DePaul University Athletics
Wustling Garners BIG EAST Conference All-Rookie Accolade
11/11/2014 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S SOCCER
NEW YORK - The six teams advancing to the 2014 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship, presented by New York Life, were heavily represented amongst the All-BIG EAST honors and major awards that were announced by the conference Tuesday. A whopping 21 of 23 All-BIG EAST performers and 10 of 13 All-Rookie selections are competing in the BIG EAST Championship that starts later Tuesday with a pair of first-round games.
DePaul freshman midfielder Hans Wustling was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team after leading all BIG EAST freshmen in assists (five) and assists per game. He led the Blue Demons in assists and was tied for fifth in points.
"Hans made a very successful transition to the powerful BIG EAST in his first season," said DePaul coach Craig Blazer. "He was an outstanding performer for us, and we look forward to his future in our program."
Three teams combined for the six major awards, with Creighton sophomore forward Fabian Herbers unanimously picked for BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, CU junior Timo Pitter tabbed the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and the Bluejay staff headed up by Elmar Bolowich capturing the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
Bolowich and Co. share the top staff honor with Xavier head coach Andy Fleming and his assistants, while fellow Musketeer Eric Osswald, a redshirt senior, was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year. Georgetown collected two major honors with sophomore Joshua Yaro named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and freshman forward Arun Basuljevic collecting the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year award.
The All-BIG EAST team and major awards were voted on by the league's 10 head coaches who could not cast ballots for their own players or staffs. Both true and redshirt freshmen were eligible for the All-Rookie squad.
In addition to their two trophies, the Hoyas led all institutions with eight All-BIG EAST selections. Junior forward Brandon Allen joined Yaro on the first team, seniors Tomas Gomez, a goalkeeper, and Tyler Rudy, a midfielder, junior defender Keegan Rosenberry and sophomore forward Alex Muyl were second-team honorees and Basuljevic and midfielder Christopher Lema were All-Rookie picks.
Providence and Xavier tied with six selections apiece. The Musketeers were spread out across all three teams, with Osswald and redshirt senior Will Walker earning first-team laurels. Freshman backliner Cory Brown was named both second-team All-BIG EAST and All-Rookie, and was joined on the latter by fellow defender Walker Andriot and forward Matt Vasquenza.
The Friars had five second-team selections led by three seniors - midfielder Phil Towler, forward Fabio Machado and defender Brandon Adler. A pair of sophomores joined them, including forward Mac Steeves and midfielder Dominik Machado. Midfielder Daniel Neustadter was chosen by the head coaches for the All-Rookie team.
Creighton and Marquette each placed four on All-BIG EAST teams. In addition to Herbers and Pitter on the first team, the top-seeded Bluejays boasted senior defender Jose Ribas amongst the top 11 and midfielder Lucas Stauffer as an All-Rookie pick. The Golden Eagles also placed three on the first team with redshirt juniors Axel Sjoberg, a defender, and C. Nortey, a forward, joining sophomore midfielder Louis Bennett II. Midfielder Alex McBride earned All-Rookie laurels.
Butler, St. John's and Villanova were next with two picks apiece. Sophomore forward David Goldsmith earned second-team All-BIG EAST laurels and Erick Leonard, a midfielder, was named All-Rookie to represent the Bulldogs. Nova senior midfielder Aaron Dennis, likewise, was a second-team selection and goalkeeper Will Steiner was named to the All-Rookie team. St. John's placed senior defender Tim Parker on the first team, while Anthony Viteri picked up an All-Rookie nod.
DePaul's Wustling and Seton Hall defender John Philbin earned selection to the All-Rookie team from the league's head coaches, meaning all 10 institutions were represented.
Seven players were unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST team - Allen, Herbers, Parker, Pitter, Ribas, Walker and Yaro. On the All-Rookie team, Basuljevic, Brown, Stauffer and Steiner were picked unanimously.
Herbers netted a league-best 11 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in BIG EAST play and enters the conference tourney as the leading overall scorer with 25 points. He leads the BIG EAST in all games with four game-winning goals and scored points at a 1.22 per-game clip in nine conference battles. He earned the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week nod once this season.
Pitter averaged a point a game during BIG EAST play and enters the BIG EAST Championship with six goals and seven assists for 19 points, which ties him for third in the conference. He owns a league-high 62 shots while his 3.44 shots-per-game average stands second. This season he was a two-time BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week.
Yaro is the third Hoya to capture the Defensive Player of the Year award and first since Brandon Lieb in 1996. Phil Wellington was named to the honor in 1994. Yaro, a three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week in 2014, helped lead a GU defense that allowed just four goals in nine conference games, second-lowest behind Xavier, and 10 goals in 18 contests overall entering Tuesday's BIG EAST First Round game. The 10 goals are also second-lowest in the conference.
Osswald led in several statistical categories during BIG EAST play. He yielded a conference-low three goals in 855:13 over nine games to post conference-bests in goals-against average (0.32) and save percentage (.885). He and Gomez tied for the league lead in BIG EAST games with six shutouts. In all games, Osswald is once again tied with Gomez for first with 10 shutouts, fourth in GAA (0.69) and sixth in save percentage (.797).
Basuljevic scored twice in conference play, both game-winners, and was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week once this season. In all games he's Georgetown's second-leading goal scorer with four and third in points with eight. He's the fifth Hoya named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year and second in three years (Brandon Allen, 2012).
Herbers, Pitter and Bolowich go down in Creighton history as the first Bluejays to collect major awards in BIG EAST men's soccer since the program joined the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season. Osswald and Fleming give Xavier major awards in two straight campaigns after Nick Hagglund was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year - Fabian Herbers, Creighton, So., F*
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year - Timo Pitter, Creighton, Jr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year - Joshua Yaro, Georgetown, So., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year - Eric Osswald, Xavier, R-Sr.
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year - Arun Basuljevic, Georgetown, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year - Creighton (Elmar Bolowich, head coach)/Xavier (Andy Fleming, head coach)
All-BIG EAST First Team
Brandon Allen, Georgetown, Jr.,F*
Louis Bennett II, Marquette, So., M
Fabian Herbers, Creighton, So., F*
C. Nortey, Marquette, R-Jr., F
Eric Osswald, Xavier, R-Sr., GK
Tim Parker, St. John's, Sr., D*
Timo Pitter, Creighton, Jr., M*
Jose Ribas, Creighton, Sr., D*
Axel Sjoberg, Marquette, R-Jr., D
Will Walker, Xavier, R-Sr., M*
Joshua Yaro, Georgetown, So., D*
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Brandon Adler, Providence, Sr., D
Cory Brown, Xavier, Fr., D
Aaron Dennis, Villanova, Sr., M
David Goldsmith, Butler, So., F
Tomas Gomez, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Dominik Machado, Providence, So., M
Fabio Machado, Providence, Sr., F
Alex Muyl, Georgetown, So., F
Keegan Rosenberry, Georgetown, Jr., D
Tyler Rudy, Georgetown, Sr., M
Mac Steeves, Providence, So., F
Phil Towler, Providence, Sr., M
BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
Walker Andriot, Xavier, R-Fr., D
Arun Basuljevic, Georgetown, Fr., F*
Cory Brown, Xavier, Fr., D*
Christopher Lema, Georgetown, Fr., M
Erick Leonard, Butler, Fr., M
Alex McBride, Marquette, R-Fr., M
Daniel Neustadter, Providence, Fr., M
John Philbin, Seton Hall, Fr., D
Lucas Stauffer, Creighton, Fr., M*
Will Steiner, Villanova, R-Fr., GK*
Matt Vasquenza, Xavier, Fr., F
Anthony Viteri, St. John's, Fr., M
Hans Wustling, DePaul, Fr., M
*Unanimous selection
Note: Second Team has 12 members and All-Rookie 13 members because of ties in the voting
