Clarksville, Ark.-Seven U of O men's soccer players received American Southwest Conference awards this week and head coach Dave De Hart was named ASC East Division Coach of the Year.
U of O received all four possible individual player honors along with De Hart’s second consecutive Coach of the Year award. De Hart, who is in his third year as head coach, has a 33-10-1 record the last two seasons. Senior forward Marcos Gonzalez was named East Division Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Gonzalez, from Georgetown, Texas, ended his career as the school’s all-time leader in goals (52), assists (45), games played (78) and points (149). He also led NCAA III this season in assists per game (1.8) and set a new NCAA III record on September 4 by gathering eight assists in one match. He owns thirteen ASC records. Junior defender Aaron Coats earned East Division Defensive Player of the Year. Coats, from Boise, Idaho, was named ASC Player of the Week on October 16 after leading the Eagles to three wins in five days. Forward Daniel Faires was named East Division Offensive Freshman of the Year. Faires, from Springdale, Arkansas, scored eleven goals and had three assists this season. Goalkeeper Chris Schultz received Defensive Freshman of the Year. Schultz, from Coppell, Texas, set a new ASC record this season in goals against average (.92). In addition, the Eagles placed two players on the All-Conference team. Gonzalez and senior defender Armando Vergara were each placed on the fourteen-man squad. Players from all sixteen teams are eligible for All-Conference honors. Vergara, from Modesto, California, ranked sixth on the team in goals (6). Vergara’s ten-point total and four-goal effort on October 12 is a new ASC and school single-match record. U of O also placed five players on the All-East Division first team and two on the All-East Division second team. Gonzalez, Vergara, Faires, Coats and Ricky Herrera were each named to the All-East Division first team while Schultz and Will Masterson were named to the All-East Division second team. Herrera, a sophomore forward, scored nineteen goals and had eleven assists this season. The Las Cruces, New Mexico native was the ASC Offensive Freshman of the Year last season. Masterson, a junior midfielder from Georgetown, Texas, ranked third on the team in points (29). The Eagles finished the season with a school best 18-3-1 record.
Topics: Athletics