URBANA, Ohio - Urbana University landed three first-year Blue Knights on the All-Ohio Independent Team today. Forward Tyler Wason (Mississauga, Canada) was the Blue Knights' lone representative on the All-Ohio Independent First Team. Blue Knight defenders Seppi Welzmueller (Inning, Germany) and Ed Willoughby (Sidcup, England) earned Second Team honors.
The Ohio Independents consist of five NCAA Division II institutions with men's soccer currently competing as D-II independents. The five schools include Urbana, Notre Dame College, Walsh University, Malone University, and Cedarville University. Notre Dame knocked off Walsh 3-2 in the first Ohio Independents' Championship hosted by the Falcons over the past weekend. Urbana was eliminated from the OIC tournament by Malone in overtime on October 31st.
Wason (pictured left) was amongst the D-II state leaders for goals, assists and points all season long. The sophomore forward finished with a team-high 11 goals, 6 assists and 28 points. He also led Urbana in shots (64), shots on goal (31) and game-winning goals (4). His hat trick in a 4-2 win at home over regional rival Findlay helped Urbana to a 6-5-1 start. Urbana's season fell apart two days later after a slew of injuries, including a crucial one to the Blue Knights' starting keeper. Urbana dropped 5 straight games and ended the year 7-10-1. Despite the disappointing finish, the Blue Knights still managed to win more games than they had in 5 seasons. Along with defender Joe Carter and midfielder Joey Perkins, Wason was the only Blue Knight to start all 18 games this season.
Welzmueller (pictured left) missed just one game in his first season as a Blue Knights. A viable scoring option on free and corner kicks, the junior defender finished with 3 goals on just 9 shots on goal. Willoughby (pictured right) was another stalwart in the Blue Knights' defense. He came on strong as a scorer late in the season after injuries depleted Urbana's front line. Handling the majority of the team's corner kick duties, Willoughby scored twice and assisted on two more goals, all after the 10th game of the season. Along with Welzmueller and sophomore midfielder Henrique Guitti, Willoughby tied for third on the team in points with 6.
The remainder of the 2011 All-Ohio Independent Teams can be seen below:
First Team
Forwards
Tyler Wason, Urbana
Christian Earnest, Notre Dame
Ben Truax, Walsh
Ryan Thurman, Cedarville
Midfielders
Erik Beattie, Notre Dame
Tom Owens, Notre Dame
Nate Milhoan, Walsh
James Twinem, Cedarville
Defenders
Daniel Knight, Notre Dame
Jacob Sheppard, Notre Dame
Steve Ellis, Cedarville
Ethan Shula, Cedarville
GK
Alex Klein, Notre Dame
Mile Kelley, Walsh
Second Team
Forwards
Timmy Waller, Cedarville
Kelvin Aquino, Malone
Josh Abend, Malone
Midfielders
Ben Latimer, Walsh
Dillon King, Cedarville
Rubem Miranda, Malone
Stephen Wannah, Malone
Defenders
Seppi Welzmueller, Urbana
Ed Willoughby, Urbana
Adam Greenwood, Walsh
Jake Zimmerly, Malone
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ben Truax, Walsh
COACH OF THE YEAR: Michael McBride, Notre Dame