 |
By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information INDIANAPOLIS – Steven Beattie led a group of five Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer players named All-Great Lakes Valley Conference, the league office announced Thursday. Beattie was selected as the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year by the league coaches. Beattie, a sophomore from Skerries, Ireland, had 11 goals in 10 conference games to lead all GLVC players. Beattie also led the league in shots per conference game (5.3) and points per conference game (2.4). Beattie started the season with a seven-game goal-scoring streak, including a hat trick in a 9-0 victory over Charleston (W.Va.) on Aug. 31. After a dry spell during NKU’s western Missouri road trip to Drury and Rockhurst, Beattie has notched goals in five of his last six games leading up to the GLVC Tournament this weekend. Overall, Beattie has 17 goals on the season, good for second on the NKU single-season list and just two short of the school-record 19, set by Todd Gruenwald in 1992. Six of his 17 goals this season have won games for the Norse, including a pair of double-overtime winners against West Virginia Wesleyan and Carson-Newman. Beattie was a two-time GLVC Player of the Week this season and was named to the All-GLVC third team in 2007. He also stands in the top 10 nationally in points (2.47) and goals (1.13) per game. Beattie and NKU defenders Eric Ashworth and Tony Ray were all voted to the All-GLVC first team. Forward Braden Bishop earned second-team honors, while goalkeeper Michael Lavric was named to the All-GLVC third team. Ashworth, a senior from Centerville, Ohio, saw his career goal production triple this season, tallying three goals, two in conference, all to decide games for the Norse. Working as an outside back, Ashworth marked some of the best forwards in the nation as he helped hold GLVC opponents to just 9.2 shots per game, less than half what the NKU offense was able to generate (19.1). Last season, Ashworth was honored as an All-GLVC second-team selection and was named to the NCAA Great Lakes Region all-tournament team. Ray, a senior from Louisville, Ky., returns to the conference honor roll after being named an honorable mention in 2006. One of the most versatile players on the NKU roster, Ray returned to a spot on the “Norse Wall” after spending two seasons as an attacker on the right wing. His ability to move the play forward, as well as his powerful throw-in, earned Ray six assists on the season, including two against GLVC opponents. Bishop, a junior from Centerville, Ohio, enjoys his third straight selection to the All-GLVC team after tallying four goals and two assists in GLVC play this season, most of them late in the year as NKU worked to clinch a spot in the conference tournament. All told, Bishop claims six goals and three assists on the season to bring his career goal total to 34, ranking him seventh all-time at NKU. Bishop was named to the Daktronics and NSCAA All-American teams last season as well as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. In 2006, Bishop was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year. Lavric, a sophomore from Gahanna, Ohio, made a serious impact this season as the No. 1 goalkeeper for the Norse, maintaining a 0.69 goals against average and an .851 save percentage against GLVC teams, both good for second in the league behind the GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, Chad Becker of Rockhurst. Lavric’s overall GAA of 0.588 ranks eighth in all of Division II, while his .859 overall save percentage is sixth in the nation. Last year, Lavric led the nation and set the NKU single-season record with a 0.48 goals allowed average while beginning his career on a 766-minute shutout streak. NKU (13-1-2, 9-1-1 GLVC) begins play as the No. 3 seed in the GLVC Tournament on Sunday when the Norse host sixth-seeded Missouri S&T in a quarterfinal match. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Town & Country Sports Complex in Wilder. The remainder of the tournament will take place Nov. 7-9 at the site of the tournament’s highest remaining seed. |
