Eight members of the University of Evansville men's soccer team were presented awards today following a season in which the Aces won 10 matches for the first time since 1999, and finished sixth nationally in NCAA Division I total offense.

Senior forward Cory Elenio earned the INTEGRA BANK Most Valuable Player Award.  Elenio was the Aces' leading scorer with seven goals and nine assists for 23 points, ranking him third in the Missouri Valley Conference.  He finished 24th nationally in assists, and earned first team All-Midwest Region and first team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors for the second year in a row in each category.

Junior goalkeeper Alec Dufty was chosen as Most Valuable Player–Defense.  Dufty has been the Aces' starting goalkeeper each of the past two seasons.  He finished with a 10-7-1 record and four shutouts, and allowed just 1.43 goals per match.  Dufty was also chosen as honorable mention all-MVC.

Freshman midfielder Robby Lynch was UE's Newcomer of the Year, not a surprise since Lynch was chosen as Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year and as a member of the Top Drawer Soccer Freshman All-America Team.  Lynch totaled five goals and five assists for 15 points, and was also a second team all-MVC selection in his rookie year.

Chosen as the Most Improved Player was sophomore forward Stephen Minyono, who totaled four goals and three assists for 11 points in his second year with the Aces.  Senior goalkeeper Corey Southers earned the Scholar-Athlete Award for excellence on the field and in the classroom.  Southers has a perfect 4.0 grade point average, and is majoring in movement science.  The Ironman Award went to central defender Kipp Erskine, who transferred to Evansville from Hartwick College and promptly led the 2007 team in minutes played.  He also added four goals and two assists for 10 points. 

The Ian Coull Memorial Award, based on support of teammates and ability on the field, went to forward Ian McAuley.  The fifth-year senior scored six goals and two assists for 14 points, and finished his career with 20 goals and nine assists for 49 points, ranking him number 23 in UE's all-time scoring list.  The Greg Bordfeld Spirit of the Aces Award is based on players with an outstanding attitude.  That award went to senior midfielder Ben Harner, who played two seasons at UE after transferring from the University of Richmond.  He played in 15 of the Aces' 20 matches in 2007. 

The 2007 season was a year in which the Aces finished third in the Missouri Valley Conference regular season standings behind two NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 teams, and reached the State Farm MVC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1999. The Aces' 45 goals were their most since Fred Schmalz's 1996 team scored 61 on its way to winning the MVC Tournament and reaching the NCAA Tournament.  UE was nearly as strong defensively, allowing only 31 goals and posting four shutouts.  The 1.55 goals allowed per match was the lowest average since 2003, and the second lowest since 1997.