KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Six Horizon League men’s soccer players earned All-Great Lakes Region honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the organization announced on Sunday.
Detroit’s Adam Bedell, Ivan Stanisavljevic of UIC and Cleveland State forward Admir Suljevic all earned spots on the second team, while the Vikings’ trio of Brad Stuver, Zach Ellis-Hayden and Cameron Eisses were all selected to the third team.
Moving to the midfield this season, Bedell was named the Horizon League Men's Soccer Player of the Year, as well as the League's Offensive Player of the Year, after leading the League with 11 goals and 27 points. Bedell's five assists also tied for the League lead. Tied for 23rd nationally in goals, Bedell's last goal of the regular season clinched Detroit's first regular-season title since 2005. The junior was named the League's Offensive Player of the Week on four occasions, including a Horizon League record three consecutive weeks.
Stanisavljevic captured League Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2011 before being named to the Horizon League's First-Team for the second-consecutive season in 2012. The midfielder ranked second in the League in points with 21, bolstered by eight goals and five assists, the top mark in the Horizon League.
Stanisavljevic scored four goals in League play, including one goal in three-of the final four matches of the regular season. The Belgrade, Serbia native racked up 47 points over his final two seasons, finishing his career with 62 total points, seventh all-time in school history; his 25 goals are the fourth-most in program history. He is one-of only three players in UIC history to tally a trio of three-goal hat tricks during his career.
Suljevic shined all season long for the Vikings, leading the team with five goals and 14 points, tying for the team lead with four assists. Those numbers put him fifth in the Horizon League in both goals and points on his own, while also being tied for sixth in the league in assists. The junior was clutch all season long for the Vikings, making big plays all season including scoring two game winning goals.
Stuver also was a standout performer all year long for the Vikings as a Third Team selection. Stuver, the 2010 Horizon League Goalie of the Year, was a Second Team All-League selection in 2012, and led the league in shutouts with nine, also finishing second in the league in saves (81) and goals against average (0.86). Stuver's nine shutouts were four more than anyone else in the league, as the keeper was named the 2012 Horizon League Tournament MVP in leading the Vikings to their first NCAA berth since 1980.
Eisses appeared in 17 games with 13 starts for CSU. Ellis-Hayden was also a constant presence for the Vikings on the defensive end of the field, with 20 games played and 16 starts. Eisses was a First Team All- Horizon League selection and the league's Defensive Players of the Year, with Ellis-Hayden being named a Second Team All-Horizon League selection. The two defenders joined Stuver to help produce one of the top defenses in the Horizon League in 2012.
