Nov. 8, 2010
BELLINGHAM, Wash. - Western Washington University senior forward Gibson Bardsley (Fall City/Mount Si), who enjoyed one of the finest seasons and careers in school and conference history, has been selected the 2010 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Year.
Bardsley led the conference in scoring with 43 points, finishing with 18 goals and seven assists. He completed his career with 41 goals, equaling the Viking school record, and with a school-record 100 points. Bardsley is just the second player in GNAC history to reach triple digits in points.
Bardsley scored a goal in WWU's final six games and in eight of its last nine contests. He had 30 points (12 goals, 6 assists) as the Vikings finished with seven wins in their final nine games.
"Gibson was literally unstoppable the second half of the season," said Western coach Travis Connell. "He has worked hard every off-season to improve his game. This fall he was stronger and more focused and those improvements paid big dividends for him."
Alan Koch of Simon Fraser and Mark Collings of Seattle Pacific tied in the balloting for GNAC Coach-of-the-Year.
Koch led the Clan to a 17-1 regular-season record and to the league title in Simon Fraser's first year in the conference. In three seasons at his alma mater, he has a record of 48-10-1.
Collings directed the Falcons to 10 wins in their final 12 games, including a victory last week at Simon Fraser, after Seattle Pacific had started the season winless (0-4-2) in its first six contests. In three seasons, the 1999 Seattle Pacific graduate has a record of 27-21-8.
In addition to Bardsley, three other players earned special awards. Max Baessato of Simon Fraser was a near-unanimous pick for the GNAC Defender of the Year receiving five of the six first-place votes. In addition to anchoring a defense that posted 12 shutouts and allowed only 12 goals in 18 games, Baessato had four goals and an assist.
Simon Fraser defender Michael Winter was voted the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Seattle Pacific forward Blaine Carver, who ranked second on his team in goals with eight, was voted the GNAC Freshman of the Year.
League champion Simon Fraser led the all-star selections placing five players on the first team. Seattle Pacific and Western Washington had three each and Montana State Billings had one representative on the first team.
Bardsley and Baessato were among the six unanimous selections to the first team. Also selected unanimously were forward Tyler Schultz of Seattle Pacific and midfielders Josh Bennett of Simon Fraser and Oscar Jimenez (Jr., Mount Vernon) and Kellan Brown (Jr., Tacoma/Bellarmine Prep), both of Western Washington.
Brown had seven goals and six assists, and Jimenez contributed four goals and seven assists.
Four players - Schultz, Brown, Jimenez and Elliott Morton of Seattle Pacific - were first-team repeat selections from last year. Morton was named to the first team for the third time - at two different positions. He was a first team defender in 2008 and 2009.
Bardsley, who was a second team pick last year, also earned first team honors for the third time after being picked in 2007 and 2008.
Two Vikings were second team choices - midfielder Brendan Quilici (Sr., Battle Ground/Columbia River) and defender Thomas Kauffman (Sr., Evanston, IL/Evanston Township).
Three Western Washington players received honorable mention. They were forward Andrew Weishaar (Fr., Puyallup), midfielder Sujinda Dangvan (So., Vancouver/Mountain View) and defender Justin Moore (So., Port Orchard/South Kitsap).
The Vikings finished 10-6-2 overall and placed third in the GNAC at 5-4-1.
2010 GREAT NORTHWEST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN'S SOCCER ALL-STAR TEAM
FIRST TEAM: Forwards - +*Tyler Schultz, SPU (5-11, Jr., Scottsdale, AZ); +**Gibson Bardsley, WWU (5-11, Sr., Fall City, WA); **Elliot Morton, SPU (6-4, Jr., Tacoma, WA). Midfielders - Caleb Nyone, SPU (6-1, So., Happy Valley, OR); +Josh Bennett, SFU (5-8, Jr., Hamilton, Ont.); +*Oscar Jimenez, WWU (5-8, Jr., Mount Vernon, WA); Chris Andre, MSUB (6-0, Sr., Billings, MT); +*Kellan Brown, WWU (5-7, Jr., Tacoma, WA). Defenders - +Max Baessato, SFU (6-0, Sr., North Vancouver, BC); Helge Neumann, SFU (6-2, So., Oslo, Norway); Michael Winter, SFU (5-11, So., Vancouver, BC). Goalkeeper - Hide Ozawa, Simon Fraser (6-2, Sr.,Victoria, BC).
*Repeater **Two-time repeater (Bardsley from 2007-08) +Unanimous
SECOND TEAM: Forwards - Blaine Carver, SPU (5-10, Fr., Soldotna, AK); Carlo Basso, SFU (6-4, Fr., Coquitlam, BC). Midfielders - Alex Mangeac, NNU (5-8, Jr., Nampa, ID); Ruben Orozco, SMU (5-11, Sr., Des Moines, WA); Jose Oregon, NNU (5-9, So., Nampa, ID); Vlad Voin, SMU (5-9, Sr., Everett, WA); Brendan Quilici, WWU (5-10, Sr., Battle Ground, WA). Defenders - Jon Pearman, SPU (6-2, So., Glendale, AZ); Connor Moe, MSUB (D, 6-2, So., Snohomish, WA); Stephen Marshall, NNU (D, 5-10, So., Palm Springs, CA); Thomas Kauffman, WWU (D, 6-2, Sr., Evanston, IL); Derrick Bassi, SFU (D, 5-9, Fr., Delta, BC). Goalkeeper - Zac Lubin, SMU (GK, 6-6, Sr., Bozeman, MT).
HONORABLE MENTION: Forwards - Thomas Sheets, MSUB (5-10, So., Snohomish, WA); Andrew Weishaar, WWU (6-2, Fr.. Puyallup, WA); Xan Nixon, SMU (5-11, Jr.. Seattle, WA). Midfielders - Drew Williams, SPU (5-7, Jr., Bend, OR); Sujinda Dangvan, WWU (5-10, So., Vancouver, WA); Eric Orozco, SMU (5-6, Sr., Federal Way, WA). Defenders - Tony Armitage, SMU (5-10, Jr., Auburn, WA); Kyle Moriarty, MSUB (6-1, Sr., Bozeman, MT); Kodiac Gamble, SPU (5-9, Fr., Tucson, AZ); Brandon Kuenzi, SPU (6-2, So., Silverton, OR); Justin Moore, WWU (D, 5-9, So., Port Orchard, WA). Goalkeeper - Matt Mitchell, MSUB (GK, 6-0, Sr., Thornton, CO)
Player-of-the-Year - Gibson Bardsley, Western Washington. Defender-of-the-Year - Max Baessato, Simon Fraser. Newcomer-of-the-Year - Michael Winter, Simon Fraser. Freshman-of-the-Year - Blaine Carver, Seattle Pacific. Coach-of-the-Year - Alan Koch, Simon Fraser, and Mark Collings, Seattle Pacific.
