Horizon League Announces 2011 Men's Soccer Award Winners

INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay senior Tony Walls has been named the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, while UIC junior Ivan Stanisavljevic earned Offensive Player of the Year accolades. Wright State’s Craig Feehan collected Newcomer of the Year honors, while Valparaiso took the other half of the League’s individual awards, in voting of the League’s coaches.

The regular season Horizon League champion Crusaders were recognized as Stefan Antonijevic was voted Defensive Player of the Year, with Kyle Zobeck picking up Goalkeeper of the Year recognition. In leading Valparaiso to its first outright Horizon League regular season title, head coach Mike Avery was tabbed Coach of the Year.

Walls collected the most points in voting to earn Player of the Year honors. In his senior season, the midfielder led Green Bay with six goals and five assists, ranking sixth in the League with 17 points. Walls was rated the top player in the League by TopDrawerSoccer.com earlier this year.

The leading scorer in the Horizon League, Stanisavljevic rebounded from a sophomore slump to post 10 goals and seven assists in his junior campaign. With 26 points, Stanisavljevic finished seven points clear of the nearest player in the League, with his 10 goals also paced the conference.

Antonijevic led a defense that helped Goalkeeper of the Year Zobeck turn in 10 shutouts in 19 matches. The senior chipped in two goals and an assist to aid the Crusader offense.

In net, Zobeck paced the League in shutouts, doubling the number of the nearest keeper. Zobeck’s 0.69 goals-against-average also paced the League.

A fellow keeper, Feehan helped lead Wright State’s resurgence to the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament. The freshman turned in a .788 save percentage to lead the League while posting the second-best GAA in the conference at 1.03.

With Admir Suljevic, Aaron Adkins and Manual Conde on the First Team, Cleveland State led the way with three selections. Stanisavljevic was joined by teammate Eric Frazier, while Bryce Rockwell-Ashton and Brian Cothern represented Wright State. Butler’s Austin Oldham rounded out the team.

The Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off on Tuesday, Nov. 8, when No. 3 Cleveland State hosts No. 6 Loyola at 7 p.m. ET; one hour later, No. 4 Green Bay hosts No. 5 UIC at 8 p.m. ET.  No. 1 Valparaiso will square off against the lowest remaining seed while No. 2 Wright State will meet the highest remaining team in the semifinals, which begin at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 11.  The championship contest will commence at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 13.  Valparaiso will be the host for the semifinals and finals.

The semifinals and championship will be carried live on the Horizon League Network at HorizonLeague.com.

2011 Horizon League Award Winners
First Team All-Horizon League
Name -- Pos., Year
Tony Walls, Green Bay -- M, Sr.
Stefan Antonijevic, Valparaiso -- D, Sr.
Ivan Stanisavljevic, UIC -- M, Jr.
Admir Suljevic, Cleveland State -- F, So.
Aaron Adkins, Cleveland State -- F, Jr.
Bryce Rockwell-Ashton, Wright State -- M, So.
Eric Frazier, UIC -- F, Sr.
Austin Oldham, Butler -- F, So.
Manual Conde, Cleveland State -- M, Sr.
Brian Cothern, Wright State -- M, Sr.
Kyle Zobeck, Valparaiso -- GK, Jr.

Second Team All-Horizon League
Name -- Pos. Year
Stuart Grable, Green Bay -- M, Sr.
Robert Refai, Milwaukee -- M, Sr.
Wei Ming-Wong, Valparaiso -- D, Sr.
Jonathon Smith, Valparaiso -- M, Jr.
Andrew Stone, Green Bay -- D, Jr.
Zach Steinberger, Butler --M, Fr.
Aslinn Rodas, Cleveland State -- M, So.
Guy Shabtay, Valparaiso -- F, Sr.
Paul Tracy, UIC -- M, Sr.
James Howe, Loyola -- M, So.
Brad Stuver, Cleveland State -- GK, Jr.

All-Newcomer Team
Name -- Pos. Year
Craig Feehan, Wright State -- GK, Fr.
Justin Laird, Wright State -- F, Fr.
Zach Steinberger, Butler -- M, Fr.
Mike Derezic, Cleveland State -- M, Fr.
Eric Nieto, Valparaiso -- M, Fr.
Kirby Allen, Green Bay -- F, Fr.
Gustav Svensson, Wright State -- D, Fr.
Brian Bement, Loyola -- F, Fr.
Zev Taublieb, Valparaiso -- M, Fr.
Jesus Torres, UIC -- F, Fr.
Gerardo Saavedra, Milwaukee -- M, Fr.

Player of the Year: Tony Walls, Green Bay
Offensive Player of the Year: Ivan Stanisavljevic, UIC
Defensive Player of the Year: Stefan Antonijevic, Valparaiso
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kyle Zobeck, Valparaiso
Newcomer of the Year: Craig Feehan, Wright State
Coach of the Year: Mike Avery, Valparaiso