2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer All-Conference and Major Awards Announced
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Lees-McRae College midfielder Tom Deeley was voted the 2017 Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Player of the Year, while teammate Johannes Oeksnevad was named Freshman of the Year. Belmont Abbey College's Patrick Kibler was voted the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. In addition, Belmont Abbey's John Keating was named the Coach of the Year, the Conference announced today.
Deeley, a senior from Oxford, England, was one of the most potent player in Conference Carolinas in 2017, finishing the season with 34 points on 13 goals and eight assists. His point and goal totals both ranked first in the Conference, while his assists were good enough for third in league standings. Deeley's offensive output paced the Bobcats and propelled them to a second-place finish in the Conference Carolinas standings with a 7-3-0 league mark and 11-4-3 overall record.
Kibler, a senior from Cape Coral, Fla., started every game for Belmont Abbey, anchoring a strong defensive unit. The Abbey finished third in the conference with 21 goals against and a 1.29 goals-against-average. Only five times this season, did an opponent score more than one goal against the Crusader defense. Kibler also added four points on the season, tallying one goal and two assists.
Oeksnevad, a native of Hemmersaak, Norway, paced all Bobcat freshmen in 2017 totaling six goals and two assists for 14 points. His six goals and 14 points ranked inside the top-15 of the Conference Carolinas standings and his play helped Lees-McRae capture the No. 2 seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Soccer Championship.
Coach Keating led Belmont Abbey to a third-place finish in Conference Carolinas with a with a 6-3-1 mark and a 9-5-1 overall record in 2017. After a ninth-place finish in 2016 and a 4-6-0 conference record, The Abbey was selected to finish eighth in the 2017 preseason poll. Keating led the Crusaders to the team's best finish since 2010 with a prolific offense that finished second in the Conference in goals scored (36). Keating worked with five all-conference selections in 2017, including the Defensive Player of the Year, Patrick Kibler.
Joining Deeley in the middle as first team midfielders is Limestone College's Noah Sale and Belmont Abbey's Juan Villa. Sebastian Loibl of University of Mount Olive headlines the first team forwards, with Ruairi Croskery of Limestone, Pol Vassart of Lees-McRae and Grant Kiker of Southern Wesleyan University rounding out the group.
The defensive unit is headed up by Limestone goalie Thomas Osborne and Jamie Smith, with Lees-McRae's Harvey McMorrow and James Scott of Chowan University rounding out the backline.
Men's All-Conference First Team
Sebastian Loibl, Mount Olive – Forward
Ruairi Croskery, Limestone – Forward
Pol Vassart, Lees-McRae – Forward
Grant Kiker, Southern Wesleyan – Forward
Tom Deeley, Lees-McRae – Midfielder
Noah Sale, Limestone – Midfielder
Juan Villa, Belmont Abbey – Midfielder
Jamie Smith, Limestone – Defender
Harvey McMorrow, Lees-McRae – Defender
James Scott, Chowan – Defender
Thomas Osborne, Limestone – Goalkeeper
Men's All-Conference Second Team
Pol Monells, Barton – Forward
Johannes Oeksnevad, Lees-McRae – Forward
Terell Williamson, Chowan – Forward
Tolly Beatson, Barton – Midfielder
Gareth Greene, North Greenville – Midfielder
Luca Thuyl, Limestone – Midfielder
Carl Kennedy, Chowan – Midfielder
Dominic Boland, Limestone – Defender
Javier Anton, Limestone – Defender
Toby Sims, Chowan – Defender
Miguel Uribe, Southern Wesleyan – Goalkeeper
Men's All-Conference Third Team
Mark Trompeter, Belmont Abbey – Forward
Dimitri Ney, Limestone – Forward
Lee Wattam, Chowan – Forward
Nathan Watt, Lees-McRae – Midfielder
Faber Bickerstaffe, King – Midfielder
Josh Baker, Chowan – Midfielder
Patrick Kibler, Belmont Abbey – Defender
Nando Morales, Belmont Abbey – Defender
Ben Allan, King – Defender
James Morgan, Lees-McRae – Defender
Wes Holifield, Belmont Abbey – Goalkeeper
Player of the Year
Tom Deeley, Lees-McRae
Defensive Player of the Year
Patrick Kibler, Belmont Abbey
Freshman of the Year
Johannes Oeksnevad, Lees-McRae
Coach of the Year
John Keating, Belmont Abbey
Men's Soccer Regular Season Champions
Limestone College
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 11 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA DII membership process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.