OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Loyola senior goalkeeper Peter McKeown (Woodbury, Minn.) and Valparaiso senior keeper Kyle Zobeck (Coralville, Iowa) were among the 30 men’s soccer student-athletes named as candidates for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
McKeown, an All-Academic Horizon League selection his junior year, backstopped Loyola to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, earning most valuable player honors in the League tournament. Entering his final collegiate season, McKeown was tied for fourth on Loyola's career leaderboard with 16 shutouts.
A communications major at Loyola, McKeown had earned a 3.748 grade-point average entering his senior year.
Zobeck, who holds a 3.966 GPA in mechanical engineering at Valparaiso, played every second in goal for the Crusaders his junior year, enjoying the best goalkeeping season in program history. Recording 11 shutouts and a 0.66 goals-against average, Zobeck was named Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year and was a First Team All-League honoree.
His efforts also earned him a spot on the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team. Zobeck entered his senior year as Valpo’s career record holder in shutouts (18) and goals against average (0.97), the latter mark ranking eighth in Horizon League history.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The 2012 candidate class includes 14 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Americans from last season. More than half of the 60 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Seven of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2011 Capital One Academic All-Americans. Five student-athletes participated in the 2011 NCAA Men's or Women's College Cups®. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2012 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup championships. The Women’s College Cup will take place November 30 and December 2 in San Diego, while the Men’s College Cup will take place December 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.
For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.
Men's Soccer Candidates
Carlos Alvarez, Connecticut
James Belshaw, Duke
Ashton Bennett, Coastal Carolina
Steven Birnbaum, California
Scott Caldwell, Akron
Machael David, UC Santa Barbara
Johnny Dreshaj, Oakland
Shawn Ferguson, Charleston
Peyton Ford, North Carolina-Greensboro
Scott Goodwin, North Carolina
Anthony Hobbs, Florida International
Ryan Hollingshead, UCLA
Deion Jones, Florida Gulf Coast
Taylor Kemp, Maryland
Ryan McDuff, Brown
Brian McGue, Davidson
Peter McKeown, Loyola (Illinois)
Luis Ocejo, Stetson
Cameron Omsberg, Lehigh
Jannis Opalka, Siena
Liam Paddock, UMBC
Everett Pitts, UC Irvine
Dillon Powers, Notre Dame
Eric Schoenle, West Virginia
Yannick Smith, Old Dominion
Donnie Smith, Charlotte
Blake Smith, New Mexico
Bobby Thalman, Yale
Grant Van De Casteele, Notre Dame
Kyle Zobeck, Valparaiso
Women's Soccer Candidates
Caitlin Alves, Hartford
Alex Balcer, Long Beach State
Mallory Baum, Southern Methodist
Bailey Brandon, Central Michigan
Amber Brooks, North Carolina
Tara Campbell, Duke
Allie Chandler, Arkansas
Anina Cicerone, Western Michigan
Lauren Costa, Montana
Abi Cottam, Rider
Adrianna AD Franch, Oklahoma State
Natalia Gaitan, Toledo
Cynthia Jacobo, Cal State Northridge
Tishia Jewell, Central Florida
Scout Libke, Oregon
Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall, Brigham Young
Kylie Louw, Stephen F. Austin State
Ally Miller, Marquette
Caroline Miller, Virginia
Mariah Nogueira, Stanford
Natalie Norris, Utah State
Mallory Schaffer, William and Mary
Sarah Schaidle, Charleston
Nichole Schiro, Loyola (Maryland)
Lauren Smedley, Lafayette
Clare Stachel, Michigan
Erika Tymrak, Florida
Beth West, Texas A&M
Colleen Williams, Dayton
Kathryn Williamson, Florida
Tags: Loyola - Men's Soccer · Valparaiso - Men's Soccer
