FORT MYERS, Fla. – As the 2022 campaign draws closer to starting, FGCU men’s soccer fifth-year senior defender Shandel Senior was named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team as announced today. Additionally, the Eagles were tabbed to finish third in the preseason coaches poll.
“This is no surprise as Shandel is a natural born leader. He takes tremendous pride in his training, his academics, and our overall team performance,” said head coach Jesse Cormier. “He has developed very well over the past two years here at FGCU in many facets.”
The senior enters the season as a veteran defender who has started 21-of-22 matches played for FGCU over the last two years. He was an All-ASUN First Team selection in the 2021 spring season (moved from the fall due to COVID-19). Last fall, the native of Kingston, Jamaica, started all 12 matches played logging 1,052 minutes which were the second most on the team. Senior had one assist for the 2021 season in a 2-0 win over Jacksonville. The fifth-year senior has been part of a defense that pitched four shutouts last fall and six combined over his two seasons with the squad.
Lipscomb was selected as the top team in the preseason poll with 80 overall points followed by Central Arkansas (66 pts) and FGCU (58 pts).
In addition to Senior being recognized, David Alves was the fans’ choice for the ASUN Player of the Year through the league’s Facebook page.
The Eagles finished 4-3-0 last fall in ASUN play and were 4-8-1 overall. FGCU won three of its last four games of the regular season to enter the postseason as the third seed in the ASUN Tournament. The Green & Blue saw O’Vonte Mullings conclude his brilliant career as he became a first round MLS SuperDraft pick (20th overall) for the New York Red Bulls. He was the fifth player in program history to be taken in the MLS SuperDraft.
2022 ASUN Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Honors & Awards
Preseason Player of the Year: Tyrese Spicer, Lipscomb
Unanimous Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Noah Gulden, Lipscomb
Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year: Michael Sibley, Lipscomb
ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team
Pos – Name – School – Class – Hometown – Academic Major
GK – Michael Sibley – Lipscomb – Sr. – London, England – Sports Management
D – *Noah Gulden – Lipscomb – Gr. – Drammen, Norway – Management
D – Bradyn Knutson – Central Arkansas – Sr. – Spring, Texas – Marketing
D – Shandel Senior – FGCU – Sr. – Kingston, Jamaica – Entrepreneurship
D – Scott Gulden – Lipscomb – Gr. – Drammen, Norway – Management
D – LJ Estes – North Florida – Sr. – Cantonment, Fla. – Sports Management
MF – *Karim Diao – Central Arkansas – Sr. – Bordeaux, France – Communication
MF – Marko Mitrevski – Liberty – Sr. – Rochester, NY – Interdisciplinary Studies
MF – Luca Naumann – Lipscomb – Jr. – Berlin, Germany – Psychology
F – Sebastian Andreassen – Central Arkansas – Sr. – Alesund, Norway – Management
F – Olivier Correa – Jacksonville – So. – Montreal, Quebec – Computer Science
F – Tyrese Spicer – Lipscomb – Jr. – Trincity, Trinidad & Tobago – Sports Management
F – Hayes Wood – Lipscomb – Sr. – Chattanooga, Tenn. – Business
*denotes a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference team
** A tie in voting resulted in the 13-person Preseason All-Conference team
Preseason Men’s Soccer Coaches Poll
Pl. Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Lipscomb (8) 80
2. Central Arkansas 66
3. FGCU 58
4. Stetson 55
5. Liberty 40
6. North Florida 33
7. Jacksonville (1) 32
8. Bellarmine 30
9. Queens 11
Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: David AlvesFGCU
Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Brayden Borutskie, Liberty
Fan-Voted Goalkeeper of the Year: Danny Cordero, Liberty