INDIANAPOLIS – Rockhurst University junior forward Kaleb Jackson, midfielder classmate Connor Mullen and head coach Tony Tocco along with University of Southern Indiana freshman forward Eric Ramirez have garnered major postseason honors for the 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men's Soccer season, it was announced by the league office Thursday evening. Jackson was voted by the league coaches as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, while RU’s Mullen was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year, the Screaming Eagles’ Ramirez was Freshman of the Year, and RU’s Tocco earned Coach of the Year accolades as voted by his peers. A total of 33 standouts were named to the 2016 All-Conference Teams. The annual awards were presented Thursday at a reception on the eve of the GLVC Championship Tournament.
Jackson is the second Rockhurst standout to be honored as the league’s top offensive player as Mark Magee was selected in 2012. The junior posted a GLVC-best six game-winning goals overall and four in league games, while earning the second-most goals (11), goals per game (0.65), points (26) and points per game (1.53) on the season. He was also tied for first in assists (three) while second in goals (eight) and points (19) in the 15 GLVC contests of 2016. On Sept. 12 and Oct. 10, Jackson was named GLVC Offensive Player of the Week in addition to earning NSCAA Division II College Player of the Week accolades on Sept. 13 for his outburst of nine points on four goals and one assist off the bench against then-15th-ranked Fort Hays State and Lewis. The St. Louis, Missouri, native is a unanimous All-GLVC first-team pick this season after being named to the same team a year ago.
Mullen becomes Rockhurst’s fourth player to earn postseason defensive distinction in men’s soccer and the second in a row, as Paul Dean was last season’s choice. Chad Becker (2008) and Ryan Bass (2011) were the other two. The St. Louis, Missouri, product anchored a Rockhurst defense that allowed 11 goals in 18 games and eight in Conference matches, including holding GLVC opponents to a stingy .071 shot percentage and producing 10 team shutouts. Additionally, the midfielder aided the Hawks in allowing only 58 corner kicks (3.22 per game) and a .409 shots on goal percentage for opponents. He also was voted to the All-GLVC Third Team.
Ramirez is the third Screaming Eagle to collect Freshman of the Year laurels but the first to win it outright, as both Robbie Haigh and Kyle Penick were co-winners in 2000 and 2002, respectively. In GLVC matches, the forward ranked third with 17 points and was tied for second with eight goals. Overall, he is the top player in the loop for goals per game, tallying 0.67. The Vincennes, Indiana, product was essential to No. 20 Southern Indiana’s success this season, as it reached as high as No. 19 in the NSCAA Division II National Poll for the week of Oct. 4. Ramirez is one of two USI stars voted to the First Team.
Tocco is now a five-time GLVC Coach of the Year, which is the second-most for any current or former league skipper, having previously been recognized by GLVC coaches in 2008, 2011 and 2012 and 2015. Entering this season, the 45-year veteran was second all-time among intercollegiate men’s soccer coaches with 662 career victories. He has added 15 more to that total during the 2016 campaign after leading his Hawks to 15-2-1 overall record and a 12-2-1 league mark. Rockhurst was also a near perfect 9-1 in home matches and garnered a No. 1 national ranking from the NSCAA Sept. 27 that lasted three weeks, while the Hawks have held the top spot in the Midwest Region for the duration of the year. The program won its fourth regular season title and is making their 11th Championship Tournament appearance. As the top seed, the Hawks will be looking for their sixth tournament title after taking the crown last season. In addition to Jackson, Tocco mentored senior midfielder Gianluca Bottani and senior defender Evan Craig to first-team All-GLVC honors. Additionally, senior defender Matt Collier and junior midfielder Adam Michel gleaned second-team accolades while Mullen, senior defender Paul Dean and junior defender Filippo Santandrea were third-team members.
Twenty-four other men's soccer stars earned recognition from the GLVC coaches, as three 11-member All-Conference teams were also released on Thursday.
Rockhurst earned a league-best eight honorees of the 33 All-Conference selections, while three teams boasted four winners, including Drury with three first-team choices and one second-teamer, Quincy with two on the Second Team and one each on the First and Third Teams, and Southern Indiana’s two first- and second-team Eagles. Missouri S&T and University of Missouri-St. Louis followed with three honorees a piece, both with one first-team and two second-team picks, while University of Indianapolis rounded out the teams with multiple winners, as two Greyhounds were named to the Third Team. Bellarmine University, University of Illinois Springfield, Lewis University and Maryville University all had one third-team member to round out the team.
Joining Bottoni, Craig, Jackson and Ramirez on the First Team includes the other unanimous selection in Missouri S&T’s Felipe Andrade. Drury junior forward Ben Bruce, senior defender David Cross and sophomore midfielder Antoine Vial along with UMSL senior defender Joe Rund and Quincy senior midfielder Taylor Reis also found a spot on the team. USI junior goalkeeper Adam Zehme rounds out the contingent.
The league also recognized 16 GLVC James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. The honorees are now eligible to become one of their school’s two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
A complete list of the three All-Conference Teams and major postseason award winners follows below.
Offensive Player of the Year
Kaleb Jackson, F, Jr., RU
Defensive Player of the Year
Connor Mullen, MF, Jr., RU
Freshman of the Year
Eric Ramirez, F, Fr., USI
Coach of the Year
Tony Tocco, RU
FIRST TEAM
Ben Bruce, F, Jr., DU
David Cross, B, Sr., DU
Antoine Vial, MF, So., DU
Felipe Andrade, F, Jr., S&T#
Joe Rund, B, Sr., UMSL
Taylor Reis, MF, Sr., QU
Gianluca Bottoni, MF, Sr., RU
Evan Craig, B, Sr., RU
Kaleb Jackson, F, Jr., RU#
Eric Ramirez, F, Fr., USI
Adam Zehme, GK, Jr., USI
SECOND TEAM
Charles Guelly, F, Jr., DU
Mitch Morris, B, Sr., S&T
Unnar Ulfarsson, MF, So., S&T
Jack Filla, GK, Sr., UMSL
Pat Ries, F, Jr., UMSL
Artan Emini, F, Jr., QU
Eddie Plesha, F, So., QU
Matt Collier, B, Sr., RU
Adam Michel, MF, Jr., RU
Kyle Richardville, MF, Jr., USI
Michael Sass, B, Sr., USI
THIRD TEAM
Magnus Bertilsson, MF, So., BU
Zach Allevi, F, Sr., UIS
Jake Meyer, F, Sr., UINDY
Casey Zimmerman, MF, Sr., UINDY
Nico Mueller, F, Jr., LEWIS
Pontus Gitselov, F, Fr., MU
Christian Kjaersgaard, GK, So., MU
Robbie Tays, B, Sr., QU
Paul Dean, B, Sr., RU
Connor Mullen, MF, Jr., RU
Filippo Santandrea, B, Jr., RU
# Unanimous Selection
2016 MEN’S SOCCER JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES
Nathan Jones, BU
David Cross, DU
Zach Allevi, UIS
Evan Smith, UINDY
Isaac Sutton, LEWIS
Trevor Jost, MU
Jan Peters, MCK
Mitch Morris, S&T
Evan Garrad, UMSL
Taylor Reis, QU
Paul Dean, RU
Diego Coy, SJC
Brian Fischer, USI
Ben Nivala, TSU
Antonio Gonzalez, UWP
Blake Lines, WJC