Horizon League Announces 2021 #HLMSOC Awards
INDIANAPOLIS – The Horizon League revealed on Friday the 2021 #HLMSOC awards. Jannis Schmidt, senior midfielder from Cleveland State, was announced the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, and teammate Bojan Kolevski, a sophomore forward, earned Offensive Player of the Year. The Vikings completed the hat trick of awards with Thomas M’Barek being named Defensive Player of the Year. From Detroit Mercy, Jonathan Kliewer was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year, while Northern Kentucky’s Jesse Randall claimed Freshman of the Year. At the helm for top-seeded Oakland, Eric Pogue was announced as Coach of the Year.
Jannis Schmidt appeared in 16 games for Cleveland State and is near the top of the League leaderboard in nearly all offensive categories. Schmidt is tied for third in points (22) and points per game (1.38), tied for sixth in goals (6), second in assists (10) and first in assists per game (.63). His balanced offensive approach helped lead the Vikings to the second highest-scoring offense in the League. Schmidt was back-to-back #HLMSOC Offensive Player of the Week this season, and was a member of the All-Horizon League Second Team last spring.
Sophomore forward Bojan Kolevski receives Horizon League recognition for the second straight season. After being named to the Horizon League All-Freshman team last spring, Kolevski was tabbed Offensive Player of the Year for the 2021 campaign. In 15 games, Kolevski tallied a League-best 12 goals, seventh most in country, and 28 points, most in the League and top-10 nationally.
Rounding out the Cleveland State award winners is Thomas M’Barek who is Defensive Player of the Year. M’Barek anchored a Cleveland State defense that allowed only 12 goals on the year, third fewest in the League, and compiled five shutouts. M’Barek continues his streak of Horizon League accolades, as he was a member of the All-Horizon League Second Team and All-Academic Team in the spring of 2021.
Freshman goalkeeper Jonathan Kliewer earned Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year in his first season competing in the League. Kliewer leads the League in goals against average (.86) and save percentage (.797), and is second in shutouts (6) and shutouts per game (.40). Kliewer’s save percentage of .797 is top-20 in the country. The freshman keeper helped the Titans allow only eight goals in League games and 15 the entire season. He was honored as #HLMSOC Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the season after collecting back-to-back clean sheets.
Jesse Randall burst onto the scene for Northern Kentucky, providing an offense spark immediately by netting two goals in his first collegiate match against UNC Asheville. Randall has the second most goals (10) and goals per game (.59) in the League. The freshman tallied a hat trick in the Norse’s dominating victory over VMI early in the season.
Eric Pogue earned his second Horizon League Coach of the Year honors after leading Oakland to the top spot in the League for the first time since 2014. Oakland was tabbed as the preseason favorite, but had to battle back all season before clinching the regular season title and No. 1 seed in the 2021 #HLMSOC championship on the final day of the season. Since joining the Horizon League in 2013, Pogue has led the Golden Grizzlies to postseason play six times.
The 2021 #HLMSOC All-League First Team is led by Cleveland State’s Jannis Schmidt, Bojan Kolevski and Thomas M’Barek. Milwaukee placed three student-athletes on the team as well, as Jake Kelderman, Logan Farrington and Paolo Gratton received recognition. Top-seeded Oakland placed two members on the team, Mikey Ketteman and Noah Jensen. Rounding out the team is Jesse Randall of Northern Kentucky, Jacob Graiber of UIC and Jonathan Kliewer of Detroit Mercy.
The All-League Second Team is loaded with four Golden Grizzles as Oakland’s Charlie Braithwaite, Dylan Borczak, Reid Sproat and Ville Ahola were all selected. Detroit Mercy, UIC and Wright State each placed two student-athletes on the team. Demetri Pliakos and Kyle Bandyk represent the Titans, Younes Dayekh and Andres Vasquez received the nod for the Flames, and Harvey Slade and Reece Allbaugh were tabbed for the Raiders. Cleveland State’s Pablo Kawecki completes the All-League Second Team.
Freshman of the Year Jesse Randall highlights the newcomers honored on the All-Freshman Team. Milwaukee leads the way with four members recognized. Adi Vaknin, Gabe Anguil, Hugo Espejo and Phillip Riewerts make up the Panther contingent. The duo of Brock Pickett and Connor Osterholt represent Wright State on the team. Oakland’s Kai Garvey, RMU’s Noe Bijoe, UIC’s Josh Torres and Detroit Mercy’s Jonathan Kliewer round out the All-Freshman Team.
The Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship begins Sunday, November 7 with seeds three through six battling it out for a spot in the semifinals. No. 3 Milwaukee will play host to No. 6 RMU, and No. 5 Detroit Mercy will travel to No. 4 UIC. Both matches will kick off at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The semifinal and championship rounds of the tournament will be hosted by top seeded Oakland. On Thursday, November 11, the Golden Grizzlies will host the lowest-remaining seed at 1 p.m. ET, and No. 2 Cleveland State will take on the high-remaining seed at 4:00 p.m. ET. The championship match will kick off at 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 13.
The entirety of the 2021 Horizon League Men’s Soccer Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can follow the action on social media by following the hashtag #HLMSOC and @HorizonLeague.
For complete championship information go to the #HLMSOC Championship Central page, here.
Horizon League Men’s Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year: Jannis Schmidt, CSU
Offensive Player of the Year: Bojan Kolevski, CSU
Defensive Player of the Year: Thomas M’Barek, CSU
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jonathan Kliewer, DET
Freshman of the Year: Jesse Randall, NKU
Coach of the Year: Eric Pogue, OAK
All-League First Team
Bojan Kolevski (F), CSU
Jannis Schmidt (MF), CSU
Thomas M’Barek (D), CSU
Jake Kelderman (D), MKE
Logan Farrington (F), MKE
Paolo Gratton (MF), MKE
Jesse Randall (F), NKU
Mikey Ketteman (F), OAK
Noah Jensen (MF), OAK
Jacob Graiber (D), UIC
Jonathan Kliewer (GK), DET
All-League Second Team
Pablo Kawecki (MF), CSU
Demetri Pliakos (F), DET
Kyle Bandyk (D), DET
Charlie Braithwaite (D), OAK
Dylan Borczak (F), OAK
Reid Sproat (D), OAK
Ville Ahola (MF), OAK
Younes Dayekh (F), UIC
Harvey Slade (MF), WSU
Reece Allbaugh (F), WSU
Andres Vasquez (GK), UIC
All-Freshman Team
Adi Vaknin (F), MKE
Gabe Anguil (MF), MKE
Hugo Espejo (MF), MKE
Phillip Riewerts (D), MKE
Jesse Randall (F), NKU
Kai Garvey (MF), OAK
Noe Bijoe (D), RMU
Josh Torres (F), UIC
Brock Pickett (MF), WSU
Connor Osterholt (F), WSU
Jonathan Kliewer (GK), DET