player of the Year honors on Saturday. Perez claimed BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year honors and Kapp was named Co-BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.

Additionally, Lucas Stauffer and Perez made the All-BIG EAST First Team, and Riggs Lennon, Ricky Lopez-Espin, Mitch LaGro and Kapp earned spots on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Perez, a senior co-captain, has not missed a match during four seasons at Creighton. Entering Sunday's BIG EAST Championship First Round match, Perez has played in 82 matches, including 62 starts. Of the 82 appearances, 49 have occurred at Morrison Stadium -- the second-most by a Creighton individual since the stadium opened in 2003.

The Ciudad Juarez, Mexico native has three goals and two assists this season during 17 matches. Perez notched his second career multi-goal performance with a two-goal showing against Marquette on Oct. 15. He entered the season as a Preseason All-BIG EAST midfielder and made the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Oct. 17. Perez's First Team selection is his second All-BIG EAST accolade after he made the All-Freshman team during the 2013 season.

Kapp is tied for the BIG EAST lead with seven shutouts and holds a 0.67 goals against average in 1,610 minutes of action. The senior co-captain enters postseason play with a record of 9-5-3 and a .824 save percentage.

On Sept. 21 against No. 8 Denver, Kapp tied a Morrison Stadium record for the most saves in single match by a Creighton individual with nine. He also ranks second on the Morrison Stadium Single-Season Records list for most saves and lowest goals against average (min. 20 percent of team's minutes). Kapp has 37 saves and a 0.38 goals against average through 10 matches at home with at least one remaining (Sunday against Xavier). He needs only two saves to tie Matt Allen's single-season Morrison Stadium record of 39 during the 2007 season.

Kapp, a native of Westchester, N.Y., was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week twice (Sept. 23, Oct. 3) this season. He shared Co-Goalkeeper of the Year honors with Providence's Colin Miller.

This is the second consecutive season Creighton individuals have won BIG EAST Midfielder and Goalkeeper of the Year. Last season, Timo Pitter was recognized as midfielder of the year, and Connor Sparrow claimed co-goalkeeper of the year.

Stauffer earned his second All-BIG EAST selection. The Owensboro, Ky. native, made the BIG EAST All-Freshman team following the 2014 campaign. Stauffer earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors on Aug. 29 after he scored the game-winning goal during the season-opener against Rutgers.

Lennon leads the Bluejays and is tied for fourth in the BIG EAST with 10 goals scored this season. He tied a Creighton single-match record with four goals against DePaul (Sept. 24). Lennon earned National Player of the Week status from Top Drawer Soccer (Sept. 27) and College Soccer News (Oct. 10) earlier this season, and was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week once (Sept. 26).

Lopez-Espin claimed his first All-BIG EAST honor with his Second Team selection. He ranks second on the team with seven goals after a two-goal performance during the Bluejays' most recent contest against Georgetown (Nov. 3).

LaGro has helped anchor the middle of the Creighton defense, starting each contest and playing all but 40 minutes this season. He claimed BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week status on Oct. 3 after the scoring the game-winning goal and playing a key role in holding previously unbeaten and then-No. 12 Loyola-Chicago off the scoreboard (3-0 W on Sept. 27).

2016 marks the second year Creighton had six honorees on the BIG EAST All-Conference teams. During 2013, the Bluejays had two All-Freshman Team selections (Fabian Herbers, Ricardo Perez), three Second Team selections (Brendan Hines-Ike, Timo Pitter, Jose Ribas) and one First Team selection (Zach Barnes).

Creighton opens postseason play at Morrison Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Bluejays host Xavier at 3 p.m. in the First Round of the BIG EAST Championship Presented by Jeep.

Below is the complete list of the BIG EAST All-Conference teams and major award winners.

2016 BIG EAST Major Award Winners and All-Conference Teams
BIG EAST Co-Offensive Players of the Year
David Goldsmith, Butler, Sr., F
Julian Gressel, Providence, Sr., F

BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Ricardo Perez, Creighton, Sr., M/F

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Cory Brown, Xavier, Jr., D

BIG EAST Co-Goalkeepers of the Year
Alex Kapp, Creighton, Sr., GK
Colin Miller, Providence, RS-So., GK

BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Providence*

All-BIG EAST First Team
David Goldsmith, Butler, Sr., F *
Julian Gressel, Providence, Sr., F *
Ricardo Perez, Creighton, Sr., M/F
Harry Cooksley, St. John's, Jr., M/F
Jared Timmer, Butler, So., M
Simon Megally, DePaul, Sr., M
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Jr., M
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Jr., D
Mark Jecewiz, Providence, RS-Jr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, Jr., D
Colin Miller, Providence, RS-So., GK

All-BIG EAST Second Team ^
Riggs Lennon, Creighton, Sr., F
Ricky Lopez-Espin, Creighton, Jr., F
Miguel Polley, Villanova, RS-Jr., M/F
Arun Basuljevic, Georgetown, Jr., M
Andres Arcila, Seton Hall, So., M
Andreas Bartosinski, Villanova, Jr., M
Mitch LaGro, Creighton, RS-So., D/M
Mitch Ostrowski, Butler, RS-Sr., D
John Pothast, Marquette, RS-Sr., D
Shane Bradley, Villanova, Fr., D
Matt Nance, Xavier, Xavier, Jr., D
Alex Kapp, Creighton, Sr., GK

BIG EAST All-Freshman Team ^^
Isaac Galliford, Butler, Fr., M*
Lewis Suddick, Butler, Fr., M/F *
Max de Bruijne, DePaul, Fr., D
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Fr., D
Luka Prpa, Marquette, Fr., M *
Danny Griffin, Providence, Fr., M*
Joao Serrano, Providence, Fr., D*
Liam Wilson, Providence, Fr., D
Alistair Johnston, St. John's, Fr., M
Jonathan Jimenez, Seton Hall, Fr., F
Shane Bradley, Villanova, Fr., D
Derrick Otim, Xavier, Fr., M

* - denotes unanimous selection
^ - due to a tie in voting, there are 12 student-athletes on the All-BIG EAST Second Team
^^ - due to a tie in voting, there are 12 student-athletes on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team

Perez and Kapp Capture BIG EAST Player of the Year Awards, Six Bluejays On All-BIG EAST Teams

Players Mentioned

Fabian Herbers

Alex Kapp

Mitch LaGro

Riggs Lennon

Ricky Lopez-Espin

Ricardo Perez

Timo Pitter

Connor Sparrow

Lucas Stauffer

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