BELLEVUE, Neb. - The Bellevue University men's soccer team followed up a stellar regular season by seeing two individuals recognized as Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference major awards winners as announced by the conference to kick off the awards season on Wednesday. The Bruins also had nine players named either First or Second Team All-Conference selections and three players named MCAC Scholar-Athletes.
Bellevue (14-2-1/5-0-0 MCAC) won the MCAC regular season title and are No. 18 ranking in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Poll. They have won six straight matches, conceding just one goal while scoring 20 of their own during that stretch, including a convincing 4-0 result over conference runner-up Oklahoma Wesleyan on Oct. 18.
Freshman Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) was named the MCAC Freshman of the Year and head coach Matt Briggs was named MCAC Coach of the Year. It is the first major award of Smith's career and it came after the attacking midfielder led the Bruins in each of the three major offensive categories; goals (11), assists (7), and points (29). Six of his goals were game-winners for the Bruins and that number ranks fourth nationally. Smith was also named as MCAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 15.
Briggs, claiming his second Coach of the Year honor (first since 2009), guided the team to their first MCAC regular season title since 2010 and has them in the tournament championship match for the third consecutive year. A season ago Bellevue upset top-seeded Oklahoma Wesleyan 1-0 to clinch their first tournament title since 2009. The 14 wins by the Bruins match the most during Briggs' eight year tenure and their .853 winning percentage is the highest in school history. Bellevue's previous best winning percentage was .810 after posting a 16-3-2 campaign during the 2005 season.
Bellevue had six student-athletes honored on the All-MCAC First Team and three others named to the All-MCAC Second Team. In addition to Smith the Bruins also saw seniors Manuel Lira (Guadalajara, Mexico) and Scott Robertson (Burnley, England), junior Alan Carr (Lincolnshire, England) and Tobias Maertzke (Hamburg, Germany), and sophomore Lee Woolmore (Norfolk, England) named to the first team. They were joined by second team selections senior Vinny Braga (Sao Paulo, Brazil), junior Jamie Henderson (Lincolnshire, England), and freshman Jacob Pease (Lincoln, England).
Lira was named All-MCAC for the second time in his career (also earning first team accolades in 2013) after scoring eight goals and assisting on six others for 22 points to place third on the team. Robertson makes his first appearance on the All-Conference team after posting a conference-best 0.58 goals against average (a mark which ranked sixth in the country) to go along with a near-unfathomable .826 save percentage, five clean sheets, and an 11-2-1 record on the year. Maertzke earns first time accolades after being named to the second team last season and is second on the team in all three major offensive categories with nine goals, six assists, and 24 points while two of his goals have proven to be game-winners. Carr, a 2013 first team pick and one of the best two-way players in the conference, has scored a goal and assisted on three others this season while anchoring a defense which has yielded just 54 shots on goal (in 17 matches) and conceded just 10 goals, which would stand as the best mark in program history by a wide margin. Woolmore, Carr's central defending mate and a second team pick a season ago, helped to co-anchor the defense while scoring three goals and assisting on two others and establishing himself as one of the best center backs in the MCAC.
Braga, after wreaking havoc along the left side out of the backfield all season, was recognized on the second team after totaling three goals and three assists while using speed and good burst to shut down opposing wingers. Henderson, a defensive midfielder and imposing force, scored just one goal but used his physical style to wear down opposing players and make getting shots of near-impossible. Pease, with a knack for providing big plays throughout the course of the season while seeing time in many positions, earned second team honors after scoring a pair of goals and assisting on two others.
Bellevue also had a trio of players earn MCAC Scholar-Athlete accolades. Senior Kristopher McFadyen (Glasgow, Scotland) earned the distinction for the second time in his career while Scott Robertson and Tobias Maertzke were each recognized for the first time. To be eligible for the award, student-athletes must have a 3.25 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale), be at least a sophomore, and have spent at least two semesters at their current school.
Bellevue looks to cap its strong season when it hosts Oklahoma Wesleyan (10-8-0/5-1-0 MCAC) in the MCAC Tournament Final on Friday at Tranquility Park in Omaha. In a match-up between the top-seeded Bruins and second-seeded Eagles back on Oct. 18 Bellevue scored a pair of goals in each half as four different players found the back of the net. Kick-off on Friday is set for 2:00 p.m. while ticket prices are $5 for adults and $3 for children.
For the full list of MCAC award winners, please click here.
