Great Lakes Valley Conference - NKU's Bishop and Bacon Named Men's Soccer Players of the Year

NKU's Bishop and Bacon Named Men's Soccer Players of the Year

The Norse Duo Headline the 2007 Men's Soccer All-GLVC Team

10/25/2007 4:06:17 PM

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Northern Kentucky University’s Braden Bishop (Centerville, Ohio) and Andy Bacon (Middletown, Ohio) are the 2007 Great Lakes Valley Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively. The pair of standouts for top-ranked NKU headline the 2007 Men’s Soccer All-GLVC Team.

Bishop, the 2006 GLVC Freshman of the Year, has paced the Norse offense this season. He has posted eight goals and four assists in 13 league matches helping his team to a 13-0-0 league mark. Bishop ranks fifth in the league in goals per game and third in the GLVC in points with 20.

The sophomore forward has scored 13 goals overall in 2007 and added five assists. He boasts a shots-on-goal percentage of .568 and leads the Norse with 44 shots on the year. In addition, Bishop has posted five game-winning goals, three coming against conference foes.

Bacon, the leader of NKU’s stout defense the past four seasons, helped the Norse limit conference opponents to just two goals during the league schedule. The three-time All-GLVC selection is one of three NKU backs to be named All-GLVC this year.

The Norse defense has limited teams to just six goals overall this season and posted 13 shutouts. NKU boasts a team goals-against-average of 0.33 and a shutout percentage of .720. The Norse rank first in the nation in each category.

Head coach John Basalyga, in his fifth season with the Norse, has guided his club to new heights in 2007. Due to his outstanding efforts, his peers have named him the 2007 GLVC Coach of the Year. It is the second straight year Basalyga has earned the honor.

Basalyga has led the Norse to a 13-0-0 record in GLVC play this season. Their 13 wins are the most in GLVC history and it is the first time a GLVC club has won all of its regular season league matches since SIU Edwardsville accomplished the feat in 2003 (10-0-0). NKU is currently ranked first in the NSCAA/adidas Division II Top 25 Poll and is the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes Region. The Norse are the top seed for the upcoming GLVC Tournament and will be looking for their first GLVC Championship since 1995.

Basalyga has posted a record of 61-26-10 while the head man for the Norse.

Bishop and Bacon are two of four NKU All-GLVC First Team selections. Tony Capurro and Dan Impellizzeri have also been selected by the coaches as first-team honorees. The 11-member All-GLVC First Team also includes Drury’s Cody Reinberg, Lewis’ Nestor Hernandez, Rockhurst’s Tom Heinemann and SIU Edwardsville’s Dustin Attarian, Randy Roy, Zach Bauer and Greg Crook.

In addition, the GLVC has announced an 11-member All-GLVC Second Team and a 12-member All-GLVC Third Team. The complete list of All-GLVC selections follows…

Offensive Player of the Year: Braden Bishop, Northern Kentucky

Defensive Player of the Year: Andy Bacon, Northern Kentucky

Freshman of the Year: Tyler Kincaid, Saint Joseph’s

Coach of the Year: John Basalyga, Northern Kentucky

ALL-GLVC FIRST TEAM
Forwards
Dustin Attarian, Jr., SIU Edwardsville

Braden Bishop, So., Northern Kentucky

Tom Heinemann, So., Rockhurst

Midfielders

Tony Capurro, Sr., Northern Kentucky

Nestor Hernandez, So., Lewis

Randy Roy, So., SIU Edwardsville

Backs
Andy Bacon, Sr., Northern Kentucky