Record Number Earn SLIAC First Team All-Conference Honors, 9 Earn SLIAC Awards
The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) released the 2014 SLIAC award winners immediately following the SLIAC Tournament Championship game in Fulton, Missouri on Saturday, November 8.
The Westminster Blue Jays had nine players receiving awards and a record number of First Team All-Conference performers. The Blue Jays had one Newcomer of the Year, six First Team All-Conference performers, one Second Team All-Conference performer, one Third Team All-Conference performer and an All-Sportsmanship Team member.
Freshman Dustin Seibolt received the Newcomer of the Year award and earned First Team All-Conference honors. Senior Muhle Dlamini, junior Daryl Doran, and sophomores Raul Belman Romero, Drew Cook, and Tripp Sheehan also received First Team All-Conference honors. Freshman Tanner Touslee earned Second Team All-Conference honors, and freshman Mauricio Mateo earned Third Team honors. Senior Muzi Shongwe was placed in the All-Sportsmanship Team.
Seibolt, a midfielder from Desoto, Kansas, earned the Newcomer of the Year award and First Team All-Conference honors after leading the Blue Jays with 8 goals. He tied the Westminster game day record with four goals in the win over Iowa Wesleyan. Seibolt had three game-winning goals and a .455 shot on goal percentage.
Seibolt earned Westminster Athlete of the Week honors for the week of October 6-12.
Dlamini, a defender from Simunye, Swaziland, and Doran, a defender from St. Louis, Missouri, each earned First Team All-Conference honors after anchoring the Blue Jay defense. They helped the team limit their opponents to just 20 goals and 75 shots on goal throughout the season.
Doran earned SLIAC Player of the Week honors for the week of September 29-October 5.
Belman Romero, a goalkeeper from Celaya, Mexico, recorded six shutouts in goal, earning First Team All-Conference honors. He holds an 11-7-1 record heading into the NCAA Tournament. He currently ranks second in the SLIAC with a 1.07 goals-against average, allowing 20 goals past, and has a .730 save percentage, tallying 54 saves.
Belman Romero earned SLIAC Player of the Week and Westminster Athlete of the Week honors for the week of October 20-26.
Cook, a forward from St. Louis, Missouri, earned First Team All-Conference honors after leading the Blue Jays with four game-winning goals and 21 shots on goal. He scored 6 goals and had two assists, earning the Blue Jays 14 points.
Cook earned SLIAC Player of the Week and Westminster Athlete of the Week honors for the week of September 8-14.
Sheehan, a midfielder from Columbia, Missouri, earned First Team All-Conference honors after leading the SLIAC with 11 assists. He also totaled 6 goals, including a game-winning goal in the 2-0 shutout over Blackburn. Sheehan led the team with 23 points.
Sheehan earned Westminster Athlete of the Week honors for the week of September 22-28.
Touslee, a midfielder from Olathe, Kansas, started in 15 games and earned Second Team All-Conference honors. He scored one goal and assisted two, earning five points. He took three shots on goal.
Mateo, a midfielder from Dallas, Texas, earned a spot on the Third Team All-Conference. He started in 11 games and took six shots on goal. He scored a goal in the win over Iowa Wesleyan and assisted two goals this season.
The Blue Jays are currently 11-7-1 on the season. They won the SLIAC Tournament for the second consecutive year, earning back-to-back automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. They await the Tournament details which will be revealed on Monday, November 10, during the NCAA Selection Show.
They Blue Jays ended conference play in second place with a 7-1-1 conference record.
