ASC – Sports

RICHARDSON, Texas – Concordia Texas senior forward Omar Aguirre was named the Offensive Player of the Year and UT Dallas junior defender Mason Anderson was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year to highlight the 2018 American Southwest Conference Men’s Soccer awards and all-conference teams after a vote of the league’s head coaches.

Aguirre led the ASC with 17 goals to go with five assists for a league-leading 39 points. Anderson anchored the Comets’ backline that posted eight shutouts and only gave up 13 goals for the conference regular season champions.

UTD sophomore Jesse Ardila was selected as the Midfielder of the Year and senior teammate Chase Therrien earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Ardila, who was the Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2017, recorded seven assists for the Comets. Therrien led the ASC with a .854 save percentage and had 0.67 goals against average with 41 saves and four shutouts in 10 starts.

Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Patrick Roach was the Offensive Freshman of the Year, and UT Tyler’s Noah Kubala was selected as the Defensive Freshman of the Year. Roach ranked third in the conference with 25 points on 11 goals and three assists for the ASC champion Cru. Kubala recorded a goal and four assists and helped the Patriots record nine shutouts and allowed just nine goals while going 12-1-2 on the year.

Howard Payne sophomore goalkeeper Matt Prall was named Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year, and UT Dallas head coach Jason Hirsch was the Coach of the Year after guiding the Comets to a 13-3-2 record and a regular season title.

Three players earned All-Conference for the fourth time in their career – Caleb Vandergriff of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Lucas Pereira and Ryan Brinda of UT Tyler. Six others were three-time selections.

Omar Aguirre of Concordia Texas was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year and UT Dallas’ Mason Anderson was the Defensive Player of the Year.

RICHARDSON, Texas – Hardin-Simmons senior Kenne Kessler was named the American Southwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year for the second time, and UT Dallas junior Megan Theros was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year to highlight the 2018 ASC Women’s Soccer awards and all-conference teams as voted on by the league’s head coaches.

Kessler led the league with 13 goals to go with seven assists for the ASC champion Cowgirls. She also holds the conference career record 83 goals and 202 points in her prolific tenure.

Theros helped lead the Comets to a 16-2-1 record and the second place finish in the conference standings. She anchored the UTD back line that posted 14 shutouts and allowed just seven goals all season.

UT Dallas senior Jessica Rusk was named the Midfielder of the Year and senior teammate Monica Dallacasa was the Goalkeeper of the Year. Rusk recorded eight goals, seven of which were game-winners, with three assists. Dallacasa led the conference with 11 shutouts to go with 0.39 goals against average and 53 saves in 1,618 minutes in front of the net.

LeTourneau’s Reagan Sandford earned Offensive Freshman of the Year honors after racking up nine goals and eight assists, ranking in the top four in each category. UT Dallas’ Kelsey White was the Defensive Freshman of the Year for being a part of the Comets’ stifling defense.

Senior midfielder Josey Meyer of Hardin-Simmons was selected as the Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. UT Dallas head coach Kanute Drugan earned Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding the Comets to a 9-1-1 conference record and their first ever national ranking.

Five student-athletes end their careers as four-time All-Conference selections – Kessler, Dallacasa, Sarah Krisa of Hardin-Simmons, Madison Link of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Sarah Harder of LeTourneau. Eight more are three-time all-ASC honorees.

2018 All-ASC Women’s Soccer Teams

ABILENE, Texas – Hardin-Simmons won its 19th American Southwest Conference Women’s Soccer Championship and 16th in a row with a 1-0 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor at the HSU Soccer Complex Sunday afternoon.

The Cowgirls (16-1-1), who are ranked seventh and ninth in the national polls, scored the only goal of the game when tournament MVP Taylor Bernal scored in the 26th minute on a breakaway one-on-one situation with the Cru (12-5-2) keeper. Kendell Groom assisted the goal.

HSU outshot UMHB 12-4 and had a 4-1 advantage on corner kicks. Cur keeper Emmy McMaude recorded three saves, while Caitlin Christiansen had one for the Cowgirls.

Hardin-Simmons earned the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship. The NCAA Selection Show will be at noon Monday at NCAA.com.

All-Tournament Team
MVP – Taylor Bernal, Hardin-Simmons
Mandy Avalos, UT Dallas
Baylee Ford, Hardin-Simmons
Sarah Harder, LeTourneau
Keely Hayden, LeTourneau
Finda Kollie, Hardin-Simmons
Madison Link, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Evan Pipkin, Hardin-Simmons
Sydney Rangel, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Caitlyn Shaughnessy, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Stephanie White, UT Dallas

AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: November 3, 2018

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Brian Baca, QB, Jr., East Texas Baptist
East Texas Baptist junior quarterback Brian Baca (Pittsburg, Texas) threw for four touchdowns and 292 yards on 18-of-29 passing and ran 18 times for 144 yards in the Tigers’ 62-7 victory at McMurry. He averaged 8.0 yards per carrying and had a long of 39 yards. Baca threw scoring passes of three, 59, 21 and 28 yards to four different receivers. This is Baca’s second Player of the Week of the season and fourth of his career.

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Austin Mathews, RB, Jr., Texas Lutheran
Texas Lutheran junior running back Austin Mathews (Houston, Texas) rushed for a school-record five touchdowns and added 225 yards as the Bulldogs defeated Sul Ross State 63-20. He scored four first-half TDs on runs of three, one, one and 10 yards. Mathews also added another scored in the third quarter.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Jalen Martin, LB, Sr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor senior linebacker Jalen Martin (Round Rock, Texas) had two interceptions and returned one for a 30-yard touchdown in the No. 2/2 Cru’s 80-7 victory against Louisiana College. He broke up two other passes as well while playing mainly in the first half.

CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Dedrick Strambler, S, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons junior safety Dedrick Strambler (Midland, Texas) recorded a pair of interceptions for 55 yards and recorded a tackle while holding Belhaven to 136 yards in the No. 8/8 Cowboys’ 61-13 win. This is Strambler’s second Player of the Week of his career.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Aaron Sims, PR, Fr., Mary Hardin-Baylor
Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman punt returner Aaron Sims (Cameron, Texas) returned a punt 74 yards for a touchdown as the No. 2/2 Cru broke the ASC single-season record for punt return TDs in their 80-7 win against Louisiana College. This is Sims’ third Player of the Week award of the season.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
Offensive
Mary Hardin-Baylor junior quarterback Jase Hammack (Andrews, Texas) was 10-of-16 passing for 153 yards and three touchdowns despite sitting out most of the second half in the No. 2/2 Cru’s 80-7 win over Louisiana College.

Howard Payne junior wide receiver DunTayviun Gross (Tyler, Texas) finished with 13 receptions for 151 yards and a touchdown in the Yellow Jackets’ loss to Southwestern.

Hardin-Simmons freshman wide receiver Kevi Evan (Mount Vernon, Texas) had five catches for 92 yards and three touchdowns in the No. 8/8 Cowboys’ 61-13 victory at Belhaven.

Southwestern junior quarterback Frederick Hover (Georgetown, Texas) rushed for 120 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 221 yards and a TD on 8-of-15 passing in the Pirates’ 54-17 victory at Howard Payne.

Defensive
Texas Lutheran junior linebacker Derek Dunn (Houston, Texas) capped the Bulldogs’ scoring with a 35-yard fumble return for in the fourth quarter of a 63-20 win against Sul Ross State. He also registered six total tackles and two for a loss.

Howard Payne junior linebacker Austin Killgore (Tarkington, Texas) led the Yellow Jacket defense with seven tackles, with 1.5 for a loss and two quarterback hurries in their loss to Southwestern.

East Texas Baptist senior defensive end Zack Walker (Monroe, La.) recorded seven tackles, including three for a loss and a sack of eight yards while holding the War Hawks to 98 yards rushing in the Tigers’ 62-7 win at McMurry.

Southwestern freshman defensive back Evan Villastrigo (San Antonio, Texas) had 17 tackles, including a sack, in the Pirates’ 54-17 win at Howard Payne. He helped hold the Yellow Jackets to less than a 100 yards rushing.

Special Teams
Texas Lutheran freshman kicker Juan Ocampo (Lockhart, Texas) remained perfect on the year by making all nine extra points in the Bulldogs’ 63-20 win against Sul Ross State, making him 40-for-40 on PATs.

Howard Payne freshman punter Kyle King (Milano, Texas) averaged 44.4 yards on five punts with a long of 74 in the Yellow Jackets’ loss to Southwestern.

Hardin-Simmons sophomore kicker Jamie Pogue (Abilene, Texas) hit a 21-yard field goal and was 8-for-8 on extra points in the No. 8/8 Cowboys’ 61-13 win at Belhaven.

Southwestern freshman kicker Wil Herbst (Boerne, Texas) averaged 57.5 yards per kickoff and posted six touchbacks.

BELTON, Texas – Mary Hardin-Baylor captured the 2018 American Southwest Conference Volleyball Championship on its home court Saturday, defeating UT Dallas in five sets at the Mayborn Campus Center Saturday. The Cru won the match 25-17, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13.

UMHB also won the ASC Championship in 1998 and 2014.

Under head coach Rob Frost, Mary Hardin-Baylor won the ASC West Division and now the ASC Championship and have a 26-4 record headed into the NCAA Championship Tournament.

For the match, UMHB hit .253 with 66 kills, six aces, 116 digs, and six blocks. The Comets (23-10), hit .200 with 69 kills, nine aces, 102 digs, and eight blocks.

Tournament MVP Miradna Klein led the Cru with 57 assists and four blocks to go with 23 digs. Corinne Novak had 18 kills, and 15 digs and Jeanna Gillean added 13 kills and 20 digs. Middle blocker Sarah Paolini hit .419 while connecting on 15 kills and four blocks. Libero Haleigh Evans came up with 32 digs, and Anja Zgarba added 16 digs. Hope Hoelscher hit .474 for 11 kills.

UTD was led by Allison Owen’s 20 kills while hitting .528. Lauren Schilling, who made the All-Tournament Team, had 16 kills and four blocks and Dylan Brinkman added 11 kills and 25 digs. Setters Caroline Shecterle (33 assists, 13 digs) and Fayna Zeng (24 assists, 14 digs) each recorded a double-double. Libero Briana Tully came up with 24 digs, and Jillian Via had 18.

Saturday was the fifth consecutive year that UMHB and UTD met in the ASC Championship finals.

Mary Hardin-Baylor earned the ASC’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament. They will find out where they will play during the NCAA Selection Show Monday, November 5 at 11:30 a.m. at www.ncaa.com/live.

All-Tournament Team
MVP – Miranda Klein, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Jenna Gillean, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Tristyn Massey, Concordia Texas
Corinne Novak, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Odalis Rodriguez, McMurry
Lauren Schilling, UT Dallas
Caroline Shecterle, UT Dallas