Eight men's soccer players honored by GCAA
CUTHBERT, Ga. -- The Andrew College men's soccer team garnered numerous end-of-the-season awards from the Georgia Collegiate Athletic Association, the GCAA announced on Wednesday afternoon. Connor Heydon, Lewis Jones and James Quinn earned First Team-All Region 17, headlining eight All-Region Fighting Tigers honorees.
"Every individual honor bestowed upon these players is an atonement to the entire team and the competitive nature of the program," said head coach Rudy Roediger. "Every player in our squad has been invaluable in helping us achieve a little piece of history this season. I'm proud of every player in our squad for what they have managed to accomplish thus far and the future looks very bright with five freshman earning honors."
The eight honorees doubled the number of All-Region 17 award winners from a year ago, and gave Andrew it's first but threeFirst Team winners for the first time since 2004.
"It's a total team effort that got us here and that will lead us forward," said Roediger.
Heydon, a native of New South Wales, Australia, played a vital role in the Fighting Tigers success this season, helping lead the team to a 10-8-0 overall record. Heydon scored a GCAA best 14 goals and provided a region-best 33 points in his debut season.
Jones, a native of Liverpool, England, saw his role change throughout the season and played various attacking and defensive positions. Jones a transfer from NAIA Montreat College where he earned 2013 Second Team All-Appalachian Athletic Conference honors recorded a Region 17 regular season best nine assists for the Fighting Tigers and chipped in with a the second-most goals on the team (5) to record the second most points (19) for AC.
Quinn, a native of Slough, England, played a key role for the Fighting Tigers defense and provided four goals and five assists from the attacking left back. Quinn went 3-for-3 from the penalty spot in his freshman season and provided the opening season goal's assist against Patrick Henry CC (Va.) in a 2-1 victory over the Patriots who came in earning votes in the NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer Coaches Association Preseason Poll.
Earning Second Team All-GCAA honors for the Fighting Tigers were Josh Fines, Daniel Bile and Henning Nordvall.
Fines, a native of Farmborough, England, was a key member of the Fighting Tigers defense all season. The first-year player started in 16 of AC's games this year. The 6-foot-2 central defender helped the Fighting Tigers to three clean sheets while adding a goal and two assists from his defensive role. Fines provided his first career assist as the Fighting Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 first half lead on Aug. 28, before defeating East Central CC (Miss.) 6-1 and then netted his first collegiate goal on Sept. 26, in a 5-1 come-from-behind victory on the road over Oxford.
Bile, a native of Norcross, Ga., continued his stellar play from a year ago scoring a career-high three goals and providing three assists. The second-year attacker scored a goal or provided an assist in six of Andrew's 10 wins in 2015 including the game winning assist to fellow sophomore AJ Jackson in a 3-2 victory on Oct. 18, over Oxford on Sophomore Day at Hord Field.
Nordvall, a native of Orebro, Sweden, came on as his freshman season progressed as he started the final seven matches in a defensive midfield role.
Earning All-Tournament Team for Andrew College were George Cunha and Troy Ceasar.
Cunha, a native of Pompano Beach, Fla., started 12 matches in goal and made 59 saves in 1,139 minutes of action to lead the Fighting Tigers with a 7-5-0 record. The sophomore keeper kept a career-best 1.66 goals against average and kept a .738 save percentage.
Ceasar, a native of Road Town, British Virgin Islands, started a team-high 17 matches in his debut season for the Fighting Tigers and helped Andrew to a defensive turnaround from 2014. The Fighting Tigers kept three shutouts with the BVI Men's Soccer National Team captain on the field and allowed 51 fewer goals from the year before his arrival.