Koenig, Ward, Rydstrand Claim Spots On United Soccer Coaches All-Region Teams

OMAHA, Neb. --Three players from this year's Creighton men's soccer team earned spots on the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region teams, the organization announced on Wednesday morning. Sven Koenig and Akeem Ward each claimed first team accolades, while Joel Rydstrand garnered a spot on the second team.

This year marks the fourth season in the past five in which Creighton has had at least three players earn all-region recognition.

Koenig, the 2018 BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, scored a league-best 10 goals, including three game-winners. The Westhofen, Germany, native averaged 2.11 shots on goal per match, which ranked in the top 10 nationally. Koenig recorded two multi-goal matches and had at least one goal in four of six contests during the month of September. He claimed BIG EAST Player of the Week recognition (Oct. 1) and College Soccer News Men's Team of the Week honors (Sept. 17) during the season.

Ward started all 18 matches for the Bluejays, and ranked third on the team with eight points from two goals and four assists. Each of his goals were game-winning tallies, as Creighton went 5-0-0 during matches in which Ward recorded a goal or assist. The Vienna, Virginia, native earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors twice, and a spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Men's Team of the Week on Aug. 28.

Rydstrand paced the Bluejays in assists for the third consecutive season with five during 18 starts in 2018 on his way to BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year status. He posted 23 helpers during his career, good enough for 11th on Creighton's individual career assists list. The Almunge, Sweden, native played 82 matches in a Bluejay uniform, including 81 starts.

Creighton is one of three schools with two or more players on the 2018 All-East Region First Team.

The Bluejays ended their season at 11-4-3 and claimed the BIG EAST regular-season title before bowing out of the postseason during the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship presented by Jeep. The 2018 season marked Elmar Bolowich's eighth and final year at the helm of the Creighton men's soccer program.

2018 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's All-East Region

First Team
Pos.	Player	Class	School	Hometown
K	Yannik Oettl	So.	University of Central Florida	Munich, Germany
D	Akeem Ward	Sr.	Creighton University	Vienna, Va.
D	Dylan Nealis	Jr.	Georgetown University	Massapequa, N.Y.
D	Jacob Hauser-Ramsey	Sr.	University of Connecticut	Seattle, Wash.
M	Louis Perez	So.	University of Central Florida	Villennes Sur Seine, France
M	Yoni Sorokin	So.	University of Central Florida	Jerusalem, Israel
M	Emil Cuello	Sr.	Southern Methodist University	Orem, Utah
F	Cal Jennings	Jr.	University of Central Florida	Roswell, Ga.
F	Abdou Mbacke Thiam	Sr.	University of Connecticut	Dakar, Senegal
F	Sven Koenig	Sr.	Creighton University	Westhofen, Germany
F	Eamon Whelan	Jr.	Quinnipiac University	New Fairfield, Conn.
Second Team
Pos.	Player	Class	School	Hometown
K	Gordon Botterill	So.	Fairfield University	Vandoeuvres, Switzerland
D	Jonas Vergin	So.	Fairfield University	Bad Bramstedt, Germany
D	Jeppe Haehre	Jr.	Quinnipiac University	Tumi Umi, Australia
D	Sylvain Coco	Jr.	Rider University	Nimes, France
D	Brendan McDonough	Sr.	Georgetown University	Matthews, N.C.
M	Joel Rydstrand	Sr.	Creighton University	Almunge, Sweden
M	Dayonn Harris	Jr.	University of Connecticut	Milton, Ont.
M	Diego Casielles	Sr.	Fairfield University	Santander, Spain
F	Allen Gavilanes	So.	Marist College	North Plainfield, N.J.
F	Infunyachi Achara	Jr.	Georgetown University	Enugu, Nigeria
F	Derek Dodson	So.	Georgetown University	Aurora, Ill.
F	Killian Colombie	Sr.	Iona College	Paris, France
Third Team
Pos.	Player	Class	School	Hometown
K	Colin Miller	Sr.	Providence College	Bel Air, Md.
D	Yanis Leerman	Fr	University of Central Florida	Troyes, France
D	Dylan Greenberg	Sr.	University of Connecticut	Dix Hills, N.Y.
D	Talen Maples	So.	Southern Methodist University	Leander, Texas
M	Simen Hestnes	Sr.	Xavier University	Oslo, Norway
M	David Zalzman	Sr.	University Of Memphis	Maracay,Venezuela
M	Samad Bounthong	Jr.	Marist College	Seattle, Wash.
M	Tiago Mendonca	Jr.	Providence College	Faro, Portugal
F	Elliott Otmani	Sr.	Rider University	La Ciotat, France
F	Rashawn Dally	Sr.	Quinnipiac University	Bloomfield, Conn.
F	Tomasz Skublak	Sr.	University Of South Florida	Hamilton, Ont.

Koenig, Ward, Rydstrand Claim Spots On United Soccer Coaches All-Region Teams

Players Mentioned

Sven Koenig

Joel Rydstrand

Akeem Ward

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