PEORIA, Ill. - Bradley junior forward Bryan Gaul (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.) was voted first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference in a vote of the league's eight head coaches, one of four Braves honored during the league's annual postseason awards reception Thursday night at WeaverRidge Golf Club.
Freshman midfielder Aodhan Quinn (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel H.S) earned second-team All-MVC honors and was joined on the Valley All-Freshmen Team by goalkeeper Brian Billings (Apple Valley, Minn./Shattuck-St, Mary's School) and midfielder Keegan Balle (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley H.S.).
Gaul shares The Valley lead with 12 goals this season, and by adding three assists, he ranks second in the league with 27 points. After moving from left back to the top of the Bradley attack Oct. 1, Gaul scored at least one point in the next eight games, leading the Braves to a 7-3-1 record since the switch.
Quinn has set the school record for assists by a freshman and now shares the league lead after picking up his ninth helper of the year in Wednesday night's 1-0 victory versus Drake in the quarterfinals of the State Farm MVC Men's Soccer Championship at Shea Stadium. He is the team's second-leading scorer with 13 points heading into Friday night's semifinal matchup against #11 Creighton.
Billings has started the last 14 games between the pipes for the Braves and enters Friday's game versus the Bluejays with three sutouts on the season. Balle has started in nine of his 17 appearances this year and boasts six points on the strength of two goals and two assists, including the overtime game-winner Oct. 1 versus IPFW at Shea Stadium.
Creighton claimed four of the league's specialty awards Thursday night: Ethan Finlay was named Player of the Year and Tyler Polak the Freshman of the Year, while the Bluejays also claimed the Coaching Staff of the Year, while sharing the Fair Play Award with Drake. Evansville senior Robby Lynch was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Year and Missouri State senior netminder Alex Riggs is the Goalkeeper of the Year.
