DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The Sun Conference announced the 2013 All-Conference awards and superlatives on Thursday evening at the men's soccer tournament banquet held on the campus of Embry-Riddle. The semifinals and finals are set to take place Friday and Saturday at the Embry-Riddle Soccer Stadium and will feature top-seeded Embry-Riddle, second-seeded Thomas, fourth-seeded SCAD Savannah and sixth-seeded Southeastern. The All-Conference teams featured 25 student-athletes from eight of the league's 11 teams and a 11-member honorable mention squad with four schools represented.
Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors went to Thomas' Rowan Liburd, a 6-3 senior forward from Croydon, England. Liburd recorded 14 goals and six assists for the Night Hawks, leading Thomas to a second-place finish during the regular season in league play. Liburd ranks 12th in the NAIA with five game-winning goals, second in The Sun Conference with his 14 scores, second in shots (3.7) and shots on goal (2.1) per match and scored 10 goals in TSC action. Liburd also earned Sun Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 30.
Ally MacDonald, an Embry-Riddle senior defender from Inverness, Scotland, was named The Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Year. MacDonald, a four-time first team All-Sun Conference selection, helped the Eagles to their eighth regular season conference title in program history, contributing both on the offensive and defensive ends for the Blue and Gold. As part of the Eagle defense, MacDonald and his team held teams to just 0.93 goals per contest with eight shutouts, including four in conference play. The senior also added nine goals and 12 assists to the Eagle attack, contributing two game-winning goals and three assists on game-winners.
Southeastern's Shane Jones was selected as the league's Champions of Character Award winner for his embodiment of the five core character values of the NAIA. Jones, who also earned first team All-Conference accolades, helped the Fire win their first TSC playoff game in program history as a junior defender.
"Shane is our center back and has played all season without accruing a caution," Fire Head Coach Drew Stacey said. "Shane leads our team on and off the field. He currently has over 30 hours of community service, works with resident life at Southeastern and the first-year student leadership team mentoring incoming freshmen. Shane is always one of the first to volunteer with school events. He is a great kid with talent and ability to work hard on the field, getting the job done with class and professionalism. He serves this team with great attitude and work ethic."
Coach of the Year honors went to Webber International's Neil Cockburn. Coach Cockburn led the Warriors to a third-place finish during the regular season, despite being picked to finish eighth in the preseason poll. The Warriors finished 2013 with a 9-4-1 overall record and 6-3-1 mark in league play, allowing just 11 goals all season long, the second-lowest total in the NAIA.
Embry-Riddle led the league with five players on the first team All-Conference roster, and six total honorees, while Thomas' nine student-athletes combined on the All-Conference teams and honorable mention squad was the most of any league school. A total of 50 student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Conference team, paced by SCAD Savannah's nine selections.
First Team All-Conference
GK - Brandon Stout, Webber International
GK - Nils Carlson, Embry-Riddle#
D - Ally MacDonald, Embry-Riddle*#&
D - Shane Jones, Southeastern
D - Victor Lindstrom, Northwood^&
D - Steven Conway, Thomas
MF - Theo Angus, SCAD Savannah
MF - Nicklas Petersson, Embry-Riddle
MF - Matt Farnworth, Northwood
MF - Magnus Magnusson, Embry-Riddle
F - Rowan Liburd, Thomas*
F - Sigurbergur Elisson, Embry-Riddle
F - Fabian Egger, Webber International
F - Jordan Trinci-Lyne, SCAD Savannah^
Second Team All-Conference
GK - Patrick O'Neil, Northwood
D - Jaime Benito, Warner
D - Stephen McGinn, Webber International
D - Moritz Hochholsner, Webber International
MF - Diego Ramos, Thomas
MF - Diego Hurtado, Thomas^
MF - Callum Donnelly, Webber International
MF - Martin Scaparrone, Florida Memorial
F - Jarrod Ingram, Thomas
F - Marcus Johansson, Northwood*#@
F - Veit Couturier, Embry-Riddle*#
Honorable Mention All-Conference
GK - Andi Hoffer, Thomas*
D - Stacey Freeman, Thomas*
D - Josh Heseltine, Thomas
D - Oli Isosalo, Northwood*$
D - Craig Mooney, Northwood
MF - Lyle Gifford, Thomas
MF - Bruno DaSilva, Warner
MF - Matthew Duek, Johnson & Wales
MF - Miguel Benito, Warner
F - Diego De la Fuente, Warner^#
F - Daniel Marrugo, Warner
* 2012 First Team All-Conference
^ 2012 Second Team All-Conference
# 2011 First Team All-Conference
$ 2011 Second Team All-Conference
@ 2010 Second Team All-Conference
& 2009 First Team All-Conference
Offensive Player of the Year: Rowan Liburd, Thomas
Defensive Player of the Year: Ally MacDonald, Embry-Riddle
Coach of the Year: Neil Cockburn, Webber International
Champion of Character: Shane Jones, Southeastern
Academic All-Conference
Christopher Audino, Ave Maria
Jason Alvarez, Embry-Riddle
Kamil Balcerzak, Embry-Riddle
Tobias Gerber, Embry-Riddle
Brian Porter, Embry-Riddle
Jacob Steveback, Embry-Riddle
Alan Vezza, Embry-Riddle
Luis Velasquez, Embry-Riddle
Lucas Boltshauser, Florida Memorial
Santiago Crosetti, Florida Memorial
Jose Vidal Bazterrica, Florida Memorial
Ignacio Brown, Florida Memorial
Martin Scapparone, Florida Memorial
Francisco Allegro, Florida Memorial
Yuli Prizant, Johnson & Wales
Tommy Tigwell, Northwood
Jordan Johnson, Northwood
Emilie Huovinen, Northwood
Ali Bassir, SCAD Savannah
Joshua Brown, SCAD Savannah
Seth Fite, SCAD Savannah
Christopher Gower, SCAD Savannah
Alex Jamroz, SCAD Savannah
Chase Machado, SCAD Savannah
Jose Santiago, SCAD Savannah
Patricio Torello, SCAD Savannah
Alexander Wood, SCAD Savannah
Christian Bores, Southeastern
Mitch Strand, Southeastern
Tyler Hoitsma, Southeastern
Derek Drummond, Southeastern
Luke Hallberg, Southeastern
Manuel Andreani, St. Thomas
Javier Garcia, St. Thomas
Adam Green, St. Thomas
Ignacio Mateos, St. Thomas
Philippe Silveirs, St. Thomas
Andrew Berg, Thomas
Luis Berrios, Thomas
Andrea Hofler, Thomas
Eric Persson, Thomas
Joshua Slatton, Thomas
David Steeb, Webber International
Javier Zorro, Webber International
Jose Alarcon, Webber International
Jorge Ibanez, Webber International
Fabian Egger, Webber International
Tomas Etorena, Webber International
Nicolo Zini, Warner
Daniel Marrugo-Gomez, Warner