Nov. 12, 2015
MVC Release
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Five Missouri State men's soccer players were honored with specialty awards from the Missouri Valley Conference, as announced at the annual men's soccer banquet held in Edwardsville, Ill. on Thursday night. Junior captain Jack Griffin landed on the All-MVC first team, while teammate captain Brandon Barbero and junior Phil Woods earned honorable mentions. Freshmen Jake Buckle and Conor Ingram scored spots on the MVC All-Freshman squad.
Griffin was awarded first-team honors for the first time in his career after a standout season. A 2014 honor mention team member, Griffin stormed his way to the top making an immediate impact on the MSU squad this season, recording two goals on the season and racking in an assist. He earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 28 after scoring MSU's game-winning goal against SIU Edwardsville. As a defensive midfielder, Griffin scored the golden goal off of a corner kick with two seconds left in overtime. He played in all 17 matches for the Bears this season and will go into his senior season with four-career goals, two assists, and 38 shots on his resume.
Senior Barbero tabbed All-MVC honorable mention laurels for the second consecutive season. After earning his first career start his freshman season, he had been a vital part of the Bears' offense. Recording three assists this season, Barbero helped the Bears earn big wins over Central Arkansas, Eastern Illinois, and Loyola Marymount. In his four-year career, Barbero has played in 65 matches while recording 49 starts. This season he earned N.M. All-Tournament honors while contributing to the Bears' win over No. 18 Loyola Marymount.
Teammate Phil Woods joined Barbero on the All-MVC Honorable Mention team this season. Earning his first year-end honors from the league, Woods had an impressive season for the Bears grabbing a game-winning goal against Eastern Illinois and contributing three assists. In his three seasons with MSU, Woods has played in 49 matches while starting 21 of them.
The freshmen have made the difference on the young MSU squad this season. Conor Ingram and Jake Buckle both earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman team.
After playing in all 17 matches and seeing the starting line-up on 10 occasions, Ingram had been a big man up front for the Bears. The six-foot freshman headed both of his season goals past the opposing goalkeeper after jumping over the top of all defenders to assist in two of the six wins for the Bears.
Buckle led the MSU freshmen this season in goals (3), shots (29), and shots on goal (12). After becoming the first Bear to score two goals in a match since 2013, Buckle earned MVC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21 for his performance against No. 18 Loyola Marymount as the Bears defeated the Lions 2-1.
The Bears finished the season 6-6-5 in 2015 and made an appearance in the MVC Tournament for the 20th time in program history. Head coach Jon Leamy is the Valley's all-time leader in conference wins - including regular-season and post-season - with 84. He has had a winning season in all but five of his 24 seasons at the helm of MSU men's soccer.
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