Indiana University Athletics
Six Hoosiers Earn All-Big Ten Honors
11/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 10, 2011
Indiana vs. Northwestern - Match Notes 
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Six member of the Indiana men's soccer team were honored for the work on the field, earning All-Big Ten honors, the conference office announced tonight at its annual awards banquet Thursday night.
Freshman forward Eriq Zavaleta, seniors defender Chris Estridge, midfielder Alec Purdie, defender Tommy Meyer and sophomore midfielder Nikita Kotlov were named to the first team. Zavaleta and Kerel Bradford were named to the all-freshman team.
Leading the way is Zavaleta, who was a unanimous selection as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was unanimous pick for the All-Big Ten first team and Big Ten All-Freshman team. Zavaleta currently leads the Hoosiers and is tied for the Big Ten lead in goals scored with nine. He leads the Big Ten in points scored (23), points per game (1.21) and is tied for sixth in assists (5). Zavaleta has three game-winning goals, which is tied for second in the conference
Zavaleta's nine goals are the most by a Hoosier freshman since Matt Fundenberger had 13 in 1997. Should he maintain his lead, Zavaleta would be the first freshman to lead the team in goals scored since Darren Yeagle in 2006. Zavaleta is the 11th Hoosier to be named Big Ten freshman of the year, including his head coach Todd Yeagley who earned the honor in 1991.
Estridge was also a unanimous first-team pick. His first Big Ten honor, Estridge has helped anchor a defense that has posted eight shutouts this season, while allowing just 17 goals. Always an offensive threat from his left back position, Estridge has three goals and four assists for 10 points, which ranks fourth on the team.
Purdie is a first-team All-Big Ten honoree for the first time in his career. Purdie has been a go-to scorer for the Hoosiers this season, leading the Big Ten in game-winning goals with five. His eight total goals ranks second in the Big Ten and is a new season best for the Elkhart native. Most recently Purdie had the game-winning goal in Indiana's 2-1 victory over Michigan State in the quarterfinal of the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday.
Meyer earns first-team honors after being a second-team selection in 2010. Like Estridge, Meyer has been the backbone of the Indiana defense, with the Hoosiers posting nearly three times as many shutouts as they did in 2010. The centerback has also show his offensive skills this year, ranking tied for first on the team and tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with six assists.
After a slow start to the season due to lingering injuries, Kotlov has been the hottest player in the conference, scoring six goals in his last seven matches, including game winners against Ohio State and Evansville. Kotlov currently has seven goals on the season, picking up number seven in the Hoosiers' 2-1 win over Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. Kotlov was an all-freshman team selection in 2010.
Joining Zavaleta on the all-freshman team is Bradford. Bradford has started all 19 matches for the Hoosiers this season, teaming up with sophomore Jacob Bushue in a defensive midfielder role. Bradford has also found himself in the attack on several occasions this season, taking four shots on the year.
Bradford was also honored as Indiana's Sportsmanship Award winner.
Indiana has now had 93 players earn All-Big Ten first team honors since the conference began recognizing the sport in 1991. Indiana is one of just two schools to have any players earn four All-Big Ten first team honors (Penn State) and the only one to have more than one player. That distinction goes to Yeagley, current Hoosiers assistant Brian Maisonneuve, Aleksey Korol and Yuri Lavrinenko,
The Hoosiers (12-3-4) continue Big Ten Tournament play tomorrow as they take on No. 1 seed Northwestern at 1 p.m. ET in a match that will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
2011 MEN'S SOCCER ALL-BIG TEN TEAMS & INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS
Offensive Player of the Year: Chris Hegngi, Ohio State
Defensive Player of the Year: David Tiemstra, Ohio State
Freshman of the Year: Eriq Zavaleta, Indiana
Coach of the Year: TIM LENAHAN, Northwestern
All-Big Ten Teams
First Team CHRIS ESTRIDGE, D, Indiana
Nikita Kotlov, M, Indiana Tommy Meyer, D, Indiana
Alec Purdie, F, Indiana ERIQ ZAVALETA, F, Indiana
Cyrus Sadee, M, Michigan State OLIVER KUPE, F, Northwestern
Tyler Miller, GK, Northwestern Chris Hegngi, F, Ohio State
DAVID TIEMSTRA, D, Ohio State Tomislav Zadro, M, Wisconsin
Second Team
Latif Alashe, M, Michigan Kofi Opare, D, Michigan
Mark Barone, D, Michigan State Adam Montague, F, Michigan State
Nikko Boxall, D, Northwestern Chris Ritter, M, Northwestern
Lepe Seetane, M, Northwestern Parnell Hegngi, F, Ohio State
Matt Lampson, GK, Ohio State Austin McAnena, M, Ohio State
Chris Prince, F, Wisconsin
All-Freshman Team
Kerel Bradford, M, Indiana ERIQ ZAVALETA, F, Indiana
TYLER ARNONE, M, Michigan Fatai Alashe, M, Michigan State
RYAN KEENER, D, Michigan State ADAM MONTAGUE, F, Michigan State
NIKKO BOXALL, D, Northwestern TYLER MILLER, GK, Northwestern
Kenny Cunningham, F, Ohio State Brady Wahl, M, Ohio State
AJ Cochran, D, Wisconsin
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
Sportsmanship Award Honorees:
Kerel Bradford, Indiana
Tim Bergsma, Michigan
Garret Back, Michigan State
Peter O'Neill, Northwestern
Sage Gardner, Ohio State
Jacob Barron, Penn State
Blake Succa, Wisconsinbr>
Players Mentioned
