University of Evansville seniors Cory Elenio and Dustin Awe are first team selections on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Team, and Robby Lynch is the Freshman of the Year. In addition, Lynch and senior Ian McAuley have been chosen for the second team. Goalkeeper Alec Dufty, defender Kipp Erskine, midfielder Reggie Edu and forward Mike Luttrull are honorable mention all-conference. The awards were presented tonight at the MVC Tournament banquet in Omaha, Neb. Voting was done by the MVC coaches.

The eight UE players honored by the Valley are the most from Evansville since the Aces posted an 18-5-0 record and won the MVC tournament in 1996. The Aces take a 10-8-1 record into Friday's 5:00 p.m. semifinal match against tournament host and number two seed Creighton. The 10-1-5 Bluejays are ranked seventh nationally, and are coming off a 3-1 win at Evansville last Saturday in their most recent match. Friday's match will be broadcast by WUEV (91.5 FM), with Mark Kennedy and Bart McCune calling the action.

Evansville has produced 45 goals this season and rank seventh nationally in goal scoring. Elenio is among the league leaders in scoring with seven goals and nine assists for 23 points, and he ranks 12th nationally in assists. Awe and Lynch both have five goals and five assists this season for 15 points each. McAuley (6-2-14) is fourth on the squad in scoring and Luttrull (6-2-12) is fifth. Three others have already reached at least 10 points this season, including forward Stephan Minyono (4-3-11), Erskine (4-2-10) and Dan Gibson (3-4-10). Lynch is the fourth Evansville player to be chosen as the league's newcomer of the year, the most recent being Terence Gargantini in 1999.

Below is the full release from the Missouri Valley Conference:

Missouri Valley Announces 2007 All-Conference Men’s Soccer Team

 ST. LOUIS -- For the first time in the league’s 17-year men’s soccer history, the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year is from Bradley, as senior defender Joe Donoho headlines a list of 25 student-athletes named to the 2007 MVC All-Conference men’s soccer teams. Creighton GK Matt Allen becomes the first player in league history to repeat as Defensive Player of the Year. The all-conference units, selected by the coaches, were announced by the league office Thursday.
 Donoho aided the Braves to a third-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship and a No. 1 seed in this week’s State Farm MVC Tournament. In 2007, for the second-straight year, the Braves tied for the regular-season title with Creighton. And for the second-straight year, the co-champs have the most players on the league’s first- and second-team units. The Braves (4) and Creighton (6) combined to place 10 student-athletes on the league’s top two units. Evansville, which placed third in the league standings, and Drake, fourth, also placed four players apiece on either the first or second teams.
 Although the first Bradley player to be named Player of the Year, Donoho is not the first Brave to earn a top honor in men’s soccer, as two previous Braves (Adam Gross-1998 and Chris Dunsheath-2005) earned the league’s Defensive Player of the Year honor, while three others (Gavin Glinton-1998, Chris Dunsheath-2002, and Chris Cutshaw-2006) earned the league’s Freshman of the Year award. The starting sweeper in all 20 games this season, Donoho leads all Missouri Valley Conference participants by playing 1854 minutes this season, coming out of just two games for a total of 11 minutes. While leading a defense that is second in The Valley in goals against average in all games (0.92) and first in league play (0.78), Donoho also is the second-leading scorer in conference play. Overall, his six goals and 14 points rank second on the team, and he leads the Braves with four game-winning goals.
 The Valley’s most dominant program produced the league’s Defensive Player of the Year for the seventh time in its history, but for the first time in league history a player earned the MVC’s top defensive honor in back-to-back seasons. Matt Allen led the conference in goals against average this year with a 0.86 figure through 16 matches. His five shutouts tied for the league leadership, while his 0.85 career goals against average is better than any other active goalkeeper in the MVC. Allen is the seventh Bluejay to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. He joins SMU’s Diego Walsh (Player of the Year in 2000 and 2002) and Tulsa’s Ryan Pore (Player of the Year in 2003 and 2004) as the only repeat winners of one of the league’s top awards.
 The league’s Freshman of the Year, Robby Lynch, is a potent part of Evansville’s attack. Entering the tournament, he ranked third on the team with five points and five assists for 15 points this season for a club which leads the conference with 43 goals. He joins Pedro Delgado (1995), Shawn Beyer (1996) and Terence Gargantini (1999) as previous Aces to earn The Valley’s honor for top newcomer. (The award was a Newcomer of the Year award from 1991-95 and Freshman of the Year from 1996-present.)
 For the second-straight year, Bradley’s coaching staff has earned the MVC’s Coaching Staff of the Year honor. The award took a new name for the first time in 2006, as the honor was previously called “Coach of the Year.” It’s the fourth honor for Bradley as coach Jim DeRose earned The Valley’s top coaching honor in 1996 and 1998. Bradley, meanwhile, earned its third-straight regular-season crown and fourth in its history (1998, 2005, 2006, 2007), sharing a co-championship with Creighton in 2006 and 2007. Bradley joins Creighton (1992-96) and SMU (2000-02) as the only teams to win at least a share of three-straight Valley regular-season championships. Jim DeRose is assisted by Brad Ruzzo and Preston Good.
 Bradley is also the winner of the Valley’s Fair Play Award, which is structured after the FIFA Fair Play honor. It’s given to the Valley squad that has the fewest penalty cards during conference play.

FIRST TEAM School Pos. Yr. Hometown/Previous School

*Matt Allen Creighton GK Sr. Omaha (Neb.) Burke High
*Cory Elenio Evansville F Sr. Ann Arbor (Mich.) Pioneer High
*Brad Peters Eastern Illinois F Jr. St. Peters (Mo.) St. Dominic High
Garrett Webb Drake F So. Prairie Village (Kan.) Shawnee Mission East High
#Dustin Awe Evansville M Sr. Wichita (Kan.) Goddard High
Drew DeGurian Bradley M Sr. Naperville (Ill.) Neuqua Valley High
*Mick Galeski Eastern Illinois M Sr. Blackburn (England) Norden
Tony Schmitz Creighton M Sr. Omaha (Neb.) Skutt Catholic High
#Joe Donoho Bradley D Sr. Tampa (Fla.) Jesuit High / Rutgers University
Luke Frieberg Drake D Sr. Cumming (Iowa) Norwalk High
Chris Schuler Creighton D So. Aurora (Ill.) Waubonsie Valley High / Indiana University
*Repeat first-team selection; #Second-team pick in 2006

SECOND TEAM School Pos. Yr. Hometown/Previous School

Mike Haynes Bradley GK Sr. Dunlap (Ill.) High
#Lance Parker Missouri State GK Sr. Oklahoma City (Okla.) Putnam North High
Ian McAuley Evansville F Sr. Morvant (Trinidad & Tobago) St. Anthony’s
Andy Masteller Western Kentucky F So. St. John (Ind.) Andrean High / Central Florida
Tim Bohnenkamp Creighton M Sr. Omaha (Neb.) Millard South
#Keith Gorczyca Drake M Sr. Overland Park (Kan.) St. Thomas Aquinas High
Luke Gorczyca Drake M So. Overland Park (Kan.) St. Thomas Aquinas High
Andrei Gotsmanov Creighton M Jr. Eagan (Minn.) Woodbury High / St. John’s University
Robby Lynch Evansville M Fr. Carmel (Ind.) High
Stephen Brust Bradley D Sr. Arlington Heights (Ill.) John Hersey High / Cedarville Univ.
Andy Cooper Missouri State D Sr. St. Louis (Mo.) Oakville High
Adam Gartner Eastern Illinois D Jr. Iowa City (Iowa) Regina High
Seth Sinovic Creighton D Jr. Leawood (Kan.) Rockhurst High
Ian Smith Western Kentucky D Fr. Arlington (Texas) Martin High

#Second-team pick in 2006

HONORABLE MENTION: GK -- Alec Dufty, Evansville; D -- Teddy Anderson, Bradley; Kipp Erskine, Evansville; Paul Kopec, Western Kentucky; MF -- Grant Campbell, Bradley; Brad Earl, Eastern Illinois; Reggie Edu, Evansville; Kevin Shrout, Drake; F -- Mike Luttrull, Evansville; Kyle Windmueller, Missouri State.

ALL-FRESHMAN School Pos. Hometown/High School

Sergio Castillo Creighton D Escondido (Calif.) Orange Glen High
Nick Foster Drake M West Des Moines (Iowa) Valley High
Rudy Garcia Bradley M Peoria (Ill.) Notre Dame High
Alex Harrison Eastern Illinois F Newcastle (England) Gosforth
Matt Kuhn Drake M Raytown (Mo.) Raytown South High
Mike Luttrull Evansville F Indianapolis (Ind.) Avon High
Robby Lynch Evansville M Carmel (Ind.) High
Mike Noonan Drake F Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Xavier High
Tucker Sindlinger Creighton M Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Cedar Valley Christian High
Ian Smith Western Kentucky D Arlington (Texas) Martin High
Paul Tracy Bradley M Naperville (Ill.) Waubonsie Valley High


PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Joe Donoho, Bradley
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Matt Allen, Creighton
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Robby Lynch, Evansville
MVC “FAIR-PLAY” AWARD: Bradley
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Bradley