Men's Soccer 11/11/2015 11:00:00 AM

Men's soccer sweeps Landmark honors; Eight named all-conference

TOWSON, Md. – Elizabethtown College men's soccer took all four major Landmark Conference awards and a program record-tying eight players were named to all-conference teams –six on the First Team– as the league announced its annual honors Wednesday.

Freshman forward Gilbert Waso was voted Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year, while senior Martin Fevre was named Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Skip Roderick, who won his 500th career game Oct. 24 at Drew and led the Blue Jays to an 8-0 conference regular season record, received Coach of the Year.

Waso and Fevre were joined by junior forward Jeff Light, sophomore midfielder Aaron Rathsam, senior midfielder Shane Votto and senior goalkeeper Rodrigo Barrera on the All-Landmark First Team. A pair of defenders, sophomore Sam Feehrer and senior Jack Rudy, earned Second Team nods.

It didn't take very long for Waso to establish himself as a threat up front. He began his career with a five-game point scoring streak that included six goals (two game-winners) and an assist. Waso, who started every game for the Blue Jays, went on to register a point in 13-of-20 games, finishing with nine goals and eight assists for 26 points, tied for second most in the Landmark. Waso led Elizabethtown in assists, shots (65), shots on goal (34) and game-winning goals (four).

Fevre delivered that same spark of excellence when he became a Blue Jay in 2012. The French-born senior was named to the All-Landmark First Team for the second straight year and notched his third career all-conference first team honor after being selected to the All-Commonwealth Conference First Team as a freshman. Still a defensive stalwart, Fevre kicked his offensive contributions to an unforeseen level. He matched Waso with the team's second highest goal total (nine), ranked third in the conference in assists (five), tied for fifth in goals and fifth in points (23). Fevre earned back-to-back Landmark Defensive Athlete of the Week Awards on Sept. 21 and 28.

Roderick is now a six-time conference Coach of the Year, but this is his first Landmark Coach of the Year honor. The 1974 Elizabethtown College grad steered the Blue Jays to a 17-2-1 overall record, 8-0 mark in conference play and the No. 1 seed in the Landmark Conference Championship. E-town's 17 wins were its most in a season since 1999 when it went 18-2-1. Roderick's team returned to the national rankings for the first time since 2004, holding spots in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and D3Soccer.com polls for much of the season. The Blue Jays rose as high as sixth in the NSCAA poll and eighth in the D3Soccer.com poll.

Elizabethtown's 3-0 win at Drew on Oct. 24, elevated Roderick to 500 wins. He became just the seventh coach in Division III history and 12th across all NCAA divisions to reach the milestone. Roderick's previous Coach of the Year Awards came in 1989, 1994, 1996, 2004 and 2012.

Waso's impact reached further than just his own stats, as his skill opened up opportunities for teammates. No one took advantage of those opportunities better than Light. The Hershey native, who entered the season with a career-high of seven points, exploded for a Landmark best 30 points on 12 goals and six assists. Light shared the conference lead for goals with fellow First Team pick Gavin Yingling of Merchant Marine and ranked second in assists behind Waso. Twice named Offensive Athlete of the Week (Oct. 12 and 26), Light produced three multi-goal games, including his second career hat trick in a 4-1 Landmark semifinal victory over Catholic Nov. 4.

Rathsam, of Lancaster, started all 20 games with two goals and two assists for six points. A first-time all-conference pick, the sophomore generated 20 shots and was chosen as the Landmark Offensive Athlete of the Week Oct. 5, after scoring the game-winning goal and assisting on another in a victory over Moravian Oct. 3.

Votto, who also started every game, controlled the midfield for the Blue and Gray. The Ardmore native finished with five goals and three assists for 13 points, fourth most on the team. Votto booted home the game-winner in the season opener against Penn State Harrisburg Sept. 1 and also had the winner at Drew Oct. 24, which ended up being Roderick's 500th victory. A two-year starter, Votto set career-highs in all offensive categories this season en route to his first all-conference accolade.

Barrera enjoyed his finest season in goal with a conference best 17 wins, 0.79 goals against average, .837 save percentage and eight shutouts. Barrera started each of the Jays' 20 games and played a whopping 1703:44. An All-Commonwealth Conference Honorable Mention selection in 2012, Barrera made five or more saves eight times this season. The Sao Paulo, Brazil product had seven saves in both the Landmark semifinal and championship games.

The contributions of Second Team picks Feehrer and Rudy also weighed heavily into the Blue Jays' success. Feehrer, a native of Reading who transferred to E-town prior to the 2015 season, was a starter in all 20 games with three goals, five assists and 11 points to his credit. Rudy, from Hershey, scored his first career goal at Goucher Oct. 21, and had an assist in the Landmark semifinal vs. Catholic Nov. 4. More importantly, the duo, along with Fevre, junior Anders Nilsson and Barrera combined to hold opponents to 0.80 goals per game with 10 shutouts, both of which led the league.

Elizabethtown's eight all-conference honorees are its most since 2007. The Blue Jays also had eight all-conference picks in 1972, 1994, 1996 and 1998.

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Players Mentioned

#40 Rodrigo Barrera: GK; 6' 2"; Senior

#5 Martin Fevre: D; 5' 7"; Senior

#11 Jeff Light: F/M; 6' 0"; Junior

#22 Anders Nilsson: D; 6' 0"; Junior

#4 Aaron Rathsam: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#16 Jack Rudy: D; 6' 0"; Senior

#24 Shane Votto: M; 6' 5"; Senior

#19 Sam Feehrer: M/D; 6' 1"; Sophomore

#2 Gilbert Waso: F; 5' 5"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#40 Rodrigo Barrera
: 6' 2"; Senior
: GK

#5 Martin Fevre
: 5' 7"; Senior
: D

#11 Jeff Light
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F/M

#22 Anders Nilsson
: 6' 0"; Junior
: D

#4 Aaron Rathsam
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

#16 Jack Rudy
: 6' 0"; Senior
: D

#24 Shane Votto
: 6' 5"; Senior
: M

#19 Sam Feehrer
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: M/D

#2 Gilbert Waso
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: F