ST. LOUIS - After two productive careers, University of Evansville men's soccer seniors Jesse Stafford-Lacey and Zac Blaydes we're named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team, it was announced on Wednesday in a release by the conference office.

Scoring four goals to lead the Aces in 2019, Stafford-Lacey earns first team scholar-athlete honors after being named honorable mention last season. Stafford-Lacey currently holds a 3.76 GPA in Sport Communication and has continually earned recognition for both is on and off the pitch efforts. Athletically, Stafford-Lacey was named second-team all-MVC this season following up his preseason all-MVC honor.

Blaydes captures his third MVC scholar-athlete team honor after a season in which the Midway, Ky. native took on an unfamiliar role. Blaydes helped anchor Evansville's backline in 2019, playing much of the season aiding the Aces' defense. The scholar-athlete honor follows two previous scholar-athlete awards for Blaydes, earned in 2016 and 2017, as Blaydes currently holds a 3.88 GPA in Exercise Science.

The criteria for the all-MVC honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or played in the league tournament. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.