INDIANAPOLIS – Wright State senior forward Peguy Ngatcha was voted the Horizon League Player and Offensive Player of the Year in voting of the League’s 10 head coaches.
Cleveland State’s Sergio Manesio was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in-a-row while Andrew Putna earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors for the Flames. Milwaukee’s Evan Conway was voted Freshman of the Year to round out the student-athlete individual awards.
Wright State head coach Bryan Davis took home Coach of the Year accolades in voting by his peers as the Raiders captured their first regular season title in program history.
Ngatcha led the conference in points (13), points per game (1.63) and goals (6) throughout League play. The senior totaled 23 points across the 17 games he appeared in while netting 10 goals for No. 1 seeded Wright State.
Manesio started every game he made an appearance in for Cleveland State on the backline. The senior posted three goals, two of which were in game-winning style.
Putna allowed just three goals in League play in 650:00 minutes of work, averaging .42 goals per game. In addition, the senior recorded a conference-leading five shutouts as well as 17 saves. Over the course of the season, Putna posted six shutouts, 42 saves and a goal against average of 1.15.
Conway ranked in the top-five in many offensive categories including shots (28), shots per game (3.5), points (9), points per game (1.13), goals (3) and goals per game (.5) during conference games. The freshman started all but one contest this year for Milwaukee while ending the regular season with 14 points and six goals.
The First Team All-League is comprised of 10 upperclassmen, including a strong senior class of eight individuals led by Ngatcha, Manesio and Putna. Wright State’s Eric Lynch, Jake Stovall and Kaique Fernandes tabbed accolades while UIC added sophomore Max Todd and junior Jose Fuentes. The Vikings’ Alec Nagucki tabbed a spot on the team along with Valparaiso’s Isaiah Madrid and Omar Lawrence.
The Second Team All-League saw some familiar faces as last year’s Freshman of the Year, Jackson Dietrich from Wright State, was honored alongside the 2015 Goalkeeper of the Year Nico Campbell of Valparaiso. The Crusaders also added defender Adrian Graham and forward Kendan Anderson to the roster while the Raiders slotted AJ Paterson to the midfield honorees. Detroit Mercy’s Spiro Pliakos was an All-League recipient for the third-straight season and was accompanied by fellow juniors Jake Lagania from Cleveland State and Milwaukee’s Nick Moon and Jon Stadler. Sophomore Francesco Saporito also represented the Panthers while Green Bay’s Andre Baires tabbed accolades as a freshman.
Baires highlighted the All-Freshman Team alongside Freshman of the Year Conway of Milwaukee. Belmont placed two newcomers to the squad in goalkeeper Mertcan Akar and midfielder Eli Crognale. Forward Lawrence Karpeh represented Cleveland State as centerback standout Nyal Higgins and teammate Nebojsa Popovic tabbed honors for Oakland. UIC’s Cristian Sanchez was rewarded for his work on the backline as fellow Flame Alexander Cervantes was recognized as well. The Crusaders’ Steffen Pulinx and Raiders’ Austin Kinley rounded out 11-man roster with their defensive work all season.
The Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship begins tonight with two Quarterfinal contests. No. 3 seeded Milwaukee hosts No. 6 Valparaiso at 8:00 p.m. ET while No. 4 seed Oakland hosts No. 5 seed Green Bay at 7:00 p.m. ET. Both Quarterfinal contests will be streamed on ESPN3.
The tournament will move to Wright State for the semifinals and finals beginning on Thursday, Nov. 10. The first semifinal will feature No. 2 UIC who will face the highest remaining seed at 4:00 p.m. ET, with No. 1 Wright State squaring off against the lowest remaining seed at 7:00 p.m. ET. The Championship match will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6:00 p.m. ET
First Team All-League
Max Todd, UIC (So., F)
Peguy Ngatcha, Wright State (Sr., F)
Eric Lynch, Wright State (Sr., F)
Alec Nagucki, Cleveland State (Jr., MF)
Jose Fuentes, UIC (Jr., MF)
Isaiah Madrid, Valparaiso (Sr., MF)
Sergio Manesio, Cleveland State (Sr., D)
Omar Lawrence, Valparaiso (Sr., D)
Jake Stovall, Wright State (Sr., D)
Kaique Fernandes, Wright State (Sr., D)
Andrew Putna, UIC (Sr., GK)
Second Team All-League
Jake Lagania, Cleveland State (Jr., F)
Spiro Pliakos, Detroit Mercy (Jr., F)
Nick Moon, Milwaukee (Jr., F)
Kendan Anderson, Valparaiso (Sr., F)
Francesco Saporito, Milwaukee (So., MF)
Jackson Dietrich, Wright State (So., MF)
AJ Paterson, Wright State (Jr., MF)
Andre Baires, Green Bay (Fr., D)
Jon Stadler, Milwaukee (Jr., D)
Adrian Graham, Valparaiso (Sr., D)
Nico Campbell, Valparaiso (Sr., GK)
All-Freshman Team
Mertcan Akar, Belmont (GK)
Eli Crognale, Belmont (MF)
Lawrence Karpeh, Cleveland State (F)
Andre Baires, Green Bay (D)
Evan Conway, Milwaukee (F)
Nyal Higgins, Oakland (D)
Nebojsa Popovic, Oakland (MF)
Cristian Sanchez, UIC (D)
Alexander Cervantes, UIC (F)
Steffen Pulinx, Valparaiso (D)
Austin Kinley, Wright State (D)
Player of the Year: Peguy Ngatcha, Wright State
Offensive Player of the Year: Peguy Ngatcha, Wright State
Defensive Player of the Year: Sergio Manesio, Cleveland State
Goalkeeper of the Year: Andrew Putna, UIC
Freshman of the Year: Evan Conway, Milwaukee
Coach of the Year: Bryan Davis, Wright State
