Three Musketeers Honored for Men's Soccer as BIG EAST Announces Year-End Awards

NEW YORK - Three Xavier men's soccer players received year-end awards from the BIG EAST on Friday, including an All-BIG EAST First Team selection for senior Simen Hestnes. Samson Sergi also earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors, while redshirt freshman Taylor Crull was picked to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.

The Musketeers have had at least one player on the league's first team during all six years in the BIG EAST.

Hestnes, one of the top scoring threats in the nation, leads Xavier and the BIG EAST with 22 points (8g, 6a) in 18 starts. The Oslo, Norway native was a second team selection after the 2017 season and has been even more valuable to XU this fall ranking 45th in the nation in points. Hestnes is also tied for second in the league with six assists.

Sergi, a redshirt junior from Ashburn, Va., is tied for the team lead with eight goals and is the second-leading scorer for the Musketeers with 19 points (8g, 3a). He and Hestnes rank 57th in the NCAA in total goals.

Crull, a Carmel, Ind. native, has made all 18 starts at center back, chipping in an assist and helping Xavier post five team shutouts this season.

XU (6-7-5, 4-4-1 BE) begins the BIG EAST Championships on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, traveling to No. 4 seed Marquette for a quarterfinal matchup at Valley Fields.

The winner will travel to play No. 1 seed Creighton on Wednesday, Nov. 7 in Omaha, Neb.

FULL LIST OF AWARDS

BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Sven Koenig, Creighton, Sr., F

BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Jr., D

BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Joel Rydstrand, Creighton, Sr., M

BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Luis Barraza, Marquette, Sr., GK

BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Skage Simonsen, St. John's, Fr., M

BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Creighton

All-BIG EAST First Team
Sven Koenig, Creighton, Sr., F*
Derek Dodson, Georgetown, So., F
Achara, Georgetown, Jr., F
Simen Hestnes, Xavier, Sr., M
Joel Rydstrand, Creighton, Sr., M
Tiago Mendonca, Providence, R-Jr., M
Luka Prpa, Marquette, Jr., M
Akeem Ward, Creighton, Sr., D
Dylan Nealis, Georgetown, Jr., D
Patrick Seagrist, Marquette, Jr., D
Luis Barraza, Marquette, Sr., GK

All-BIG EAST Second Team ^
Connor Alba, Marquette, Jr., F
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Fr., F
Samson Sergi, Xavier, R-Jr., F
Skage Simonsen, St. John's, Fr., M
Kyle Zajec, Georgetown, Sr., M
Zach Zandi, Villanova, Sr., M
Brendan McDonough, Georgetown, Sr., D
Mitch LaGro, Creighton, R-Sr., D
Klisman Sousa, Providence, R-Sr., D
David Arvidsson, Seton Hall, Grad., D
Colin Miller, Providence, R-Sr., GK
Paul Kruse, Creighton, Fr., GK

BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Paul Kruse, Creighton, Fr., GK*
Lukas Sunesson, Marquette, Fr., F*
Skage Simonsen, St. John's Fr., M*
CJ Tibbling, Seton Hall, Fr., F*
Gil Santos, Providence, Fr., F
Jack Haywood, Butler, Fr., M
Ramzi Qawasmy, Providence, Fr., D
Giannis Nikopolidis, Georgetown, Fr., GK
Sean Zawadzki, Georgetown, Fr., M
Taylor Crull, Xavier, R-Fr., D
Tani Oluwaseyi, St. John's Fr., F

* unanimous selection
^ extra player added due to a tie in voting

AMONG THE NATION'S ELITE

• Xavier men's soccer has reached the NCAA Tournament in four of the last eight seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 10 or more matches in seven of the last eight seasons.
• Xavier was the only program in the nation with five consecutive major conference awards from 2012-16, including 2016 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Cory Brown.
• XU has qualified for five consecutive BIG EAST Championships, including trips to the title game in 2014 and 2017.
• XU has been ranked in the nation's top-10 three times in the last six years by the United Soccer Coaches. The Musketeers have been nationally-ranked in at least one major college soccer poll (United Soccer Coaches, Top Drawer Soccer, College Soccer News, Soccer America) in every season since 2011.
• In 2015, XU knocked off the national No. 1 (Creighton) and No. 2 (Notre Dame) on the road last season. The Musketeers are widely believed to be the first program to ever knock off both a No. 1 and a No. 2 on the road in the same season.
• Four XU players have been selected in the MLS SuperDraft in the last seven years, including 2018 third rounder Cory Brown.

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