Men's Soccer seniors honored at annual awards banquet
1/27/2020 11:56:00 AM | Men's Soccer
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The 2019 Lehigh men's soccer team celebrated another successful season and first Patriot League Championship title since 2015 at the annual Awards Banquet last Sunday.
The Mountain Hawks placed first in the Patriot League with a record of 6-0-3, finishing 13-5-3 overall. Lehigh capitalized on big wins this season over then-No.22 Navy and a 1-0 win over archrival Lafayette in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament following a double-overtime battle that resulted in a 0-0 tie. Lehigh fell 2-0 to Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to conclude the season.
The team's coaching staff, led by head coach and 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year Dean Koski, gave out annual awards last Sunday, which included first-year letter winners and three senior awards.
First the letter-winners, awarded to players who played over 600 minutes on the field this season, were given out to seniors Tommy Dohko, Ian Marshall and Matthew Peralta, junior Ikem Mbalewe, sophomore Justin Scharf and freshmen Euan Forrest, Natan Rosen and Andrew White.
Juniors Tyler Dressman and Trevor Koski, as well as sophomores Dawson Berger, Nick Jennings, Josh Luchini and Michael Tahiru were awarded letters for the second time, while juniors Stevo Bednarsky and Blaise Milanek were third-year letter winners and seniors Will Smith and Zarin Tuten were fourth-year letter winners.
The Scholar Athlete award is selected by the coaching staff and teammates and given to the player who meets the expected GPA requirements. This year's winner was Zarin Tuten, who earned a cumulative GPA of 3.11. Tuten also received First Team All Patriot League recognition for his success on the defensive end of the field.
Koski then distributed the Coaches' Award, which is given to the player who made substantial contributions to the team's dynamic in regard to attitude, improvement or special leadership. This season's winner was goalkeeper Ian Marshall, who was a leader on the team both on and off the field, making his first career start during the season at Princeton.
Finally, the recipient of the 2019 Lehigh Men's Soccer Outstanding Athlete Award was goalkeeper Will Smith, who started his tenure as the regular starting keeper halfway through his freshman campaign. Smith finished his final season as a Mountain Hawk with 87 total saves and a .854 save percentage, leading the league in overall save percentage and saves.
He also recorded 10 shutouts throughout the season, including two over Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Rutgers. Smith currently ranks second in program history and fifth in Patriot League history with 25 career shutouts. He earned three Goalkeeper of the Week awards throughout the 2019 season and finished with a Patriot League-record 10 career awards. Smith culminated his collegiate career by being named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the Patriot League Tournament.
Smith is the first goalkeeper to win Lehigh men's soccer's Outstanding Athlete Award since Mike Zovistoski in 1992, the very first time the award was given out.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Written by Madison Schmitt '20
The Mountain Hawks placed first in the Patriot League with a record of 6-0-3, finishing 13-5-3 overall. Lehigh capitalized on big wins this season over then-No.22 Navy and a 1-0 win over archrival Lafayette in the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament following a double-overtime battle that resulted in a 0-0 tie. Lehigh fell 2-0 to Pittsburgh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to conclude the season.
The team's coaching staff, led by head coach and 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year Dean Koski, gave out annual awards last Sunday, which included first-year letter winners and three senior awards.
First the letter-winners, awarded to players who played over 600 minutes on the field this season, were given out to seniors Tommy Dohko, Ian Marshall and Matthew Peralta, junior Ikem Mbalewe, sophomore Justin Scharf and freshmen Euan Forrest, Natan Rosen and Andrew White.
Juniors Tyler Dressman and Trevor Koski, as well as sophomores Dawson Berger, Nick Jennings, Josh Luchini and Michael Tahiru were awarded letters for the second time, while juniors Stevo Bednarsky and Blaise Milanek were third-year letter winners and seniors Will Smith and Zarin Tuten were fourth-year letter winners.
The Scholar Athlete award is selected by the coaching staff and teammates and given to the player who meets the expected GPA requirements. This year's winner was Zarin Tuten, who earned a cumulative GPA of 3.11. Tuten also received First Team All Patriot League recognition for his success on the defensive end of the field.
Koski then distributed the Coaches' Award, which is given to the player who made substantial contributions to the team's dynamic in regard to attitude, improvement or special leadership. This season's winner was goalkeeper Ian Marshall, who was a leader on the team both on and off the field, making his first career start during the season at Princeton.
Finally, the recipient of the 2019 Lehigh Men's Soccer Outstanding Athlete Award was goalkeeper Will Smith, who started his tenure as the regular starting keeper halfway through his freshman campaign. Smith finished his final season as a Mountain Hawk with 87 total saves and a .854 save percentage, leading the league in overall save percentage and saves.
He also recorded 10 shutouts throughout the season, including two over Big Ten opponents Northwestern and Rutgers. Smith currently ranks second in program history and fifth in Patriot League history with 25 career shutouts. He earned three Goalkeeper of the Week awards throughout the 2019 season and finished with a Patriot League-record 10 career awards. Smith culminated his collegiate career by being named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year and Most Valuable Player of the Patriot League Tournament.
Smith is the first goalkeeper to win Lehigh men's soccer's Outstanding Athlete Award since Mike Zovistoski in 1992, the very first time the award was given out.
Like Lehigh Men's Soccer on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Written by Madison Schmitt '20
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