Soccer: Men's
Lions collect Big Ten awards
After leading the Lions to a split of the regular season Big Ten title, the league office announced Thursday night that seven Penn State players were named to All-Conference teams, the most for the team since 2005.
Head coach Bob Warming won Coach of the Year for helping lead the team to their first conference title since 2005. The Lions had a strong turnaround in conference play, going 3-1-2 after after finishing 0-0-6 last year.
Midfielder Jacob Barron and defender John Gallagher were First Team All-Big Ten selections and helped contribute to the Lions' success with their steady play and reliability. Barron started all 16 games while Gallagher started 14 games. The defender helped the team create on offense as he took all set pieces and corners and tallied three assists, second most on the team. Barron used his role as a defensive midfielder to do the dirty work, winning possession in the midfield and helping start counter attacks. The two anchored a strong Lions' defense that finished tied for first in the conference in fewest goals conceded.
Midfielder Julian Cardona, forward Hasani Sinclair, midfielder Owen Griffith, and goalie Andrew Wolverton were named to the Second Team All-Big Ten list. The Lions' four players on the second team led the conference.
Griffith contributed along with Barron in the midfield, starting all 16 games. He was third on the team in minutes played and had a goal and two assists on the year.
Cardona led the Lions with six goals, good for third in the Big Ten. Sinclair stepped up in Big Ten play, scoring the winner against Northwestern and contributing four assists throughout the season. Sinclair's speed and shiftiness often provided the spark off the bench late in games for the Lions.
Wolverton followed up on his record breaking freshman campaign with a solid sophomore season, leading the Big Ten in goals against average (0.49) in nine starts.
Rounding out the Lions' awards were freshman Drew Klingenburg, whose wing play earned him all Freshman Team honors and senior Daniel Burnham, whose contributions all over the field earned him the Sportsmanship Award.