Horizon League Announces 2013 Men's Soccer Award Winners

INDIANAPOLIS -- Milwaukee junior midfielder Laurie Bell and UIC senior midfielder Bob Novak have been named the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Players of the Year, with Bell earning the League’s Offensive Player of the Year, in voting of the League’s coaches.

UIC (15-3-0, 7-0-0 Horizon), which became the first Horizon League team to win all of its conference matches since 2002, collected additional honors as Andrew Putna won both Goalkeeper of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Sean Phillips was tabbed the League’s Coach of the Year by his peers. Senior Josh Beard was named the Defensive Player of the Year.

Leading the Horizon League with 12 goals and 28 points, Bell paced a resurgent Milwaukee attack. In 17 matches played, Bell topped the conference with 1.65 points per game. A two-time League Player of the Week this season, Bell joins Antou Jallou (2002) and Ryan Seymour (2001) as Panthers’ Player of the Year recipients. Bell is the first Milwaukee player to earn Offensive Player of the Year accolades.

Novak controlled the midfield for a UIC squad that enters the Horizon League Tournament on a nine-match winning streak. Novak’s six assists are tied for fourth in the conference. The senior is the first UIC player to earn Player of the Year honors since Baggio Husidic in 2008.

In his first year in net for the Flames, Putna recorded nine shutouts, pacing the conference. In 18 matches, the freshman allowed just 14 goals, ranking second in the League with a 0.76 goals-against-average. The freshman is the first Flame to be named keeper of the year since Jovan Bubonja in 2008.

His teammate, Beard, was a large reason Putna saw only 61 shots on goal in 18 matches. Beard keyed a defense that permitted just four goals in conference play. Overall, the UIC defense allowed just 148 shots.

In a realigned first team, UIC led the way with five selections. The Flames are littered throughout the 3-3-4 formation, with Beard among the defensemen and Novak in the midfield. With Putna in goal, forwards Slobodan Aleksov and Jesus Torres are among the four forwards on the team.

Joining the UIC duo up front are Detroit’s Adam Bedell and Cleveland State’s Admir Suljevic. Two-thirds of the midfield is comprised of the League co-Players of the Year in Bell and Novak, while CSU midfielder Aslinn Rodas rounds out the trio. Milwaukee’s Andrew Stone and CSU’s Zach Ellis-Hayden join Beard in defense.

The Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off on Tuesday, Nov. 12, when No. 3 Oakland hosts No. 6 Valparaiso at 7 p.m. ET; the defending champion, No. 4 Cleveland State welcomes No. 5 Wright State at 7 p.m. ET. No. 1 UIC will square off against the lowest remaining seed while No. 2 Milwaukee will meet the highest remaining team in the semifinals, which begin at 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 15. The championship contest will commence at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 17. UIC 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.

2013 HORIZON LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

First Team All-Horizon League
Name Pos. Year

Admir Suljevic, Cleveland State F Sr.
Slobodan Aleksov, UIC F Sr.
Adam Bedell, Detroit F Sr.
Jesus Torres, UIC F Jr.
Bob Novak, UIC M Sr.
Laurie Bell, Milwaukee M Jr.
Aslinn Rodas, Cleveland State M Sr.
Andrew Stone, Milwaukee D Sr.
Josh Beard, UIC D Sr.
Zach Ellis-Hayden, Cleveland State D Sr.
Andrew Putna, UIC GK Fr.

Second Team All-Horizon League
Name Pos. Year

Joey Tinnion, Oakland F Jr.
Sam Krenzien, Green Bay F Sr.
Robbie Boyd, Milwaukee F Sr.
Brett Elder, Wright State F So.
Lawrence Talery, Green Bay M RS-Jr.
Luke Goodnetter, Milwaukee M Jr.
Jesse Ortiz, Valparaiso M Sr.
Raphael Reynolds, Oakland M So.
Nick Kristock, Oakland D Sr.
Thomas Villamil, UIC D So.
Emeka Ononye, Wright State D Jr.
Sean Lewis, Oakland GK Sr.

All-Freshman Team
Name Pos. Year

Sergio Manesio, Cleveland State F Fr.
Kevin Klett, Valparaiso F Fr.
Gonzalo Romo, UIC M Fr.
Omar Lawrence, Valparaiso M Fr.
Audi Jepson, Green Bay M Fr.
Eric Lynch, Wright State M Fr.
Amari Williams, Cleveland State D Fr.
Kyle Hamann, UIC D Fr.
Adrian Graham, Valparaiso D Fr.
Jake Stovall, Wright State D Fr.
Andrew Putna, UIC GK Fr.

Co-Player of the Year: Laurie Bell, Milwaukee
Co-Player of the Year: Bob Novak, UIC
Offensive Player of the Year: Laurie Bell, Milwaukee
Defensive Player of the Year: Josh Beard, UIC
Goalkeeper of the Year: Andrew Putna, UIC
Freshman of the Year: Andrew Putna, UIC
Coach of the Year: Sean Phillips, UIC