Second-Team Laurels to Doyle, Navarro
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–Callum Doyle (So., Southampton, England, Communications) and Diego Navarro (Fr., Madrid, Spain, Mechanical Engineering) were honored for producing impressive campaigns as the all-Heart of America Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Teams were announced Monday.
Both individuals were part of the Heart’s 13-person second team. The conference also named 13 players to both its first and third teams.
The awards are the first for each player, who have so far paced William Penn to a 10-7-1 record (6-6 Heart), headlined by two top-25 wins.
Navarro has exploded onto the collegiate scene, scoring a team-high 15 goals with one assist for a squad-best 31 points. He is tied for the conference high in goals and is third in points (31). The freshman also tops the Heart with six game-winning goals.
Doyle has been a mainstay in the Statesmen defense, limiting opponents to just 2.00 goals per game. Behind Doyle’s strong play, WPU has posted four shutouts.
Missouri Valley’s Uros Ilic was named the Heart’s Defensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Offensive POY laurels went to Adrian Gutierrez of Central Methodist, while CMU also had the Newcomer of the Year in Santiago Sierra. Alberto Ciroi (Baker) was tabbed as the Freshman of the Year, while Vladimir Simic of Missouri Valley garnered Coach of the Year accolades.
For a complete list of the 2017 men’s soccer all-Heart teams, go to http://www.heartofamericaconference.com/d/2017-18/2017_MSOC_All_Conference.pdf